At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School we take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously. We have an open door policy, and we are happy to speak to any member of the school community who may have concerns about the welfare or safety of any child, whether the concerns are at school or in the wider community.

As you would expect, we have staff members who are specifically trained to deal with safeguarding issues. These are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). There is always a trained member of staff on the school premises to deal with any safeguarding concerns that may arise.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is: 
Mrs C Beech

Our Deputy Safeguarding Leads are:
Mrs N Hannett

Miss E Maher

Miss N Edwards

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. If you have any concerns, please raise them with the Designated Safeguarding Lead. If she is not available, speak to one of the Deputy Safeguarding Leads.

If you have ANY concerns about the safety or welfare of a child, you MUST contact one of the school's DSLs listed above IMMEDIATELY.

Key Numbers

• Walsall MASH: 0300 555 2866    Out of hours: 0300 555 2922/2836
• (To report any concerns of child abuse)
• Operation Encompass: 0204 513 9990
• (To report any concerns about children witnessing domestic violence)
• The NSPCC: 0800 800 5000
• Prevent: niall.markham@walsall.gov.uk or call the MASH number or 999 (for any concerns re radicalisation)
• Black Country Women's Aid Victim Support: 0300 303 1977
• School Nurses: 01922 423349
•  

Curriculum

Child safety issues and child protection will be addressed through the curriculum where appropriate, especially through PSHE, Computing and eSafety, Citizenship, Sex and Relations Education (SRE) and British Values.
We use a variety of resources and approaches to teach children how to keep themselves safe, build their resilience and manage risks.

The curriculum, and in particular the personal, social and health education development strand of the curriculum, includes an emphasis on relationships (relationships and sex education), building confidence and resilience in pupils and in developing preventative strategies to ensure their own protection and that of others. Opportunities are provided for pupils to develop the skills and strategies they need to stay safe from abuse, including age-appropriate discussions about healthy relationships, their bodies and being able to say no to requests that they do not want to carry out. Clear advice and guidance is built into the curriculum to ensure that pupils understand that there is a range of contacts they can turn to for advice and support and that they know where and how to report abuse.

Reporting a Concern of Abuse or Neglect

If you have concerns that a child you know is at risk of serious harm through abuse or neglect it is important that you report your worries to the correct agency. 

The link below will direct you to Walsall Council's Children’s Services page, which tells you how to report a concern.

https://go.walsall.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/family-help/request-help-and-support-or-report-safeguarding-concern-child

Below is the link to the Walsall Safeguarding Partnership. Walsall Safeguarding Partnership is a statutory body that ensures that all organisations that work with children work together to keep children and young people safe from harm. The Partnership undertakes this role through providing training, the development of policies and procedures and awareness raising.

https://walsallsp.co.uk/

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a form of sexual abuse which sees children/young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving ‘something’ such as; gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc. Technology is very often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access. CSE has gained a large amount of media attention over the last year as lots of services involved with children and young people have noticed a big rise in cases involving CSE.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/types-of-abuse/child-sexual-exploitation/

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

In April 2014 every school in England received new safeguarding guidelines and detailed information on identifying and responding to Female Genital Mutilation. FGM is a procedure carried out on young girls between the ages of infancy and 15 years of age.

Female Genital Mutilation is classified as a form of Child Abuse in the UK. It therefore makes the procedure of it a serious Child Protection issue. It is illegal for anyone to perform FGM in the UK or to arrange for a child to be transported to another country for the procedure. The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it to take place is 14 years in prison.

There is lots of information and support available online for parents/carers concerned about this subject or if you know someone who is at risk:

• Contact the Police if you think that a girl or young woman is in danger of FGM and is still in the UK.
• Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (020 7008 1500) if she has already been taken abroad.

The NSPCC has detailed advice on how to spot the signs, symptoms and effects of FGM and provides support for people who are concerned about a child or who have been affected themselves. The link to the website is below.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/types-of-abuse/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

Walsall Early Help and Local Offer

Helpful links

Walsall Early Help

Early Help is the term used by agencies in Walsall to describe how we provide support to children, young people and their families, as soon as problems start to emerge. The aim is for families to get help as early as possible, so things don't get worse.

With the right support at the right time, things can actually improve. As a family member, this might mean that you access Early Help support yourself or that professionals work with you and your family.

The Walsall Local Offer

http://www.mywalsall.org/fis/walsall-send-local-offer/

The Local Offer tells you what support is available for children and their families in the borough. It includes information about:

• Advice, information and support services
• Childcare
• Children’s centres
• Education
• Employment, training and volunteering
• Health
• Leisure and youth services
• Money and welfare advice
• Parent support
• Post 16 information
• Special educational needs and disabilities
• Social Care