Rabbsfarm Primary School

Safeguarding is our duty of care to minimise the risk of harm to children regardless of their age, gender, religion or ethnicity.

The purpose of our safeguarding policy  is to provide a secure framework for our workforce in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of those pupils who attend our school.

The policy aims to ensure that:

• All our pupils are safe and protected from harm
• Other elements of provision, policies and guidelines are in place to enable our pupils to feel safe and adopt safe practices
• Staff, pupils, governors, visitors, volunteers, parents and carers are aware of the expected behaviours and the school’s legal responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils.

Safeguarding children and young people is a priority at Rabbsfarm Primary School. We have a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, which is reviewed annually in line with the statutory requirements. Our dedicated safeguarding team monitor the safety and welfare of all students at Rabbsfarm.

• Mrs Helen Okoro – Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) / Headteacher
• Mrs Sara Daly  – Designated Safeguarding Lead / Inclusion Manager
• Mrs Toni Husbands – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead / S&E Support
• Ms Denise Gray – Designated Safeguarding Lead / Vice Chair of Governors

The purpose of our safeguarding policy is to ensure that procedures are in place so that every child who attends our school is and feels safe and protected.   

Click here for our Safeguarding Policy (Child Protection Policy). 

Studies have shown that safeguarding themes need to be embedded in the school-wide curriculum rather than treated as separate matters. Protection of students has been seen to be enhanced when attention to student welfare is addressed in its broadest sense. Students respond well to open discussions addressing their wellbeing and that of others.

The studies also show that safeguarding students is particularly effective when issues relating to safeguarding and wellbeing (including sensitive topics such as domestic violence and abuse) are embedded in the curriculum, and when structures are in place to enable staff and students to feel safe to raise concerns and seek support.

At Rabbsfarm, in addition to ensuring our safeguarding procedures and training are of the highest standard and ensuring staff remain vigilant, we also recognise the need to safeguard our students through education and the curriculum within school.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) September 2023 outlines that:

• Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that children are taught about safeguarding, including online safety. Schools should consider this as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum.
• This may include covering relevant issues through Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education (formerly known as Sex and Relationship Education), tutorials (in colleges) and/or where delivered, through Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) September 2023 outlines that:

• All staff should have an awareness of safeguarding issues that can put children at risk of harm. Behaviours linked to issues such as drug taking, alcohol abuse, deliberately missing education and sexting (also known as youth produced sexual imagery) put children in danger.
• All staff should be aware that safeguarding issues can manifest themselves via peer on peer abuse. This is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:
• bullying (including cyberbullying)
• physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm
• sexual violence and sexual harassment
• sexting (also known as youth produced sexual imagery)
• initiation/hazing type violence and rituals.
• All staff should be clear as to the school’s or college’s policy and procedures with regards to peer on peer abuse.

At Rabbsfarm, PSHCE lessons, including Relationships and Sex Education, are of particular importance in helping students to understand such issues as domestic violence, abuse in peer relationships, sexual exploitation, and drug and alcohol abuse. The PSHCE curriculum plays an important role in helping students to recognise dangerous situations/when they or others are at risk and find routes to getting help.

See our School Policies section for our Safeguarding Policy (Child Protection Policy).

Our duty of care to minimise the risk of harm to pupils in our school extends their use of the internet. This policy is intended to ensure that all children are able to use the internet appropriately and safely.

Further information relating to e-safeguarding at Rabbsfarm Primary School can be found by visiting the Internet Safety area of our website.

Click on the 'e-Safety' icon below for our e-Safety Policy.

As part of our ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties, we are fully behind the government's Prevent Strategy.

From 1 July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism'. This duty is known as the Prevent Duty for Schools.

At Rabbsfarm, we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views at an age-appropraite level. You can read about what we do to promote British values by clicking the 'British Values' button below.

We take seriously our duty contained in the Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015), to prevent pupils and those working in school from being radicalised or drawn into extremism. We follow the advice contained within the Prevent Duty (June 2015) in conjunction with the other duties, which we already have for keeping children safe in school.  For further details, please refer to our safeguarding policy (above).

The NSPCC has written an article explaining why radicalisation is a child protection issue: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/dedicated-helplines/protecting-children-from-radicalisation/