Safeguarding
Welcome to the Safeguarding & Child Protection page for Millbrook Primary School
This page has been created to offer important information to parents/carers regarding issues surrounding Safeguarding & Child Protection.
Alongside Millbrook Primary School’s own policies and procedures information from other sources will be posted to give advice, facts and resources to support parents/carers to help protect their children.
Millbrook Primary School Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy September 2023
Our policy can be found here or on our policies page:
millbrookschool safeguarding policy
Our Early Help, Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is written with due regard to the Department for Education statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education _ July 2023.
Designated Safeguarding & Child Protection Lead
The Designated Safeguarding & Child Protection Lead for Millbrook Primary School is: Mrs Jespy Pereira - Barker
NSPCC
The NSPCC has a wide range of resources that help adults keep children safe from abuse and other dangers, both online and in the physical world.
P.A.N.T.S: Teach your child the Underwear Rule and help protect them from abuse. It's a simple way that parents can help keep children safe from sexual abuse:
Share Aware: Help your child stay safe on social networks, apps and games.
Online safety: Helpful advice and tools you can use to help keep your child safe whenever and wherever they go online.
Staying safe away from home: Your guide to when your child's old enough to be out on their own, and how to teach them to keep safe while they're away.
Home alone: How to decide when it's safe for your child to be home on their own, and what you can do if they're too young.
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. please speak to the school and we can help point you in the right direction.
You can also report you concerns to the NSPCC who will offer you support and advice if you are feeling worried about a child’s safety:
Preventing Radicalisation
From 1 July 2015 schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.
Millbrook Primary School is clear that extremism and radicalisation should be viewed as safeguarding concerns. We value freedom of speech and the expression of beliefs and both pupils/students and adults have the right to speak freely and voice their opinions.
Our school ethos seeks to build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views.
If you are concerned about an individual or group regarding radicalisation please contact; Police on 999 or 111 Police Anti-terror Hotline 0800 789321
DfE guidance on the Prevent Duty can be found here:
Prevent Duty Departmental advice for Schools and Colleges
The NSPCC have information for parents/carers about radicalisation and dangers associated with extremism. There is also links to other supportive services on the NSPCC web page:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/fighting-for-childhood/news-opinion/why-radicalisation-child-protection-issue/
Information and resources to download for Parents/Carer and Staff can be found here:
e-Learning training on PREVENT - training developed by HM Government
Educate Against Hate - website resource for schools and parents/carers
Female Genital Mutilation
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’s already been taken abroad.
Contact FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Prevention Service 0845 451 2547 for support.
The Daughters of Eve website helps to raise awareness of this issue and sign-posts those affected by it to supportive services:
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 NSPCC offers a free and anonymous FGM 24 hour helpline. Call; 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk
The Home Office provides free online FGM awareness training for parents/carers and professionals: https://www.fgmelearning.co.uk/
Child Sexual Exploitation
Child Sexual Exploitation, or 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.
Charities such as NSPCC and Barnardos have been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of child abuse. Information regarding CSE can be found here;
www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/cse-introduction_wda97566.html
www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_projects/sexual_exploitation.htm
PACE (Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation) is a national charity that works with parents and carers whose children are sexually exploited. PACE offers one-to-one telephone support, national and local meet-ups with other affected parents and information on how parents can work in partnership with school, police and social care:
Online safety
Children and young people spend lots of time on the internet. They may go online to research information for homework or to play games, chat with friends and make new ones.
The internet holds a massive amount of useful information and can also be a really good way of learning about new things and keeping in contact with friends and family. It can also be a very dangerous place so it is important that children are protected and monitored when they are online.
CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) has lots of information about how to keep your children safe online and parental controls. The link to the website is below:
The NSPCC also offers lots of helpful tips and advice parents can use to keep their children safe on the internet and social networks.
The link below outlines the risks and dangers children face when using the internet and provides advice on how to set parenting controls on computers, tablets and mobile phones:
How to Set Up Parental Controls
Parental controls can help keep your child safe. Even the most Innocent searches online can bring up not so innocent results. Parental controls can be used to block upsetting or harmful content. They can also help to control in-app purchases or manage how long your child spends online. The NSPCC have made setting up parental control are really easy:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/parental-controls/
Be Share Aware
It can be hard to keep track of what your child is doing online. Or know how to keep them safe. There are so many different social networks, apps and games. Children and young people use social networks to:
- Send and share photos or videos
- Chat online with people via messages, voice calls or video
- Film themselves and broadcast videos via live-streaming
- Access and play games
The NSPCC has great tools to help you support your children to be Share Aware, including several videos that you can watch with your children.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/
Net Aware - Your guide to the social networks your kids use
You've probably heard of Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat - the most popular networks used by 11-16 year olds. But what about Omegle, Musical.ly and Periscope
To learn more about your children's favourite social networks, their suggested ages and how to use privacy settings, visit Net Aware.
WhatsApp is the largest global social messaging platform, with over 1.5 billion users per month, and Net Aware have created a free guide for parents & carers which covers what parents & carers need to know about the platform to help safeguard children from potential online risks including; the new age limit (16+), scam messages, connecting with strangers, location sharing and more.
Please click on the link for free WhatsApp guide for parents & carers: https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/whatsapp/
Snapchat
Snapchat is an app that lets you send a photo, short video or message to your contacts. The ‘snap’ appears on screen for up to 10 seconds before disappearing, or there is an option to have no time limit. There’s also a feature called Snapchat Story that lets you share snaps in a sequence for up to 24 hours.
Minimum age according to Snapchat: 13+
NetAware have created a free guide for parents & carers whicvh covers what parents & carers need to know about the platform to help safeguard children from potential online risks.
Please click on the link for free Snapchat guide for parents & carer: https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/snapchat/
Online Gaming
Gaming is extremely popular with children. When playing online children have the opportunity to relax, socialise with their friends and have fun. Children can play on games consoles, apps or websites, and chat to other players or watch them play through live-streaming. However there are some dangers to online gaming. And with so many games and apps available online, it can be hard for parents/carers to know how to keep their child safe.
What are the risks of online games?
- Children may view inappropriate or upsetting content if they play games that aren't suitable for their age. This could include sexual or violent material. It might be in-game content or produced by other players.
- Some players can be abusive towards others or try to exlude them from the game. Some players may also hack another user's account or try to steal and destroy their virtual possessions. This can be as upsetting for a young person as if it happened in real life.
- Children may play with adults they don't know. People of all ages play games. Some adults may exploit this and try to build an emotional connection with a child for the purpose of grooming.
- Some children may find it hard to stop playing games or find that gaming is getting the way of them doing other activities.
The NSPCC has some useful information on helping children to stay safe online:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-games-helping-children-play-safe/
POKEMON GO
Pokemon Go is a popular online game where you collect and trade cute creatures called Pokémon (Pocket Monsters). There have been concerns raised by the NSPCC regarding the safety of children playing this game. Pokemon Go merges the real world and the virtual world. The game requires the player to travel to find the Pokemon and then swap characters with other players to create the best team.
The NSPCC have created a useful guide for parents/carers of children who are actively playing Pokemon Go on phones or other devices.
Pokémon Go: A Parent's Guide: Tips and advice for keeping children safe on Pokémon Go
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/pokemon-go-parents-guide/
Netflix
Netflix is arguably the most widely used and best known video-on-demand (VoD) streaming service in the world. It’s extensive library of films and TV shows can offer endless hours of entertainment and, in the current climate, it’s a great way to kill some time whilst keeping safe at home, providing both child friendly and more adult-themed programming.
What parents need to know about Netflix