Safeguarding at Hatherop Castle School

Hatherop Castle School recognises our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.

We endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where young people are respected and valued.  We will be alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and will follow our procedures to ensure that young people receive effective support and protection.

We have put together the information below to explain how we meet our safeguarding and child protection responsibilities.  We have also included some tips to help you to keep your child safe.

Policy and Procedures

Everything we do at the Castle is to enhance our pupil’s experience and their safety is of paramount importance.  We seek to provide a safe and supportive environment where the welfare and health and safety of pupils is valued, promoted and safeguarded so that pupils can learn and progress in a safe and secure environment.

The purpose of our Safeguarding Policy is to ensure that every young person who is registered at the school is safe and protected from harm.

This means that we will always work to:

  • protect children at our school from maltreatment
  • prevent impairment of our pupil’s health or development
  • ensure that children at the Castle grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
  • undertake that role so as to enable pupils at the Castle to have optimum life chances and join their senior school, and ultimately enter adulthood, successfully

Our safeguarding policy aims to:

  • define organisational and individual roles and responsibilities for safeguarding
  • outline our legal responsibilities in relation to safeguarding
  • outline the process for managing safeguarding referrals

We are committed to promoting a positive, supportive and secure environment where pupils can develop a sense of being valued.  We do this through the effective implementation of a series of procedures related to health, safety and well-being, for example through our Pastoral and Behaviour Policies, our SMSC Policy, our Anti-Bullying Policy and our PSHE and RSE policies.

The Safeguarding Policy and other associated policies can be viewed on our ‘Policies’ page under the ‘Key Info’ tab on our website.

Government advice to parents on keeping children safe from abuse and harm can be found here.

Contact

If you have a safeguarding concern about your child or another child who attends the Castle, please contact us on 01285 750206 or at safeguarding@hatheropcastle.co.uk

Sian Dawson is our Designated Safeguarding Lead and Ellie King is Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead with responsibility for the EYFS.  Nigel Reed is the ‘Out of Hours’ Safeguarding Officer.  All members of the Safeguarding team can be contacted using the contact details above.

Further support for children and families can be found on this page: Signposting Support

If you have an immediate concern the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP) Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) can be contacted directly on 01452 426565, or please call the Police on 999.

Online Safety

Now more than ever we need to support our pupils to stay safe and well online. Below are a range of helpful websites and a ‘Guide to online safety’ for you to share with your child as they engage with remote learning and beyond: