In this section
Child Protection Policy
DSLs at Peak Dale - Mrs N. Doughty, Mr. J Handley. Dove Holes- Mrs N. Doughty, Mr. J Handley, Mrs C Walsh . Taddington, Mrs E Chapman , Mr. J Handley. Mrs N. Doughty.
Mr. J Handley are also Designated Teachers for looked after children.
The Limestone Peak Federation ( Dove Holes, Peak Dale and Taddingon) operates a whole school approach and ethos to safeguarding and protecting children. Where safeguarding is concerned, we maintain an attitude of “it could happen here”. We recognise that everyone in the school has a role to play to keep children safe; this includes identifying concerns, sharing information, and taking prompt action. Safeguarding and child protection is incorporated in all relevant aspects of processes and policy development. All systems, processes and policies operate with the best interests of a child at their centre.
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We ensure that all children are safeguarded while on or off school premises and are proactive about anticipating and managing risks that children face in the wider community and online. To support this the school assesses the risks and issues in the wider community when considering the well-being and safety of its learners. Due to the context of our school, our children may be at greater risk of domestic abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.
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To protect our learners, we have a Prevent action plan/risk assessment and are part of the Stopping Domestic Abuse Together (SDAT) initiative. We have a clear Online safety and SRE curriculum alongside our safeguarding curriculum which permeates through the life of the school we protect our learners by providing them with a voice and always being open to listening to them.
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The Limestone peak Federation recognises we have an important role to play in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and contributes to multi-agency working as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children(2018). As a relevant agency, the school/college understands its role within local safeguarding arrangements and operates in accordance with the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children multi-agency procedures, including the local criteria for action (known as the Threshold document) and local protocols for assessment in Derby and Derbyshire (note: this is currently under review). The school/college is also aware of and implements any local learning where appropriate, such as those as outlined in DDSCP Briefing note: safeguarding school age children and learning from case reviews and other DDSCP briefing notes located in the multi-agency safeguarding children procedures document library. At the Federation, we work closely with our Early Help team, The school nurse, and the Mental Heath Triage service.
Our community
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At Dove Holes, Taddington and Peak Dale, there is a strong working village community who are supportive of the schools. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals and Pupil Premium are lower/inline with national averages. The number of children who have an education, health and care is lower than national.
The Limestone Peak Federation is committed to safeguarding, promoting the welfare of all its pupils and to protecting them from the risks of harm. The Governors expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment by demonstrating their understanding of how each individual adult working on behalf of the school has an active part to play in protecting children from harm and promoting their welfare. Our links to our local community are strong; we share safeguarding advice with our parents via noticeboards in school, the school website and a weekly newsletters. We have good transition procedures in place with our feeder nurseries ; the children visit school regularly prior to starting school in September, the staff visit the nursery setting and parents are involved and informed during transition. As a community, we have to be aware of the challenges presented by living in a very non- diverse and monoethnic area with a significant number of parents who work yet find it difficult to make ends meet but who do not qualify for universal credit nor free Public school meals.
Unresolved parental conflict and separation can be another common challenge to our children’s wellbeing. All staff must be clear about their own role and that of others in providing a caring and safe environment for all pupils and must know how they should respond to any concerns about an individual child that may arise. To this end The Federation will ensure that all staff (whether permanent or temporary) and volunteers know who the senior designated leads are with overall responsibility for child protection. The Designated Leads for Child Protection details can be found on Page 25 of our Safeguarding policy. In the absence of the designated person we will ensure that we have a member of staff who has the knowledge and skills necessary to deputise. All staff will receive training during their induction period, and annually thereafter in order that they are equipped with the skills needed to keep children safe.
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The Federation will always follow safe recruitment procedures so that we can be confident that all adults working in our school are safe to do so .
Safeguarding Statement
At all schools within the Federation, we want our pupils to grow up as confident, happy young people. We want our schools to be a place where everyone feels safe, secure and supported. We want teaching to be effective and engaging, and learning to be enjoyable and fun. We want all our children, regardless of their background or ability, to reach their full potential and to be proud of their work and achievements. We want there to be clear communication between school and home, and for parents to feel fully involved. We value, and want to be valued by our local community. We are dedicated to working together to achieve this for our school. Our safeguarding arrangements are underpinned by four key principles:
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Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility: all Staff/anyone who has contact with a child or young person including Governors and volunteers should play their full part in keeping children safe;
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We will aim to protect children using national, local and school child protection procedures;
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That all Staff/anyone who has contact with a child or young person including Governors and volunteers have a clear understanding regarding abuse and neglect in all forms; including how to identify, respond and report. This also includes knowledge in the process for allegations against professionals. Staff, (Governors and Volunteers) should feel confident that they can report all matters of Safeguarding in the School where the information will be dealt with swiftly and securely, following the correct procedures with the safety and wellbeing of the children in mind at all times;
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That we operate a child-centred approach: a clear understanding of the needs, wishes, views and voices of children.