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Safeguarding

At Mayfield, Safeguarding and Child Protection are regarded as the single most important aspect of each person’s role. We strive to make sure all our pupils are safe in school, at home, online and in the community. All staff have a statutory responsibility for keeping children safe in education and have a duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of all our children and young people. 

We work closely with parents/carers to ensure our pupils’ needs are addressed at the earliest opportunity. Early identification and intervention to address needs improve long-term outcomes for the child and family. 

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

All staff receive annual safeguarding training and updates throughout the course of the year. We also have staff with specific safeguarding responsibilities – they are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs).

DSLs take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety). 

When incidents of abuse and/or neglect are suspected or identified, the DSL has a duty of care to refer concerns to the local authority’s children’s social care team for assessment, so that an appropriate plan of support can be identified. We also work with a range of targeted and specialist services to support our pupils and their families to get the right help, at the right time. 

For the 2023-2024 academic year, our DSLs are:

If you do have a concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child then please speak to a member of our safeguarding team or any member of staff. If you feel that a child is at an immediate risk of harm then please dial 999.

Our Focus

We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for children, staff and visitors and endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. 

Attendance

In addition to the statutory responsibility to record the attendance of children, it is important that the school follows up on the processes for absence. We aim to ensure that all children attend school regularly and on time to enable them to take full advantage of the learning and therapeutic opportunities available. 

An important risk factor in abuse and neglect is poor school attendance and tackling that is a key aspect of managing children’s safety. Where a pupil is persistently absent, (below 90%) the pastoral team will contact the parent/carer to raise concerns and to explore what support is available, to improve attendance. 

Safer Recruitment

A key element of our Safeguarding is the implementation of Safer recruitment and vetting of all applicants and volunteers to ensure they are suitable to work with children and young people. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keep children safe from harm.

Our Governing Body

Our Governing Body has a duty to ensure that the school meets its statutory responsibilities. Safeguarding Governors are integral liaisons between a school and a Governing Body. They’re crucial for a number of reasons, including being responsible for:

  • Ensuring a school has an effective safeguarding policy in place.
  • Ensuring safer recruitment practices are put in place.

Curriculum

We encourage children to think about how to stay safe. Regular PHSE and RSHE sessions provide good opportunities for children to discuss these issues.

Online Safety

Online Safety is very important at Mayfield. Keeping the children safe online is embedded throughout the curriculum. Children learn how to use technology safely during regular Life Skills and Computing lessons and special events such as Safer Internet Day. The internet and social media open up a wonderful new world and with children going online at an earlier age and spending increasing amounts of time in their digital world, challenges can arise.

Safer Internet Day 2024

The UK Safer Internet Centre announced that the new SID theme will be ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’. Safer Internet Day 2024 will take place on the 6th of February 2024, with celebrations and learning based around the this Safer Internet Day and is looking to encourage children and young people to shape the online safety support that they receive whilst exploring the following areas:

  • Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology
  • Using the internet to make change for the better
  • The changes young people want to see online
  • The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline

Parents can feel overwhelmed at times by trying to encourage, protect and give their children access to the tools and knowledge available – be they, toddlers or teens.

Online Safety is taught through our curriculum at Mayfield and with your support, we hope we can continue to guide and protect all members of the school community to make appropriate choices when accessing such sites.   

We have provided a list of the key websites and useful resources that we feel you will find useful: 

Operation Encompass

Supporting children through key adults

Operation Encompass enhances communication between the police and schools where a child or young person is at risk from domestic abuse. This information-sharing ensures schools have more information to support the safeguarding of children and young people. By knowing that the child has had this experience, the school is in a better position to understand and be supportive of the child’s needs and possible behaviours.