Safeguarding

This school and the local authority are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check is required for all posts prior to commencement.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment.
• Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development.
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances.

Keeping Children Safe in Education ( KCSiE), DfE 2022 states that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training(including online safety) at induction. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection ( including online safety) updates  (for example, via email, e-bulletins and staff meetings), as required, but at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.

At Wheatfields Infants’ and Nursery School, all staff are trained at Level 1 and the DSL delivers an annual update using materials provided by Hertfordshire Child Protection School Liaison Team, in line with the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (HSCB) procedures and national guidance. Staff are informed of updates and changes to legislation by email and staff briefings.

Staff are given additional training in The Prevent Duty. FGM, and Online Safety

In addition 5 members of staff are trained as Level 2 Designated Safeguarding Leads.

The lead DSL is Jayne Nicholl, Assistant Head for Safeguarding, Inclusion and Behaviour and SENCO.

The deputies are

Clare Cockburn, Head Teacher

Juliet Norman, Associate Assistant Headteacher

Liz Pratt

Jo Campbell

We have 2 members of staff trained as STEPS trainers ( Liz Pratt and Ilmiyat Khatun) and all staff undergo an initial 6 hour training followed up with a 3 hour refresher course annually.

If you have a safeguarding concern, either in or out of school hours, please email admin@wheatfieldsinfants.aat.school.   This email is continuously monitored.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass Safeguarding Statement

Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse.

Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school PRIOR to the start of the next school day when they have been called to a domestic incident.

Once a Key Adult (DSL) has attended at an Operation Encompass briefing they will cascade the principles of Operation Encompass to all DDSL’s.

Our parents are fully aware that we are an Operation Encompass school.

The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.

The Key Adult has also led training for all school staff and Governors about Operation Encompass, the prevalence of Domestic Abuse and the impact of this abuse on children. We have also discussed how we can support our children following the Operation Encompass notification.

We are aware that we must do nothing that puts the child/ren or the non abusing adult at risk.

The Safeguarding Governor will report on Operation Encompass in the termly report to Governors. All information is anonymised for these reports.

The Key Adult has used the Operation Encompass Toolkit to ensure that all appropriate actions have been taken by the school.

Useful Contact Details

If there are any urgent matters,

please contact Children's Services on 0300 1234 043
Should you require any further support, please contact either -
Family Lives Helpline 0808 800 2222
Out of hours Mental health helpline 01438 843 322
Single Point of Access 0300 777 0707
SAHWR Specialist Domestic Abuse service 24 hour line 03301 025811 or St Albans team 01727 824425