Safeguarding Overview
Safeguarding Overview
At Highfield Primary School, we strive to ensure that all our pupils remain safe and free from harm and we are committed to playing a full and active part in the multi-agency response to child protection concerns.
As part of this commitment, we have our school policies and guidelines, which can be accessed by Clicking Here.
We also ensure that we follow Government policies and guidelines, which can be accessed by Clicking Here!
At Highfield, we deal with any Safeguarding concerns by following the Framework for Action, as devised by Bolton Children’s Safeguarding Board (BCSB). A copy of this can be found in within our Government Policies and Guidelines section.
When concerns are raised the following model is used to grade level of need and the support/agency to be accessed.
An explanation of each stage is clarified here
| Level 1
Extra help from those already involved • Children with isolated, unsupported parent • Children or parents with mental or physical health difficulties • Children in families where there are indicators of neglectful parenting • Children identified by schools as requiring additional educational support, including Behavioural, Emotional Social Difficulties • Children with emerging patterns of unauthorised absences from school • Children who have started involvement in criminal activities • Children involved in contact/residence disputes • Children of parents involved in substance misuse • Children experimenting with drugs/substances • Children of parents where there has been some domestic abuse • Children who have episodes of missing from home • Families with a high number of children or more than two under five • Young Carers • Parents not accessing appropriate services • Parents struggling to manage children’s behaviour or routines • Children experiencing bullying • Children disengaged from education, training or employment post 16 |
Level 2
Require multi-agency response • Children with increasing Behavioural, Emotional Social Difficulties including self-harm • Children regularly absent from education • Homeless young people • Homeless families or those threatened with eviction • Children with chronic ill health or terminal illness • Parents unable to meet their children’s basic needs • Children in families where there are emerging patterns of domestic abuse • Carers who have substance misuse dependency which impacts on their ability to meet their children’s needs • Children with substance dependency • Children where there are emerging patterns of them missing from home • Children who consistently miss medical appointments and/or treatment • Children consistently not seen by one or more agencies • Children who may be at risk of Child Sexual Exploitation • Children where parents are in prison • Children with Special Educational Needs |
Level 3
Complex needs requiring specialist services • Privately fostered children • Children in households where parents have multiple problems • Children with families experiencing a crisis likely to result in a breakdown of care arrangements • Children in families where there has been one significant episode of domestic abuse or a pattern of Domestic Abuse incidents that are likely to significantly impact on the child’s safety, health or welfare • Children who are frequently talking about self-harm or where there is evidence of serious self-harming behaviour • Children with chaotic and or poly substance misuse • Parents who do not consistently meet the basic needs of their children • Asylum seeking children • Children with a disability • Children previously subject to a child protection plan • Children who disappear or are regularly missing from home or they go |
Level 4
At risk of Significant Harm and may need Protection or Substitute Care • Children who are at risk of/are suffering abuse including unborn children • Children who have non organic faltering growth • Children whose parents are unable to provide care whether for physical, intellectual, emotional or social reasons • Children whose behaviour is sufficiently extreme to place them at risk of removal from home • Children subject to proceedings in the Family Court • Unborn babies where previous child protection concerns have been identified or siblings have been subject to proceedings in the family court • Unaccompanied asylum seeking children |
Managing Allegations
If a child makes a safeguarding disclosure regarding an adult at school or out of school the following procedure takes place.
The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse incident. have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse incident. Operation Encompass has been created to address this situation. Please click on the icon for more information
At Highfield, we aim to address Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Forced Marriage and Prevent Duty through effective staff training, sharing leaflets with parents on our school website and by identifying and addressing these issues as and when they may arise by following school procedures and contacting the relevant authorities.
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