We define safeguarding as being broader than ‘child protection’. Safeguarding in our school confirms what we do for all children, applies across the whole school and is linked to our overall culture, ethos and the principles we follow in school. Safeguarding in our school is child centred and ensures that at all times we work in the best interests of the child to ensure that school is a safe place for all of our children and young people to be.

We define Child Protection as what we do for children at risk of significant harm, or who have been significantly harmed, and we have separate clear procedures which are understood by ALL in place for this.

We define children and young people in our school as being children within the age range of 11 to 16 years. However, we are aware that children includes everyone under the age of 18.

As appropriate, to safeguard any young person who is over the age of 18 who continues to receive education in our school, we operate in accordance with local guidance and will report suspicions/allegations of abuse or neglect to the Adult Social Care Gateway Team on 0191 643 2777.

We accept and expect ALL in school to understand that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

In school, we act in the best interest of all children and ensure we take all reasonable steps to prevent them from harm. Having appropriate safeguards in place not only protects and promotes the welfare of children/young people, but also enhances the confidence of pupils, staff, volunteers and parents/carers.

Cause for Concern

In school, we follow the procedures in line with North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Partnership (NTSCP) local Multi-agency Safeguarding arrangements. We are aware of these procedures and ensure that they are incorporated into the practice, policy and procedures that we operate in school.

We will contact North Tyneside’s Front Door Service (see the information attached at the end of this policy - contact details) as the first point of contact with Children’s Social Care Front Door service for concerns about the safety or welfare of a child/young person in North Tyneside. However, we are also aware that we can ring the North Tyneside Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) Professionals Helpline should we need advice prior to calling the

Front Door Service

We understand that the Front Door Service is the access point to the MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) which has a multi-agency duty team who offer information, support and services including information about early help and will respond to concerns.

If you want further information regarding our school policies, please see the 'Reports & Policies' section which you can find on our Home page.

Contextualised Safeguarding

As a school, we take an active role in our local safeguarding network in line with the contextual safeguarding recommendations of KCSIE 2023.

In school, we maintain a vigilant culture to build up as broad a picture as possible of factors affecting our children both at school and outside of school. We work closely with other professionals directly, or signpost support, so that we can meet the needs of our children and, where necessary, the family.

By being vigilant and working with other professionals, we are able to target support through identification of any local social conditions that may affect children’s welfare and ultimately provide the support needed.