At St Mary's the safeguarding of the children is our highest priority.  Safeguarding can be defined as ‘keeping children, young people and adults at risk, safe from harm’.

Safeguarding

St Mary’s CE Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. We recognise that adults, including parents, visitors, temporary and permanent staff, volunteers and governors, have a full and active part to play in protecting our pupils from harm, and that the children’s welfare is our prime concern.

At St Mary’s CE Primary School we provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment that promotes the social, emotional, physical and moral development of all our children.

Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy details the procedures in place to actively safeguard our pupils. All our staff (including governors) are trained in safeguarding procedures and we provide information (see leaflets below) for volunteers and visitors.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies where there are concerns about a child’s welfare.

We will ensure that our concerns are shared with the child’s parents in the first instance unless we have reason to believe that this would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

If you are concerned about a child’s welfare, please speak to a member of our safeguarding team.  If your concerns relate to the actions or behaviours of a member of staff (which could suggest that s/he is unsuitable to work with children) then you should report this directly to the Headteacher (or Chair of Governors Mr D. Kill if the concern relates to the Headteacher) who will consider what action to take.

Stranger Danger

Whilst the risk posed by strangers is rare, it’s really important to make children aware of simple tips they can follow to keep themselves a little safer.

This video on Stranger Danger is designed to highlight a few key points, to be used to help you have that important conversation with your child. It is aimed at children aged 4 - 11 years. For parents, carers, families, teachers, schools and centres for young people to use to raise awareness and generate discussion that helps children keep safe.

We would advise you to talk to your child about who their safe adults are and where there are safe places near you if help is needed. It’s also important to think about safety on the internet and use of mobile phone apps and games that have ‘chat’ functions as this can be just as dangerous as a stranger in the street.

This video is one of a series of '60 Second Security' videos all around simple security advice. Designed to provide easy step by step tips, including advice on products and how to install and use them, helping to make you and your property that little bit safer.

E-Safety

At St Mary’s CE Primary School the safeguarding of pupils is a very high priority. We are committed to ensuring our pupils are safe in school and online.

By giving the pupils the knowledge to safeguard themselves and their personal information we are empowering them with a vital life skill.

What is E-Safety?

E-safety is the safe use of information systems and electronic communications, including the internet, mobile phones and games consoles. It is important that children and young people understand the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology.

• e-safety concerns safeguarding children and young people in the digital world.
• e-safety emphasises learning to understand and use new technologies in a positive way.
• e-safety is less about restriction and more about education about the risks as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
• e-safety is concerned with supporting children and young people to develop safer online behaviours both in and out of school.

Using the Internet safely at home

Whilst many Internet Service Providers offer filtering systems to help you safeguard your child at home, it remains surprisingly easy for children to access inappropriate material including unsuitable texts, images and movies. Parents/guardians are advised to set the security levels within Internet Browsers with this in mind.

Locating the device to access the Internet in a family area will enable you to supervise children as they use the Internet. However, don’t deny your child the opportunity to learn from the wide variety of material and games available on the Internet. Instead, set some simple rules for keeping them safe and make sure they understand the importance of these rules.

Simple, suggested rules for keeping your child safe

• ask your permission before they use the Internet
• only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine
• only email people they know (perhaps an address book would be useful)
• ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know
• do not use Internet chat rooms
• do not use their real name when using games on the Internet (perhaps encourage them to create a suitable nick name)
• never give out a home address or personal contact details
• never tell someone where they go to school
• never send an image of themselves, their home or school
• never arrange to meet someone they have ‘met’ on the Internet
• only use a webcam with people they know
• ask them to tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with

Using these rules

Go through the rules with your child and ensure they understand what you suggest. It is also a good idea to regularly check the Internet sites your child is visiting e.g. by clicking on History and Favourites. Please reassure your child that you want to keep them safe rather than take Internet access away from them.

The documents below provide further information with Internet use.

Internet Safety Guidance

Cyber-bullying

Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets. Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms such as Facebook, XBox Live, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and other chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience but they can be used as platforms to upset and bully individuals. 

Tips and advice 

• If you post abuse about anyone else online or if you send threats, you can be traced by the police without any difficulty. Every time you visit a website or make a posting, your internet service provider, Sky, BT or Virgin, has an electronic note of your activity. Even if you create an anonymous email address like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, you can still be traced.
• Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of letters, lowercase, uppercase, symbols and numbers. Don't use any part of your name or email address and don't use your birth date either because that's easy for people who know you to guess. Don't let anyone see you signing in and if they do, change the password as soon as you can. 
• If you are using a public computer such as one in a library, computer shop, or even a shared family computer, be sure to sign out of any web service you are using before leaving the computer so that you can protect your privacy. 
• Being bullied online can affect someone enormously. Being bullied can impact on a person’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills. Try to consider the impact your words may have and think twice before posting.
• Think twice before you post anything online because once it’s out there you can’t take it back. 

The documents below provide further information on cyber-bullying.

Cyber-bullying Guidance

Social Media

The more you know about the kind of social networking sites your children belong to and what information they like to share, the more likely you’ll be able to keep them safe:

• The age limit to join most social networking sites is 13
• The most popular social networks include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat; sites aimed at younger children, like Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters, also have a social networking element
• Many sites include an instant message function that allows private conversations between site members
• You can create ‘privacy settings’ on most social networking sites, so only close friends can search for your children, tag them in a photograph or share what they post
• Most social networking sites have an app, which means your children will have access to the social network from their (or your) smartphone or tablet
• Facebook, for example, has a setting that allows your children to approve or dismiss tags that people add to their posts
• Information shared between friends can be easily copied and may spread widely
• It isn’t easy to take back information once it’s online, and it can be impossible to recover after someone has shared it
• Not everyone your child meets online will be who they say they are
• Chat rooms and forums are one of the places that online groomers visit to connect with children; they can also be places where people use a lot of sexual language and engage in online flirting

The documents below provide further information on social media.

Social Media Guidance