Safeguarding
Safeguarding at Sir James Smith's
Sir James Smith’s School are committed to promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of every child. Within our school community, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
Safeguarding at Sir James Smith’s runs through all that we do including child protection, health care plans, site security, safety in lessons and in the playground, on school trips, behaviour for learning, anti-bullying, mental health and pastoral support. We listen to our students and take seriously what they tell us. Our staff are all trained in safeguarding, and our students know who they can talk to or how to report if they have a concern.
No one wants to hear about children being abused, neglected or unsafe. We all need to know what to do if there are concerns about the safety of any child or vulnerable young person. Remember these three important messages:
- All children have a right to be safe no matter who they are or what their circumstances.
- Keeping children safe is everyone's responsibility.
- We all need to listen to children even though we may not always be comfortable with what we hear.
We promote the welfare of students by ensuring that:
- We protect children from maltreatment.
- We prevent the impairment of children's mental and physical health or development.
- Children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
- We take actions to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Who should I talk to if I have concerns about a child?
Our team of trained Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) and Deputy Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) are clearly visible around the school wearing their yellow lanyards.
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Miss J Hocking Mrs H Ashton-Smith Mrs E Williams Miss L Cullip
Designated Operational Deputy Deputy
Safeguarding Lead Designated Designated Designated
(DSL) Safeguarding Lead Safeguarding Lead Safeguarding Lead
(ODSL) (DDSL) (DDSL)
It doesn’t matter if you are a paid worker, a volunteer or a member of the community, you have a responsibility to act if you are worried about a child.
If you would like to contact our Safeguarding Team, they can be contacted by:
Telephone: 01840 213274
Email: safeguarding@sirjamessmiths.cornwall.sch.uk
If you have a Safeguarding or Child Protection Concern out of school hours, please contact Cornwall’s Multi Agency Referral Unit (MARU) on the number below:
MARU: 01208 251300
If a child is at immediate risk of harm, please call the police: 999 or non-emergency 101.
Further sources of excellent information are:
That telephone call or email might be the most important one you will ever make!
- Each agency will have someone who has a responsibility for child protection and safeguarding issues - they have had training to know what to do next.
- It is not your responsibility to investigate safeguarding concerns, but you must tell the appropriate person. It will be this person’s job to decide what action to take next. If necessary, they will speak to Children’s Social Care or the police. The police and social workers can then decide whether they need to investigate your concerns.
Operation Encompass
Sir Jim’s is an Operation Encompass school. This means we work with the police when they have been called to domestic incidents where children are present. The police will contact the school within 24 hours of an incident happening. School staff will follow up all Operation Encompass referrals. We advise parents/carers where incidents have occurred to get in contact with school so we can work together to best support any child involved.
Operation Encompass key staff are:
- Miss Jodie Hocking, Assistant Headteacher - DSL
- Mrs Ashton-Smith, Pastoral Support and Well-being - ODSL
Prevent
Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation and extremism should be seen as part of schools’ and childcare providers’ wider safeguarding duties, and is similar in nature to protecting children from other harms (e.g. drugs, gangs, neglect, sexual exploitation), whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.
The statutory guidance makes clear the need for schools to ensure that children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in schools. Schools should ensure that suitable filtering is in place. This is part of our e-safety strategy.
Extremism includes extreme right-wing and left-wing organisations and any other group that intentionally promotes the use of violence.
If you have any concerns over inappropriate content being accessed by children please contact the school immediately. You can also contact your local police force or dial 101 (the non-emergency number). They can talk to you in confidence about your concerns and help you gain access to support and advice.
The Department for Education has dedicated a telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable those with concerns about extremism to contact them directly. Concerns can also be raised by email to counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)
Sir James Smith's are committed to working with the local authority, police, and professional agencies to support young people and families who may be affected by CSE or CCE. This form of abuse can affect both males and females, occurring where an individual or group take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into taking part in sexual or criminal activity, in exchange for something that the victim needs or wants.
There are a range of innovative and creative campaigns to raise awareness amongst all young people and protect those young people at risk of CSE and CCE and we work closely with the police to promote these.
PEER on PEER Abuse
During the summer of 2021, the government asked OFSTED to carry out a review of sexual abuse in schools.
The underlining message for everyone to understand is
IT COULD HAPPEN HERE
The school has taken a firm response to the OFSTED review in making students aware of their safeguarding responsibilities, understanding the extent of peer-on-peer abuse and the significant part that technology can play in this. Peer on peer abuse can include:
- Bullying
- Physical Abuse
- Sexual violence
- Sexual harassment
To be a safe and happy school, Sir James Smith's will support students who have both suffered and instigated peer on peer abuse, setting high expectations and standards of being a good person
The following two websites offer good information for parents/carers, students and the community
The school has a student network panel to discuss Peer on Peer abuse with the aim of sharing and understanding the safeguarding concerns of young people in the 21st Century world.
Safeguarding Staff
| Designated Safeguarding Lead | Miss Jodie Hocking |
| Operational Designated Safeguarding Lead | Mrs Helen Ashton-Smith |
| Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead | Mrs Emma Williams |
| Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead | Miss Leanne Cullip |