Clifford Road Primary School and Nursery is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff, volunteers, governors, parents and children to share this commitment.

All staff appointments are subject to the completion of an Enhanced DBS check.

All staff have regular safeguarding training and they, including volunteers, have all read ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.  All staff and visitors are made fully aware of the procedures to follow if they are concerned about the wellbeing of a pupil and know who to report those concerns to.

Our Safeguarding Team

We have a team of 5 staff who have all accessed Designated Safeguarding Lead Training with the Local Authority,  and regular updates. This is our DSL Team.

If you have any concerns relating to the safeguarding of the children or adults in school then please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Mr Speirs, via the school office.

Mrs K Speirs            Designated Safeguarding Lead (Assistant Head Teacher)

Mrs M Bush             Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead (Pupil Welfare Officer)

Mrs S Roberts          Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead (EYFS Lead)

Mrs H Vince             Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead (Assistant SENDCo)

Miss V Whitehouse   Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead (Assistant Deputy Head)

Our link safeguarding governor is Mrs Rachel Reay, who can be contacted via the school office.

If you have a safeguarding concern and would like to talk to a member of the Safeguarding Team, please contact the school office:

office@cliffordroad.suffolk.sch.uk

01473 251605

Latest Safeguarding Updates

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023

• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023

Key changes to KCSiE 2023

Behaviours in Schools guidance (DfE 2022)

KCSiE 2023 makes reference to DfE guidance for Behaviour in School which provides advice to schools on behaviour in schools and the related legal duties of headteachers, and members of staff.

Behaviour in Schools Guidance (DfE September 2022) 

Filtering and Monitoring

Schools need to have appropriate and effective filtering and monitoring systems in place. An increased emphasis around filtering and monitoring appears throughout the updated KCSiE 2023. The DSL (s) should understand the filtering and monitoring processes that the school has in place to support online safety. Governors should ensure  all staff receive training to understand their  roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring. Child Protection policies should include how the school approaches filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks. 

Cyber Security standards for schools and colleges

The document includes a link to the DfE cyber security standards for schools and colleges guidance

Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges

Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings

The updated guidance makes reference and links to the use of school/ college premises for non-school/college activities, which helps providers understand how they can run safe settings to ensure the welfare of the children attending them. 

Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings

Children who are absent from Education

Children being absent from education for prolonged periods and/or on repeat occasions can act as a vital warning sign to a range of safeguarding issues including neglect, child sexual and child criminal exploitation - particularly county lines. It is important the school or college’s response to persistently absent pupils and children missing education supports identifying such abuse, and in the case of absent pupils, helps prevent the risk of them becoming a child missing education in the future.

Elective home education 

Clarification that if the parent/carer of a child with an education, health and care (EHC) plan has expressed their intention to educate their child at home, local authorities will need to review the plan and work closely with parents/carers.

Children with special educational needs, disabilities or health issues

There are new signposts to organisations that specialise in this area

Safer Recruitment

KCSiE 2023 now outlines that it is good practice to inform candidates that online searches will be carried out prior to appointment. 

Organisations or Individuals using school premises 

The updated guidance contains information on organisations and individuals using school premises. It states that schools and colleges may receive an allegation relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using their school premises for the purposes of running activities for children. It clarifies that as with any safeguarding allegation, schools and colleges should follow their safeguarding policies and procedures, including informing the LADO.

Annex A

This has been revised to reflect the changes made to Part one. It says that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding training that includes understanding their expectations, roles and responsibilities around filtering and monitoring as part of online safety

Annex B

This section has been revised to:

• reiterate the difference between children absent from education and children missing education;

• add attendance to the list of things which can be impacted by mental health;

• replace the word ‘vulnerable’ with ‘susceptible’ with regards to preventing radicalisation;

• clarify that someone referred to Channel will need to provide their consent before any support through the programme is provided;

• reflect the changes in laws relating to forced marriage that came into place in February 2023. It is now a crime to carry out any conduct whose purpose is to cause a child to marry before their 18th birthday, even if violence, threats or another form of coercion are not used. This applies to non-binding, unofficial ‘marriages’ as well as legal marriages; • make reference to multi-agency practice principles in relation to child exploitation.

• make reference to multi-agency practice principles in relation to child exploitation

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 (HM Government)

Although updated a couple of times now, Working Together still has '2018' on the front cover.

September 2022 saw a factual update to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 to reflect recent changes to legislation, including references to:

• Integrated Care Boards replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups 
• Public Health England replaced by the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021
• UK GDPR is the retained EU law version of the GDPR. The UK GDPR sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018

• Working Together to Safeguard Children

Clifford Road Primary School and Nursery Early Help Offer

At Clifford Road, we offer a range of support for children and families who are in need of support. Our Early Help Offer is designed to ensure that we are proactive in finding the right level of support at the earliest opportunity.

Online Safety

At Clifford Road, online safety is a cornerstone of our safeguarding policy and procedures to ensure that children are safe and responsible citizens in an increasingly technological society.

We recognise that the Internet, social media and devices are a source of educational information, a tool for learning and a part of everyday life. However, we also believe in the importance of protecting our young people from the dangers that these things can pose.

Online safety is taugh as part of our Computing and PSHE curriculum. Children learn how to be safe and responsible users of technology. They also learn what to do when they feel something is unsafe or worrying.

In addition to planned learning, staff are proactive in tackling a need if and when they arise and teachers adapt their planning to reflect this.

Advice for pupils:

• Always be careful when you are using the internet. It can help you to keep in touch with your friends and help your education, but it can also cause harm; to you and to others.
• Remember help is always available at school if you are having any problems online.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to your teacher or another adult at school.

Advice for parents and carers:

There are several ways to help keep children and young people safe online:

• Educate yourself and children and young people know about the dangers online
• Tell them what they should do if anything goes wrong online or upsets them i.e. tell someone about it
• Explain that anything shared online or by mobile phone could end up being seen by anyone
• Ensure computers and laptops are used where you can see and not out of sight in a bedroom
• Use parental settings, filtering software, and privacy setting to block inappropriate sites and content

If you or anyone you know is worried about Child Exploitation, Online Protection, or anything related to Internet safety, you can visit the CEOP reporting website https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/

Online Filtering and Monitoring

Our school uses SurfProtect for filtering online content. Designed specifically for the education sector, SurfProtect® offers protection that keeps pupils safe online without impacting their learning experience.

Granular control: Applying individual filtering profiles for specific users and user groups. This means pupils are protected whilst still being able to access age appropriate content.

KCSiE and Prevent Duty Compliant: Implement appropriate filtering that provides safe learning experiences for pupils and fulfils the DfE’s statutory requirements for schools and colleges.

SurfProtect Website

Curriculum Pages for Online Safety