Safeguarding

We are an Operation Encompass School.

 Operation Encompass directly connects the police with schools to secure better outcomes for children who are subject or witness to police-attended incidents of domestic abuse. Rapid provision of support within the school environment means children are better safeguarded against the short-, medium- and long-term effects of domestic abuse.

At Newton Ferrers Primary School, we strongly recognise the need for vigilant awareness of safeguarding issues. All staff and volunteers have received appropriate training and induction so that they understand their roles and responsibilities and are confident about carrying them out. Staff, pupils, parents, volunteers and governors feel secure that they can raise any issues or concerns about the safety or welfare of children and know that they will be listened to and taken seriously. This is achieved by maintaining an ethos of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. At our school we are not afraid to challenge each other to keep our children safe.

We all have a safeguarding responsibility and have a duty to refer any safeguarding issues to external agencies that need to be involved.

The Designated Leads for Child Protection at Newton Ferrers are:

Designated Safeguarding Lead - Mrs Penny Bishop

(Head of School)

Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Mrs Justine Dixon

(Deputy Head of School)

At Newton Ferrers Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that all children are safe during their time with us. Our safeguarding covers many aspects including:

• Recruiting staff and volunteers
• Allowing visitors into the school
• Checking attendance and following up any low attendance
• Ensuring play-times are safe and enjoyable for all pupils
• Educating our pupils about bullying, on line safety, staying safe in the community, drug and alcohol awareness and health education
• Training staff and volunteers

If you would like a paper copy of this or any other policy then please let the office know. 

Our procedures for visitors, volunteers and parents:

• All parents, volunteers and visitors who come into the main school MUST sign in on our electronic ipad which will be in the main reception and have a visible yellow ‘parent visitor’ sticker before entering the school.  The only exception is Friday Celebration assembly and productions where an adult will be around to guide parents and visitors into the hall.
• During open classrooms, parent evenings and school lunches, when we invite parents into school, a yellow sticker must be worn by parents.  This will be collected from Reception.  All parents will need to be visible by a school adult.
• There will be no direct access to the classrooms before or after school.  All access to the school must be through the main office.  Parents can still take children to the playground in the morning.  There will be staff on the playground who will collect children at the beginning of the day although we encourage you to use the MyEd messaging system should you have any questions for staff as in the morning staff will be setting up their classrooms.
• Mobile phones or recording devices should not be used by any parents or visitors.  The exception to this is during school performances however this should never be put onto social media and should only be of your child.
• Volunteers will only be allowed into school to help with our children once they have had this training.  All volunteers must have a visible lanyard on them at all times so children are aware that they are safe to be around.
• Staff have been told if lanyards or stickers are not visible, they will take the adult to School Reception so the correct procedures can be put in place.

Worried about a child’s safety?

If you are concerned about the safety of a child in Devon and want to speak to someone, or if you are a child worried about your own safety, contact our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0345 155 1071 or email mashsecure@devon.gov.uk and give as much information as you can.

If a child is at immediate risk contact the police on 999.

If you have a complaint or need to make an allegation about a member of staff or volunteer at the school, please contact the Head of School, Jason Stephens, in the first instance by email at admin@newton-ferrers.devon.sch.uk, by telephone 01752 872630 or in person by popping into the reception. If you are still unhappy or the complaint or allegation is about the Head of School, please contact the Executive Head of Teaching and Learning, Rachael Caunter, by email at admin@firstfederation.org.uk or by phoning 01626 821316 (option 4). All allegations and complaints are treated in the strictest confidence and will be dealt with immediately.

You can find more information about our approach to safeguarding as a Trust at:  

First Federation - Safeguarding.