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SAFEGUARDING

What is Safeguarding?

Children should be free from harm and danger. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that they are safe. Safeguarding means protecting children from harm and acting on concerns for a child’s safety and wellbeing. This includes, physical, sexual, emotional, online abuse and neglect.

Why is school involved?

The Children Act 1989 requires everyone working with children to inform Children’s Services about any child thought to be in need of support or at risk of harm. The Education Act 2002 requires all schools to have arrangements to safeguard children. The school has procedures in place to do this and a policy that all staff, volunteers and visitors must work to. You can request a copy from the school office or download it from the school website.

Our Safeguarding Team

What can you expect from us?
  • A safe environment in which your child can learn.
  • We will take good care of your child whilst in school, listening and acting on any concerns they share with us.
  • We keep accurate up to date records.
  • We will contact you if your child is absent and you have not told us why, to ensure they are safe and well.
  • If your child transfers to another school, we will share important information with their new school that will help support your child.
  • We will respond promptly to any concerns you tell us about.
  • Our staff will offer support and assistance when needed.

What will happen if we have concerns for your child?

If a staff member has a concern about your child, they have to report it to the Safeguarding Team. Concerns include:

  • If someone sees an unusual or unexplained injury or mark
  • If your child has said something worrying to us
  • If your child’s behaviour is particularly unusual or worrying
  • If there are any reasons we feel your child may be suffering harm outside of school.

We aim to discuss all concerns with parent or carers, however if we feel your child is at significant risk, we have a legal duty to report this immediately to Children’s Services or Police.

Referral to Children’s Services is made by contacting the MASH Team (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) who give advice on which action to take next, and we may need to fill in a referral form. We will let you know a referral has been made, unless it would place your child at further risk.

What would happen after a referral is made?

An assessment of your child’s needs will be made by a Social Worker or another professional. This may involve a Social Worker contacting you and/or undertaking a home visit where they will speak to you and your child. They may wish to see your child at school. They may also speak to other professionals involved with your family. If the assessment is that your child and your family need further help and support, the Social Worker will discuss this with you.

How will you feel?

We understand that you may feel, angry, worried or upset because we have made a referral, but we have a legal duty to keep children safe. We act in the best interests of the children at all times. This means acting quickly to reduce any risks to a child’s safety.

We feel that working together with parents and carers is always better for your child.

Click on the image below to go to the LBBD website and sign up for the One Borough newsletter:

Click on the image below to view our Online Safety leaflet on how to keep children safe online:

Ultimate guide to Fortnite:

Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Fortnite | Common Sense Media

Ultimate guide to Discord:

Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Discord | Common Sense Media

Ultimate guide to Roblox

Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Roblox | Common Sense Media

Ultimate guide to TikTok

Parents’ Ultimate Guide to TikTok | Common Sense Media

Parent View

Parent survey 2022 results: your views matter!
Thank you so much to everyone who responded to the parent survey in the summer term.  It was great to have over 150 responses and to hear your views on the school. 
 
Overall, you were very positive about the school: 
·         97% of you said that your child felt happy at school 
·         93% that the school had high expectations for your child 
·         96% agreed their child does well at school 
·         96% thought that there were a good range of subjects available at the school 
·         89% would recommend the school to another parent 
·         91% agreed that the school makes sure that their child is well-behaved 

The percentages are all improvements on the survey results in May 2021 and reflects the great progress the school is making. 
Here are a few of your comments: 
 
I like how the staff are all so friendly and approachable and that my child is very happy and learning well. 
 
The environment and all the staff are very good. 
 
The teachers are very good and friendly.  My child feels safe there. 
 
Good communication between parents and teachers both in person and online. 
 
Absolutely amazing school.  I moved my children from another  Barking and Dagenham school and it’s the best decision.  The staff are great and attentive to their needs. 
 
The school is making a conscious effort to include parents within daily school life. 
 
The staff are very supportive and listen to the children.  They manage behaviour very well.  My children’s teacher s are very friendly and have high expectations for them.  They are extremely good teachers. 
 
I like that my children feel safe at the school and have good relations with all the teachersd not just the class. 
 
The teachers are friendly and approachable and supportive.  They have high expectations.  The school involves parents and carers very well … The school tries to organise events which are fun for my son. 
 
Child-centred eg playground, trips 
 
I like the mixture of different backgrounds among the pupils and the teachers. 
 
All staff are very supportive and understanding to us and children.  Our daughter settled in very well and both children love going into school.  Also the communication of the school with parents is excellent. 
 
It was really helpful to have your suggestions on how we can improve the school even further.  We have set out some of your main points in the questions and answers below: 
 
What are the plans for clubs next year? 
We will continue to run a range of after-school clubs next year and will be writing to you in early September about what clubs will be available.  There will be a small charge for these clubs to be able to cover our costs; however, they will be free if your child is eligible for Pupil Premium (please speak to the office if you think this might apply to you – we would be happy to help). 
 
Can children have more homework? 
It is always a difficult balance to set the right amount of homework.  Our policy is to provide sufficient homework to support the child’s essential learning in reading, writing and maths.  We also aim to set homework that it is relatively easy for parents/carers to help with at home – for example reading, spellings and times tables.  It really helps your child if you can support them with their homework and ensure that they always complete it. 
 
We appreciate that some of you who would like us to set more homework.  If this applies to you, then please speak to your class teacher about other activities and websites that you could use to support your child at home. 
 
What are the school’s plans for SEN (special educational needs)? 
In September, Ms Thompson (who many of you will know already) will become the school’s full-time SENCo.  This will provide much greater capacity for the school to support children with SEN.  If you have a child with SEN and/or would like to find out more about how the school can help meet your child’s needs, please arrange to speak to Ms Thompson in September. 
 
Can the school gates be opened earlier to avoid overcrowding? 
We are aware that the pavement outside the school gates can become very busy in the mornings.  We have considered whether to open the gates five minutes earlier; however, our concern is that this would simply bring forward the time at which the gates became congested. 
 
We would therefore kindly request that, if you arrive before the gates open, that you respect the space of others (for example, you could wait further down the pavement or on the other side of the road until the gates open) and that you leave promptly after dropping off your child.  The gates stay open for ten minutes so, if you have particular concerns about overcrowding, then you can arrive shortly after opening time.  However, please do remember that arriving too late will impact on your child’s learning time. 
 
Some parents are using inappropriate language at the school gate.   
At James Cambell, we have high expectations of the behaviour of everyone within the school community – children, staff and parents/carers.  We would strongly encourage everyone to behave respectfully towards each other and avoid using bad language.  As adults, we need to make sure that we are role models for the children. 
 
Inappropriate language and behaviour will not be tolerated.  If the school becomes aware of a parent/carer using bad language or displaying inappropriate behaviour, then we will issue them with a letter setting out our expectations and warning them that they could potentially be barred from entering the school’s premises. 
 
Please feel free to speak to us about any inappropriate behaviour that you witness and we will seek to address it. 
 
Can parents in juniors attend Sports Day? 
As many of you will know from our really fun and successful Sports Days, parents from Reception to year 6 are welcome to attend Sports Days.  We want to provide as many opportunities as possible for parents/carers to visit the school – for example, through the year group assemblies that many of you have enjoyed this year. 
 
Some reading books are very old-fashioned.  Will the school be looking to get more books that promote equality and avoid gender/sex/racial stereotypes? 
Yes, definitely.  The school is committed to promoting equality and diversity (as well as the love of reading) and we have recently invested in new sets of books for each year group which help achieve this and avoid stereotyping.  We will continue to do this. 
 
How do I find out what the children are learning each term? 
You can find out about what your child will be learning on the curriculum pages of the school website.  If you would like more detail or are unable to access the website, please contact your class teacher who would be happy to discuss with you. 

Please find the Parent View link for James Cambell Primary School here:

https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/parent-view-results/survey/result/159727/10

For Parents
Ofsted Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think of your child’s school, including: 

 – how happy your child is at the school
 – how the school manages bullying or challenging behaviour  

If your child has special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), we will ask how well the school supports them. 

The questionnaire can be completed at any time – you don’t have to wait until the school is being inspected. 

We will use your responses to help us plan inspections. The information you provide can:  

-inform discussions inspectors have with school leaders during an inspection  

-help Ofsted decide when to inspect a school   

In addition to this, we also publish the overall summary of the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This information is anonymised.  

Prevent Parent Guide

Extremist groups use the internet and social media to spread their ideology and recruit vulnerable young people. They know young people are using the internet much more, quite often by themselves, and so utilise these opportunities to exploit and recruit. There is a chance that your child may meet people online or visit websites that could lead them to adopting what is considered extreme views, and become radicalised.

Whether you’d like to protect your child from being radicalised or you are concerned that they may be at risk, click on the guidance below to get expert tips on practical ways you can support them and where you can go for further support.