Safeguarding children incorporates a number of areas including:
* safety within school, including employment of staff
* safety within the home
* appropriate use of technology, including use of the internet
* enjoyment of the outdoors and educational visits
* children learning their own skills in identifying risk and risk management
* children learning strategies for identifying and reporting their abuse
Our designated staff for safeguarding and child protection can be contacted on 01736 330005 for any concerns regarding the safety of a child. Any member of the public can also discuss their concerns or make a referral by contacting the Multi Agency Referral Unit (MARU) on 0300 1231 116.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Designated Teacher for Children in Care
Senior Mental Health Lead
Safeguarding Governor
We ensure our staff and children are as knowledgeable as possible about the benefits and potential risks associated with using the internet. Every term, the whole school has a week dedicated to online safety skills, finishing with an assembly to share the learning.
Our online safety and acceptable use policies are reviewed regularly and are reflective of the best practice advised by the Department for Education and national sites such as Internet Matters, The Safer Internet Centre and the NSPCC.
The school's robust filtering and monitoring systems minimise the risk of inappropriate content being exposed to children in class. Home internet systems however, do not always have these in place, where children are more likely to be online by themselves. There are a variety of sites and resources to support parents in keeping their children safe when online, including advice for social media apps.
Set parent controls on your home internet
St Mary's is an Operation Encompass school and is supporting children through Key Adults. It is the early reporting to schools, that a child or young person has been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident the previous evening. The information is confidential between the school's Key Adults, to enable support to be given, dependent on the needs and wishes of the child.
St Mary's has two Key Adults: Miss Teixeira, and Miss Correnti.