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Safeguarding

The Queens' Federation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, volunteers and visitors to share in this commitment. Staff work hard to maintain an environment where children feel safe, secure and heard.

The curriculum is designed to ensure opportunities for children to develop the skills they need to stay safe. Children know that they can approach any of the adults in school if they are worried and that they will receive a consistent supportive response.

In recognising our responsibilities for Safeguarding and Child Protection, as a school we:

  • have clear staff recruitment and selection procedures, ensuring that all staff (including volunteers) who have unsupervised access to children, have been appropriately checked for their suitability through the DBS procedure.
  • aim to raise awareness of child protection issues  and equip children with the skills needed to keep them safe.
  • develop and implement procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases of abuse.
  • support children who have a child protection plan.
  • establish a safe and nurturing environment free from discrimination or bullying where children can learn and develop happily.
  • Support staff by ensuring that they receive relevant training for safeguarding and child protection, that pertain to their role.

We have many parents helpers in school helping class teachers in a variety of ways, such as listening to readers, overseeing art and craft activities, supporting children using the computers, supervising swimming, helping in the library, transporting children to sports matches, accompanying classes on outings or completing classroom administrative tasks – the list is endless!  Your time and talents are always greatly valued by staff.

In accordance with legal requirements all parents volunteering at school must complete a Registration Form for Voluntary Helpers available at the school office or to download from our Volunteering page.  Where parents are working with children unsupervised they will be required to have an Enhanced DBS Check, which the school office will process. We are bound by Local Authority guidance to report any suspected incident of child abuse or neglect to Children's Social Care.  The Queens' Federation acknowledges the distress this causes families, particularly if after the investigation is completed the allegations are proved to be groundless.  Nevertheless, we have a duty to act in the best interests of the child and we hope parents will endeavour to work with the school and to maintain a positive relationship with our staff should such circumstances arise.

If you would like to know more about our policy or procedures for Safeguarding, please speak to Sarah Jarman, Designated Safeguarding Lead or our Deputy Designated Leads for Child Protection, Clare Chapman and Hayley Brooker. To view our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy, please click here.

Keeping Safe Online

At the Queens’ Federation, we know that technology can be a brilliant tool for enhancing learning and communicating with others. However, we are also aware of the need to educate our pupils about the potential risks around using computers and the Internet.

In school, children are taught the SMART rules to give them guidance and an understanding of the basic internet rules to keep themselves safe.

SAFE 
Keep your personal information safe. When chatting or posting online don’t give away things like your full name, password or home address. Remember personal information can be seen in images and videos you share too. Keep them safe to keep yourself safe. 

MEET 
Meeting up with someone you only know online, even a friend of a friend, can be dangerous as this person is still a stranger. If someone you only know online ever asks you to meet up, for personal information or for photos/videos of you then tell an adult straight away and report them together on www.thinkuknow.co.uk 

ACCEPTING 
Think carefully before you click on or open something online (e.g. links, adverts, friend requests, photos) as you never know where they may lead to or they may contain viruses. Do not accept something if you are unsure of who the person is or what they’ve sent you. 

RELIABLE 
You cannot trust everything you see online as some things can be out of date, inaccurate or not entirely true. To find reliable information compare at least three different websites, check in books and talk to someone about what you have found. 

TELL 
Tell a trusted adult if something or someone ever makes you feel upset, worried or confused. This could be if you or someone you know is being bullied online. There are lots of people who will be able to help you like your teachers, parents, carers or contact Childline – 0800 11 11 or www.childline.org.uk

Staying safe at home 

It is also important that internet safety rules are discussed at home. The GOLDen rules are helpful to discuss with your children.  

Ground Rules 

  • Discuss and agree as a family how the internet will be used in your house at a level that is appropriate to your children’s ability and age.  
  • Discuss with your children what they think is and isn’t acceptable to do online, then add your own rules and boundaries to the list.  
  • Decide on what information should be kept private online, such as contact information, photos in school uniform, and agree rules for making and meeting online friends.  
  • Set clear boundaries relating to use of video chat, live streaming and live voice on different devices; even when children are talking to people they already know, they can still experience risks. 

Online Safety 

  • Make the most of the parental controls on your children’s internet enabled devices and games consoles to help restrict access to inappropriate content. They can also help you manage how much time your child spends online. 
  • Be aware that parental control tools and filters are not always 100% effective and you can’t rely on them alone to protect your child online. It’s important to monitor and supervise your child’s online activities; where possible access should take place in a family area, but this will depend on the age and ability of your child. 

Learning 

  • The internet provides vast opportunities for children, both educationally and socially, especially during the current situation. 
  • Encourage your child’s creativity by teaching them how to take photos or make videos safely; these can be used to make a collage or be shared with family and friends.  
  • Being online should be a sociable activity; keep your devices in a communal area and take it in turns to choose a game or video that the whole family can enjoy together.  

Dialogue 

  • Maintain an open mind and positive attitude when talking with your child about the internet.  
  • Ask your child which games, apps, websites or tools they like to use and why; playing together with your child can often open opportunities to discuss safe behaviour online.  
  • Ask your child if they know where to go for help. Do they know where to find safety advice or information about privacy settings and know how to report or block users on their games and websites?  
  • Make sure your child knows that they should come to you, or another trusted adult, for help if something happens online that makes them feel scared, worried or uncomfortable. 

Helpful websites to explore: 

The following websites and resources are core, authoritative places to visit for advice about the tools your children are asking to use and the age restrictions associated with such tools. They also offer advice on how to enable parental settings on devices at home in order to keep your children safer. 

Here are further websites to use to seek additional advice:  

Purple Mash 

At the Queens’ Federation, we use Purple Mash to support our teaching of Computing. Their ‘Parenting a Digital World’ booklet is  informative guide to help support you in enabling your child to grow into a responsible digital citizen who is able to keep themselves safe while, at the same time, getting the very best from the digital world. 

In the guide 'Parenting in a Digital World - Purple Mash Guidance' below, you will find tips and advice for each of the key areas of online safety for primary-aged children. Each of these areas is further broken down into tips for parents of children aged 5 to 7 and for those of children aged 7 to 11. 

Our duty under the Prevent Strategy - Please see 'Prevent Pamphlet for Parents' below.

  1. Prevent Pamphlet for Parents
  2. Parenting in a Digital World - Purple Mash Guidance
  3. Safeguarding and Welfare
  4. Prevent action plan 2023
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