Staff Responsibilities at Woodstock CE Primary School

 

Staff Responsibilities:

All staff have a key role to play in identifying concerns early and in providing help for children. To achieve this, they will:

• Establish and maintain an environment where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
• Ensure children know that there are adults in the school who they can approach if they are worried or have concerns.
• Plan opportunities within the curriculum for children to develop the skills they need to recognise, assess and manage risk appropriately and keep themselves safe.
• Attend training in order to be aware of and alert to the signs of abuse.
• Maintain an attitude of “it could happen here” with regards to safeguarding.
• Record their concerns if they are worried that a child is being abused and report these to the DSL as soon as practical that day. If the DSL is not contactable immediately a DDSL should be informed.
• Be prepared to refer directly to Social Care, and the police if appropriate, if there is a risk of significant harm and the DSL or DDSL is not available. 
• Follow the allegations procedures, as set out in this policy and KCSIE 2020, if the disclosure is an allegation against a member of staff.
• Follow the procedures set out by the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) and take account of guidance issued by the DfE.
• Support pupils in line with their child protection plan.
• Treat information with confidentiality but never promising to ‘keep a secret’.
• Notify the DSL or DDSL of any child on a child protection plan or child in need plan who has unexplained absence.
• Have an understanding of Early Help and be prepared to identify and support children who may benefit from early help. 
• Liaise with other agencies that support pupils and provide early help.
• Ensure they know who the DSL and DDSL are and know how to contact them.
• Have an awareness of the Child Protection Policy, the Behaviour Policy, the Staff Behaviour Policy (or Code of Conduct), procedures relating to the safeguarding response for children who go missing from education and the role of the DSL.

 

Senior Leadership Team Responsibilities:

• Contribute to inter-agency working in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children current guidance.
• Provide a co-ordinated offer of early help when additional needs of children are identified.
• Ensure staff are alert to the various factors that can increase the need for early help as written in current KCSIE.
• Working with Children’s Social Care, supporting their assessment and planning processes including the school’s attendance at conference and core group meetings and the contribution of written reports for these meetings.
• Carry out tasks delegated by the governing body such as training of staff, safer recruitment and maintaining a single central register.
• Provide support and advice on all matters pertaining to safeguarding and child protection to all staff, regardless of their position within the school.
• Treat any information shared by staff or pupils with respect and follow agreed policies and procedures.

 

Governing Body Responsibilities

• Ensure the school has effective safeguarding policies and procedures including a Child Protection Policy, a Staff Behaviour Policy or Code of Conduct, a Behaviour Policy and a written response to children who go missing from education. 
• Ensure OSCB is informed in line with local requirements about the discharge of duties via the annual safeguarding report that is returned to the Education Safeguarding Advisory Team.
• Ensure recruitment, selection and induction follows safer recruitment practice including all appropriate checks.
• Ensure allegations against staff are dealt with by the headteacher and that allegations against the headteacher are dealt with by the Chair of Governors.
• Ensure a member of the Senior Leadership Team is appointed as Designated Safeguarding Lead and has this recorded in their job description.
• Ensure staff have been trained appropriately and this is updated in line with guidance.
• Ensure any safeguarding deficiencies or weaknesses are remedied without delay.
• Ensure a nominated governor for safeguarding is identified.

 

DSL  Responsibilities (to be read in conjunction with DSL role description in KCSiE)

 In addition to the role of all staff and the senior management team, the DSL will:

• Refer cases to MASH, and the police where appropriate, in a timely manner avoiding any delay that could place the child at more risk.
• Assist the Governing Body in fulfilling its safeguarding responsibilities set out in legislation and statutory guidance.
• Attend appropriate training and demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development to carry out the role.
• Ensure every member of staff knows who the DSL and the DDSL are, have an awareness of the DSL role and know how to contact them.
• Ensure all staff and volunteers understand their responsibilities in being alert to the signs of abuse and responsibility for referring any concerns about a child to the DSL and concerns about an adult to the headteacher.
• Ensure whole school training occurs regularly, with at least annual updates so that staff and volunteers can fulfil their responsibilities knowledgeably.
• Ensure any members of staff joining the school outside the agreed training schedule receive induction prior to commencement of their duties.
• Keep records of child protection concerns securely and separately from the main pupil file and use these records to assess the likelihood of risk.
• Ensure that safeguarding records are transferred accordingly (separate from pupil files) and in a timely fashion when a child transfers school.
• Ensure that, where a pupil transfers school and is subject to a child protection plan or is a looked after child, their information is passed to the new school immediately and that the child’s social worker is informed. Consideration should be given to convening a transition meeting prior to moving, if the case is complex or on-going.
• Be aware of the training opportunities and information provided by OSCB to ensure staff are aware of the latest local guidance on safeguarding.
• Develop, implement and review procedures in the school that enable the identification and reporting of all cases, or suspected cases, of abuse.
• Meet any other expectations set out for DSLs in KCSiE document.