Safeguarding
Our priority at Middleton is to establish a safe, nurturing environment in which children can learn and develop. Safeguarding in school covers a wide range of different areas; for example: day-to-day health and safety around school, risk assessments for additional activities and school visits, first aid, e-safety (see separate information under Learning tab), anti-bullying, and being alert to any signs of abuse or concerning behaviours.
Our Safeguarding Policy is the key document outlining measures we take to ensure children's welfare is always prioritised. The policy is reviewed and approved annually by the Governing Board, in line with national and local guidance. Other related policies can be found in the Policies and Procedures link.
The school has six Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), who oversee all matters relating to safeguarding and are the first point of contact if there are any concerns relating to children's welfare:
- Mr Mark Brumwell: Head Teacher
- Mrs Claire Sadler Penn: Deputy Head Teacher
- Mrs Kayleigh Skirton: SENCo
- Mrs Jessica Edwards: SENCo/Asst Head Teacher
- Miss Sarah-Jane Tyrer: EYFS + KS1 leader; Asst Head Teacher
- Mrs Jo Hewitt: ELSA
In addition, members of the Governing Board are delegated to monitoring that we are undertaking our safeguarding and child protection duties effectively. This link role is currently undertaken by Mrs Rachel Dekker.
If we have serious concerns about a child's welfare, it is our legal duty to report these to Children's Social Care. Whilst we will seek, in general, to discuss these concerns with the family and obtain agreement to making a referral, this will only be done where such discussion and agreement seeking will not place a child at increased risk of harm. This procedure is intended to protect children from abuse.
What to do if you are worried about a child:
We would urge anyone who has concerns about a child's welfare, whether that be a member of staff, parent/carer or other member of the wider school community, to act on their concerns. In the first instance, you should ideally contact one of our named DSLs as above to discuss the matter in confidence.
Alternatively, or out of school hours, you can contact the following professionals to raise your concerns:
- Nottingham City Safeguarding Children's Social Care (0115 876 4800)
- The NSPCC on 0808 800500 (HelpLine, when an adult is worried about a child) or 0800 1111 (ChildLine for under 18s).
- If you think a child is in danger, always ring the police first (999 if there may be immediate danger, 101 if you feel a child is at risk but it's not an emergency).
Domestic violence or abuse:
If you are experiencing any form of domestic violence or abuse, do seek help or advice immediately. For women, this can be done by calling a 24 hour helpline for Nottingham on 0808 0808 0340, emailing helpline@junowomensaid.org.uk or visiting www.junowomensaid.org.uk. For men, the number to call is 0115 960 5556.
Links to other areas of safeguarding:
- Bullying and Cyberbullying
- The Prevent Strategy at Middleton (protecting children from extremism and radicalisation)
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
- Other forms of abuse - NSPCC information