Safeguarding Statement

This school takes its responsibility to safeguard children extremely seriously and our school will train and empower all staff to recognise and respond effectively in order to protect a child who may be at risk of significant harm. Safeguarding remains central to all that we do.  

We will ensure all staff members and other members of our school community will maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and feel able to raise concerns either about a child at risk or a member of staff whose behaviour may present a risk to a child.

Our School will;

 Support the child’s development in ways that will foster security, confidence and independence;

• Provide an environment in which children and young people feel safe, secure, valued, respected, feel confident and know how to approach adults if they may be worried;

• Provide a systematic means of monitoring children known or thought to be at risk of harm, and ensure we, the school, contribute to assessments of need and support packages for those children.

• Emphasise the need for good levels of communication between all members of staff and between the school and other agencies;

• Have and regularly review, a structured procedure within the school which will be followed by all members of the school community in cases of suspected abuse;

• Develop and promote effective working relationships with other agencies, especially the Police and Children’s Social Care;

• Ensure that when we recruit staff and check their suitability it is in accordance with Part 3 of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ September 2018 version.

• Have in place, other, up to date policies which support safeguarding, please refer to Annexe 1 of our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy (September 2018 version).

• Embed Safeguarding into our curriculum to enable us to teach our children at every opportunity how to keep themselves safe.

Keeping Children Safe In Education

Please click here for a link to the Department of Education's 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' 2023

West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership

Please click here for a link to the Integrated Front Door

The vision for the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership is to develop “an assured Safeguarding Partnership, which collectively engages with children and their families, enabling them to thrive.”

Working in the local community we have the opportunity to shape our multi-agency safeguarding arrangements to continue to improve our services to children, young people and their families. It is clear from recent local developments that a strong and purposeful multi-agency approach to child protection is essential to drive swift and sustainable improvements to practice in key areas of child abuse, such as neglect.

Anyone who has any concerns about a child can contact The Integrated Front Door directly.

How to Report a Concern

There are a number of ways by which you can report a concern about a child in our school.

You can:

• Speak with a member of staff at the beginning or end of the day.

• Phone and ask to speak with a member of the Senior Leadership Team or a Designated Lead for Safeguarding on 01798 865419.

• Directly email the Designated Safeguarding Lead via head@fittleworth.school

• Email the school office on office@fittleworth.school

The following options are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, if your concern needs a response outside of school working hours:

• If you feel someone is at immediate risk of significant harm please contact the Police on 999.

• If you have non-urgent information, related to the wider community please contact the Police on 101.

• If your concern is specific to a child or young person please phone 01403 229900 or e mail WSChildrenservices@westsussex.gov.uk

• If you are a child or young person you can speak with Childline on 0800 1111.

• If you are an adult worried about a child you can speak to a trained helpline counsellor with the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

• If you are a professional concerned about a child in the workplace you can speak to an NSPCC trained practitioner via their Whistleblowing Advice line on 0800 028 0285.

If you have shared a concern with someone listed above other than the school, please inform a member of the School Safeguarding Team as soon as possible, to ensure that the school is aware of any concerns regarding children that attend Fittleworth Village School.