Useful Links

Useful Links

Safeguarding

Moordown St John’s Primary School fully recognises its responsibilities for safeguarding and child protection. We have policies in place to ensure the best possible care of pupils. We follow the procedures set out by the PAN Dorset Safeguarding Children Partnership (PDSCP) and take account of guidance issued by the Department for Education. A copy of the Safeguarding Policy can be found here or can be obtained from the school office on request.

If you have any concerns of a safeguarding nature, please ask to speak to one of our designated, trained, safeguarding staff.

The Named Designated Staff for Child Protection is

  • Paul Ruffle - Headteacher - 01202 527683 

The Deputy Designated Staff for child protection are:

  • Mr Sergei Grinsted – Deputy Headteacher: Tel 01202 527683
  • Mrs Miranda O'Gara - Inclusion Leader: Tel 01202 527683

The MSJ Directors responsible for Safeguarding and Child Protection are:

 Anyone who has a concern about a child should report it to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). 

If it is an emergency, call the police on 999.

 If you have concerns regarding someone who is in a ‘position of trust’ and works with a child, these should be reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). You can contact the Designated Officer's for the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area at:

 The Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) leaflet below outlines what safeguarding is, what schools must do as well as the different types of abuse and how to recognise them.  It is a useful reference leaflet which is available in several languages.  Should you need it translated into another language please let us know by contacting the school office. 

kcsie 2023 part one.pdf

 

Operation Encompass Safeguarding Statement

Our Key Adults are:  

  • Mr P Ruffle 
  • Mr S Grinsted
  • Mrs M O’Gara
  • Mrs N Armstrong

 Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse.

Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school soon after they have been called to a domestic incident.

All Key Adults (DSL/DDSL) have attended an Operation Encompass local briefing as well as national online training.

Our parents are fully aware that we are an Operation Encompass school.

The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.

The Key Adult has also led briefings for all school staff and Directors about Operation Encompass, the prevalence of Domestic Abuse and the impact of this abuse on children. We have also discussed how we can support our children following the Operation Encompass notification.

The Safeguarding Director will report on Operation Encompass in the termly report to Directors. All information is anonymised for these reports.

The Key Adult has used the Operation Encompass Toolkit to ensure that all appropriate actions have been taken by the school.

 Useful Links

  • Private Fostering – BCP Council
  • Run Hide Tell (Terrorism Incident Advice)
  • Stay Safe Film [Run - Hide - Tell] The police service has released the short public information film called ‘Stay Safe: Firearms and Weapons Attack’ which sets out the key options for keeping safe should the worst happen. The film advises those who get caught up in an incident to ‘run, hide and tell’ - guidance which can be applied to any place. We know that from case studies and real life testimony based on the experiences of people who have survived attacks the advice given in the film has saved lives.
  • Safeguarding when hiring a private tutor or attending a sports club

Prevent 

Moordown St John’s Primary School adheres to the following actions, which are known as the Prevent Duty:

The school Prevent Lead is Paul Ruffle.

The school refers any concerns to the Prevent Team on 01202 229337, PreventReferrals@Dorset.pnn.police.uk or through the Children's Services First Response Hub. For an immediate response the school will call the Anti-terror hotline 0800 789321.

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. We also believe that this work extends to supporting children's thinking skills so that they grow up without developing extreme views.

The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing beliefs, neo-fascism, anti-animal testing related violence, violent Islamist groups and any other idealistic causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015, all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.

This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist, extreme or violent views in the same way as we protect them from drugs or gang violence. This is part of our wider efforts to safeguard children and protect them from harm.

Importantly, as an educational setting, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves. We believe it is important for children to have an environment in which they feel safe to discuss challenging views.

What does this mean in practice?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

  • Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
  • Challenging prejudices (behaviour which contradicts any aspect of Equality Law)
  • Developing thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy
  • We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist, extreme or terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Prevent relate to British values?

Schools have been required to promote British values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy. British values include:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty and mutual respect
  • Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not simply about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect.

The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others.

We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

Who should I contact if I am concerned about a possible terrorism event?

The UK Anti-terror Hotline, on 0800 789 321.

To view "Let's Talk About It" ,the preventing terrorism website, please click here.

Key Terms

  • Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs
  • Ideology – a set of beliefs
  • Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause
  • Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremist behaviour