The staff and governors at St Paul's are comitted to safeguarding children and young people. We have a duty to ensure that no child in our care is at risk or at harm, at any time, including the time when they are at school.

What is safeguarding?

It can be difficult to accept or comprehend but all children are at risk of harm or abuse. Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means professionals have a duty to:

• protect children from maltreatment
• prevent impairment of children's health or development
• ensure that children grow up in circumstances which are safe
• take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

The government advise: "the action we take to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm is everyone's responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play'.

Is there safeguarding legislation?

The law states that people who work with children have to keep them safe. This legislation is set out in The Children's Act (1989 and 2004) and features in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets our children's rights to be free from abuse. The document Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 sets out guidance for schools and other settings who care for children.

What does this mean in practice?

The school has a legal obligation to report any concerns about a child if they feel that a child may be subject to neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse. This includes concerns about the child in the home and the wider environment. If we have such a concern, we will contact Children's Services at the local authority to ensure that concerns are dealt with in a manner which puts the well-being of the child as priority. We appreciate that parents and carers can find these events very worrying and upsetting. Whenever possible, we will discuss concerns with parents before seeking advice to safeguard a child; however, there are some incidences when we are obliged to seek support from a professional trained to investigate safeguarding concerrns.

Please visit our policies page to see our policies on Child Protection and Safeguarding.