Safeguarding

St Mark’s C of E Junior School is committed to safeguarding, promoting and ensuring the well-being and safety of all pupils and expects all staff, volunteers and our school community to share this commitment.

We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our commitment including our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy which can be viewed in the Policies section of our website (Parent Resources).

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with their parents first unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

We actively support the Government’s prevent agenda/strategy to counter radicalism and extremism. 

At St Mark’s our Safeguarding Team is:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) 

 Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) are:

If you are concerned about a child please contact 

  • a member of our Safeguarding Team on 01722 333497
  • Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0300 456 0108
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) on 01722 336262 2779

See also the parents' guide of what to do when abuse is suspected below.

If a member of staff or you have concerns which relate to the actions or behaviour of another member of staff (which could suggest that they are unsuitable to work with children) then this must be reported to the DSL in confidence who will consider what action to take.

If the concern relates to the Headteacher it should be referred to the Brunel Academies Trust CEO - carterm@brunel.org.uk who will consider what action to take.

Life in Likes

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report, Life in Likes, which looks at the ways 8 – 12 year olds use social media platforms which are not designed for younger children and how this effects their wellbeing. The report found that social media was important for maintaining relationships but a shift in use and impact occurs when children start secondary school. Aged 8-10, children used social media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, Musical.ly and WhatsApp to play games and have fun.

However, when pupils start secondary school and their social circles grow, social media use becomes harder to manage as friendships break down and children become dependent on ‘likes’ and comments for social validation. Focus is then dominated by a need to keep up appearances online.

The report also found that while children understood how stay safe online with regards to predators and strangers they had limited understanding of how technology can effect mood and emotions and how to manage this.

Recommendations from the report included a broadening of digital literacy education in schools beyond safety messages, development of children’s critical awareness and resilience, and a focus on the transition stage from primary to secondary school; and guidance to inform parents about the ways in which children’s social media use changes with age, particularly on entry to secondary school.

Click on the hyperlink to read the report in full – Life in likes

Stop, Speak, Support

The Duke of Cambridge has launched a campaign to tackle online bullying with a youth led code of conduct for the internet. Stop, Speak, Support aims to support young people to identify cyberbullying. The Code encourages people to STOP SPEAK SUPPORT.

STOP

  • Take time out before getting involved, and don’t share or like negative comments
  • Try and get an overview of what’s really going on
  • Check the community guidelines for the site you’re on

SPEAK

  • Ask an adult or friend that you can trust for advice
  • Use the report button for the social media it’s happening on
  • Speak to one of the charities set up to help with situations like this, such as Childline

SUPPORT

  • Give the person being bullied a supportive message to let them know they’re not alone
  • Encourage the person being bullied to talk to someone they can trust e.g. class teacher, ELSA
  • Give the person being bullied a positive distraction from the situation

 

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