Britannia Safeguarding and Encompass
Safeguarding, Encompass and Early Help
At Britannia Primary School, we expect all staff, governors, volunteers and visitors to share our commitment to safeguarding our children.
We will ensure:
The welfare of the child remains paramount.
All children - whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity - have the right to be protected from harm.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
All staff and volunteers working at our school have a responsibility to report concerns to the Designated Lead for Safeguarding
Safeguarding Contacts
If you are concerned about a child's welfare, please contact the safeguarding leads. Details can be found below. Alternatively, report using the online form found on the QR code below.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs N.Longstaff
Deputy Safeguarding Leads
Mrs C.Nuttall
Miss S.Connolly
Mrs L.Seamans
Safeguarding Governor
Mrs K.Symcox
Please see the policies page for safeguarding policies.
The Designated Person for Looked After Children (CLA/LAC) and Pupil Premium Champion is Mrs Longstaff/Miss Connolly.
Specific Leaders with safeguarding roles in school:
CAF/TAF Lead is Mrs Longstaff
EY Supervision Lead is Mrs Seamans
Harmful Sexual Behaviour and Child on Child Abuse Lead is Mrs Longstaff
Online Safety Lead is Miss Connolly
Safeguarding Children with SEND Leads Mrs Nuttall
Safer Recruitment Lead is Mrs Longstaff/Mrs Dempsey
Prevent Lead is Mrs Longstaff
We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff are trained in safeguarding procedures, and children are made aware of the adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Senior Leader(DSL).
The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the Lancashire Safeguarding Team and the school has adopted a comprehensive Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. On occasions, our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies whom we will share information , in line with school policy guidelines. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parent/carers first, before any referrals are made, unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.
What to do if you have concerns about a child
Listed below are links to several websites which you can use to report any concerns you may have about a child:
https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse - This will provide you with links to the local council/police page for your area.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/report/report-abuse-online/
https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/contacting-childline/
Alternatively you can contact Lancashire Children Social Care for further advice:
0300 123 6720 / 0300 123 6722 (out of hours)
If you think a child is in immediate danger
Don’t delay – call the police on 999
Operation Encompass
In conjunction with Lancashire Police, Britannia School is involved in a national initiative called “Operation Encompass”. The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in, heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident.
Following an incident, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset, worried and unprepared. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff are made aware early enough to help and support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe and included.
This is a valuable initiative that means we can help and support students and their families within our school when they need us most.
You can find out more information by visiting the Operation Encompass website (click the button below) or by contacting Mrs Longstaff at school.
https://www.operationencompass.org/
Early Help
What is early help?
‘Early help’ describes any service that supports children and families as soon as problems emerge.
What is early help?
Examples of early help services include:
Parenting support
Play and activity groups
Emotional health and wellbeing support
Communication and language support
Early help services are provided by local authorities. The type of support on offer can vary a lot. Many services will provide information and advice to support families. This can be offered in a one-to-one setting or as part of a group. They may also help families find solutions to specific problems.
Who is early help for?
There are early help services for parents, children or whole families. All early help is voluntary – families do not have to participate if they don’t want to.
Early help could provide support at any stage in a child or young person’s life. Some are more likely to need this support than others, such as:
Children in or leaving care
Children with disabilities
Young parents
Families facing abuse and conflict
Low-income families
Children and families can access early help services in their local area. These may be at schools, health centres or through charities and voluntary organisations.
Why is early help important?
Early help can prevent children from coming to harm. When families face problems, getting the right support, at the right time, is essential. It can be what stops a minor problem becoming a crisis.
Unfortunately, we’re not providing enough early help in the UK. The system is focused instead on helping children only once they are in crisis. This doesn’t make sense. You wouldn’t wait for a health emergency before seeing your doctor.
Stepping in as soon as problems arise helps provide safe and happy childhoods. It helps keep families together. And it means children and young people are better prepared as they enter adulthood.
Does early help work?
Early help has lots of positive social, health and behavioural outcomes for children and families.
Evidence shows that investing in early help services leads to fewer young people going into care or needing intensive social work.
More than 30,000 children go into care each year in the UK – that’s one every 17 minutes. Many of these children might have stayed with their families had they accessed early help.
Turn2us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially.
Anyone can be a missed pay-cheque, illness or bereavement away from a real financial crisis, which is why Turn2us can help you find the support you need to get back on track.
The Benefits Calculator takes less than 10 minutes to complete and it will tell you which means-tested benefits you may be entitled to, including tax credits.
The Grants Search can help you look for funds that might be able to give you a grant or other types of help.
Early Help At Britannia
Research suggests that early help can: protect children from harm, reduce the need for a referral to child protection services, improve children's long-term outcomes, improve children’s home and family life, and support children to develop strengths and skills to prepare them for adult life.
At Britannia, we have an emotional literacy support assistant (Miss Smith) who works with children to support their emotional and social development. If you think that your child may benefit from additional support please contact school for a referral into this service.
We also work closely with the Family Hub at the Maden Centre who offer a range of support for families. The up to date information can be found on by clicking on the link below. Pupils are also encouraged to speak to their class teacher or an adult at school if they have any concerns or worries.
Lancashire Family Hubs Network - Lancashire County Council
The School nurse has a termly drop in at Britannia where you can access additional medical support or advice for your child. Keep a look out for the dates on the newsletter.
Children and Family Wellbeing Service
The Children and Family Wellbeing Service, previously children's centres and Young People's Service, provide services to help with parenting and other support you may need.
They offer different services across a range of locations to meet the needs of the local community including:
Support for individual children, young people or their families
Health services – ranging from health visitors to breastfeeding
Parenting advice for mums, dads and carers
Activities and groups where your baby, toddler or child can play and learn
A place to pick up Healthy Start vitamins and tablets
Advice to help you to support your child’s learning from birth
A great place to make new friends
Connecting with the local community
Access to specialist support for families with children with disabilities/additional needs
Groups for expectant mums and dads
Advice and guidance on how to keep you and your child healthy
Sensory rooms
Information about local childcare
Help to access adult learning opportunities
Advice on jobs, training and benefits
Opportunities for volunteering
For more information or to find out where your local Children's Centre is please click here