Safeguarding

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School fully recognises its responsibilities for child protection which arise from our Mission Statement aim to build God’s kingdom here and now, and are underpinned by legislation.

Our policy applies to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the school.

The full safeguarding policy is on the Policies tab of the website.

Key Information.

• The designated and trained safeguarding leads are Mr. Rakowski and Mrs Sargeant.
   
• If you have a safeguarding concern, it is your legal duty to share that concern with the appropriate person, normally the school safeguarding lead. This is as true for parents as members of school staff.
   
• Alternatively you can call Ealing Children's Integrated Response Service and say you have a child protection referral to make: 020 8825 8000.  This is the number to call if your concern is about Mr Rakowski.
   
• When we recruit staff for school, every step of the safer recruitment guidelines are followed, irrespective of the nature of the post.
   

FGM Female Genital Mutilation

FGM is discussed with both Year 5 and 6 children as part of our sex and relationship units in the context of the NSPCC PANTS rule, that privates are private.

FGM IS ILLEGAL

New procedures for reporting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) have been introduced by government office as a mandatory duty for teachers in schools.

FEMALE CIRCUMCISION & CUTTING

It has been estimated that over 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK each year, and that 66,000 women in the UK are living with the consequences of FGM. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a growing cause of concern in schools.

FGM is child abuse and a form of violence against women and girls, and therefore it is dealt with as part of existing child and adult safeguarding/protection structures, policies and procedures. It is illegal in the UK to subject a child to female genital mutilation (FGM) or to take a child abroad to undergo the procedure – Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Despite the harm it causes, FGM practising communities consider it normal to protect their cultural identity. The age at which girls are subject to FGM varies greatly from shortly after birth to any time up to adulthood. The average age is 10 to 12 years.

In dealing with FGM it is important to be alert to the following key indicators:

• A child’s family comes from a community that is known to practise FGM

• A child may talk about a long holiday to a country where the practice is prevalent

• A child may confide that she is to have a ‘special procedure’ or to attend a special occasion

• A child may request help from a teacher or another adult

  Any female child born to a woman or has a sister who has been subjected to FGM will be considered to be at risk, as much as other female children in the extended family. Any information or concern that a child is at risk of or has undergone FGM will result in a child protection referral to Children’s Social Care.

• Call the FGM helpline if you are worried a child is at risk of, or has had, FGM. It’s free, anonymous and they are available 24/7. Call them on 0800 028 3550, or email them at fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk

Prevent Duty

As part of our school’s ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties we are fully behind the government’s Prevent Strategy.

From 1 July 2015 all 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”. This duty is known as the Prevent Duty for Schools.

At St Joseph's, we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views.

The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent awareness training to equip staff to identify pupils at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas. The Home Office has developed a core training product for this purpose – Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP). All our staff have received WRAP training.