Staff

362. All staff, supply staff, contractors and visitors, are informed of the name of the DSL and deputies and our procedures for protecting children, for example, how to report their concerns, suspicions and how to receive, record and report disclosures.

363. Staff should not accept personal invitation visits to the homes of children unless permission or instruction has been sought from the Headteacher and it is viewed as a professional appointment, for example, supporting education welfare issues etc. This should be viewed on a case-by-case basis. To support this, guidance from the Department of Education (September 2010) states ‘Meetings with pupils away from the school premises should only be arranged with the specified approval of the head teacher and the prior permission of the pupil in question’. We accept this guidance from the Department of Education (September 2010) stating that in the case of private meetings; ‘Staff and volunteers should be aware that private meetings with individual pupils could give cause for concern. There will be occasions when a confidential interview or a one-to-one meeting is necessary. Such interviews should be conducted in a room with visual access or an area which is likely to be frequented by other people. Another pupil or adult should be present or nearby. Where conditions cannot apply, staff should ensure that another adult knows that the interview is taking place’.

Parents

364. Parents play an important role in protecting their children from abuse. We are required to consider the safety of the child and should a concern arise, professional advice may be sought prior to contacting parents. If deemed appropriate, parents will be contacted, and we will continue to work with them to support the needs of their child. Consent from the parents will be sought, although in exceptional circumstances and with the best interests of the child being considered, this may be overridden.

365. We aim to help parents understand their responsibility for the welfare of all children, which includes their duty to refer cases to social care services and/or police in the interests of the child. The governing body will include a child protection statement in our prospectus and all parents can view a copy of this policy.

366. Parents that have concerns regarding a member of staff can in the first instance raise those with the Headteacher. This may involve sharing those concerns with the relevant agencies. Where the parent has concerns regarding the Headteacher, the chair of governors should be consulted in the first instance.

367. Parents can liaise with Ofsted on such conduct issues or regulatory concerns, advice can be found on its website www.ofsted.gov.uk.

368. On occasions Ofsted may forward complaints that may raise a safeguarding concern about our school via Family Connect. In such instances, we will work with all agencies within Family Connect to clearly respond to Ofsted on a case by case basis.

369. Parents/Carers can also access Ofsted Parent View which is an online survey questionnaire where parents can give their views. Where possible, this will be monitored regularly by the school/college to quickly address any concerns.

370. Parents can liaise with the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) on such conduct issues or regulatory concerns, advice can be found on its website https://www.isi.net/parents-and-pupils/concerns-about-a-school or contact can be made direct to ISI, you can email concerns@isi.net or call 020 7600 0100 and ask to talk to an appropriate member of staff.

371. All complaints should be made via our complaint’s procedures.

372. We will keep parents informed of all areas of safeguarding and child protection through the regular methods of communication.  

373. We wish to make it clear to parents the standards, behaviour and respect we expect from them and conversely from us. If a parent’s behaviour is a cause for concern, then we will ask them to leave our premises. We wish to make it clear that in serious cases, the head teacher and/or local authority will notify parents in writing that their implied licence to be on our premises is temporarily revoked, subject to any representations that the parent may wish to make. This setting will give parents the opportunity to formally express their views on the decision to bar in writing and this will be reviewed via the complaints policy.

374. Our setting is private place. We will therefore act to ensure they remain a safe place for all. The public has no automatic right of entry.

375. We expect parents to talk to us about any concerns they have about care and education provided by us in the first instance. We urge all parents not to express these concerns on social media platforms, at least not before sharing these concerns with us first.