Safeguarding
All safeguarding concerns are passed to members of staff who are specifically trained as “Designated Safeguarding Leads” (DSL) in our school.
The Designated Safeguarding Leads in our school are:
Miss C. Thompson (Acting Deputy Headteacher / Inclusion) - Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs E. Appelby (Headteacher) - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mr A. Reid (Acting Deputy Headteacher) - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs L. Plummer - Safeguarding Governor
Horsenden Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Staff and Governors are aware that many children are the victims of different kinds of abuse and that they can be subjected to social factors that have an adverse impact upon their lives – including domestic violence, substance misuse, bullying, mental health and radicalisation. We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support our families, children and staff at school. This means that we ensure that everyone working in our school has had the appropriate safeguarding training and has successfully completed the necessary clearances to enable them to work with children.
We also acknowledge that safeguarding incidents could happen anywhere and staff should be alert to possible concerns arising. Through our curriculum we teach children to stay safe and happy. We encourage the understanding that any problem or worry that they may have is legitimate, and to share their worries, big or small with their trusted adult; at home; school or with ChildLine.
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding means:
- protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
- preventing harm to children’s health or development
- ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.
The diagram below shows the specific elements which make up safeguarding.
Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.
The Department for Education (DfE) provides the key guidance for schools and colleges Keeping children safe in education (DfE, 2019a). It sets out the legal duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.
Ealing Children's Integrated Response Service (ECIRS)
As a school, we have a legal duty to make a referral to the ECIRS team if we suspect a child may be at harm. We will follow the advice and guidance of the ECRIS team, which may mean not informing the parents of a referral depending on the nature of the referral and the advice given to the school by the ECIRS team.
Ealing Children’s Integrated Response Service (ECIRS) is the single point of entry for all referrals where there is a need for support, or where there are specific concerns about the welfare of a child or young person.
All professional referrals and self-referrals in Ealing for both urgent and non-urgent cases, including for families wishing to self-refer to SAFE are referred via ECIRS.
A single point of entry provides an effective way of ensuring a child gets the right help at the right time as soon as a concern is raised. It also reduces the need for information sharing between different services which guards against children ‘slipping through the net’.
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of a child or young person, you should contact Ealing Children’s Integrated Response Service (ECIRS). Call 020 8825 8000, or email ecirs@ealing.gov.uk – the team is available weekdays 9am – 5pm and 24 hours a day for more serious cases.
You can get in touch yourself or ask a professional that is working with you such as a teacher, health visitor, welfare officer or family worker to make a referral/get in touch on your behalf.
A member of the ECIRS team will listen to you and make a decision about the urgency of the case and the best way forward. In the case of a safeguarding issue, the caller has the opportunity to speak to social workers who will note the concerns and advise appropriate next steps.
You may call regarding your own child or another child.
Contact ECIRS if:
- You are concerned that a child may be at risk of harm
- You are concerned that a child may be experiencing verbal or physical abuse
- You are concerned about a child’s behaviour, at school or at home
- You are facing difficult parenting issues such as drug and alcohol use
If you believe a child may be immediately at risk, please call 999.
In contacting ECIRS, you may be referred to another service called SAFE (Supportive Action for Families in Ealing). The SAFE team consists of health professionals, psychologists, therapists, counsellors, school and family workers and social workers -all of whom work with children, young people and their families to find solutions to family situations before they escalate into something more serious.
Help and support is offered through family therapy, parenting programmes, one-to-one discussion sessions, substance misuse support, behavioural programmes and more.
ECIRS can refer you to SAFE for a wide range of issues including:
- Concerns about a child’s behaviour at home or at school
- Problems at your child’s school
- Domestic violence, abuse or relationship breakdown at home
- Problems such as debt or housing relocation
- Addiction or substance misuse in the home
- Mental health issues impacting on the wellbeing of a child
- Significant parental stress
Horsenden Safeguarding Overview 2022
Operation Encompass
Horsenden Primary School, with the full support of the Governing Body, is taking part in Operation Encompass, an innovative project the Metropolitan Police are running in partnership with local schools across Ealing. The national project aims to safeguard and support children who are affected by domestic incidents.
Please see below for more information.
