SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN
Your child’s welfare is of paramount importance to us. It is our statutory duty of care to safeguard your child. We will also seek external support if we have any concerns about your child and, in some instances, this may mean that we consult with other agencies even before we contact you.
The procedures we follow have been laid down by the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board. If you want to know more about this procedure, please speak to the Headteacher, a member of SLT or a DSL.
At St Mary’s, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff, governors, parents, volunteers and visitors to share in this commitment.
The Lead DSL is Mrs Davis.
The Deputy DSL is Mrs Yorke, the Headteacher.
There is also a team of DSLs consisting of Mrs Davis and Mrs Yorke, Mrs Jones, Mrs Richards, Mrs Tame, Mrs Noone and Miss Preedy.
You may approach any of these staff members if you have a concern about any safeguarding issue.
Safeguarding issues can also be raised by emailing DSL@stmaryrc.bham.sch.uk
The Safeguarding Link governor is Mary Higgins.
Leads for other Safeguarding matters:
Single Point of Contact (SPOC): Mrs Davis
Educational Visits Co-Ordinator: Mrs Davis
Looked- After Children Lead: Mrs Davis
Mental Health Lead: Mrs Tame
Operation Encompass key adult: Mrs Davis
Children's Advice & Support Service
The Children's Advice and Support Service (CASS) provides a single point of contact for professionals and members of the public who want to access support or raise concerns about a child.
We want to keep all children and young people in Birmingham safe from harm. If you are concerned about a child please contact CASS who will listen, assess your concerns and can take action if a child is at risk.
Contact details
Monday to Thursday: 8:45am to 5:15pm
Friday: 8:45am to 4:15pm
Telephone: 0121 303 1888
Emergency out-of-hours
Telephone: 0121 675 4806
To report a concern about a child or to request support for a child or family - click here.
St Mary's Early Help Offer
What is Early Help?
Early Help means providing help for children, young people and families as soon as problems start to emerge or where it is likely that issues will impact negatively on children’s outcomes.
Early Help…
• is for children of all ages and not just the very young,
• can be very effective in supporting a child, young person and/or their family to step down from statutory services as well as preventing the escalation of issues.
• is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for children.
Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Safeguarding Children’s Trust recognises that Early Help is a term that describes much of the everyday work of schools.
Early Help in Birmingham
The vision of all partner organisations working with children and families in Birmingham is to improve children’s lives by working in partnership to raise aspirations, build achievement and protect the most vulnerable.
This is based on the belief that:
• Children, young people and families develop resilience if there are protective factors in place such as: a positive relationship with an adult; good literacy and communication skills; good school attendance; and, parents in or actively seeking/ready for work
• Children’s needs are best met when help is offered in a universal setting within a socially mixed group and early on when problems start to emerge
• Children and young people’s needs are best met when addressed in the context of the whole family, meaning that parents/carers/siblings’ needs are addressed with consent as part of a holistic and integrated Early Help response
Early Help services should support and strengthen families so that they can thrive.
The Role of Schools
Day to Day Support
Most families, most of the time, can get on with their lives quite happily with little or no outside help. If they need help it is usually provided by universal services, such as schools.
Focused Pastoral Support
All families can have times, however, when difficulties arise and they either may not recognise it or may not know how to start putting things right. Schools play a role in supporting families to address these difficulties through more focused pastoral support, which might include bringing in support via an external agency.
Early Help Assessment
For those children and families whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, or where schools need the support of other agencies to meet the needs of the family, a coordinated multi-agency approach is usually best. In Birmingham this is achieved through undertaking an Early Help Assessment and assigning a Lead Practitioner to work closely with the family to ensure they receive the support they require. Schools should be a key partner in any multi-agency work to support families
The following four commitments are the core elements to St Mary's Catholic Primary School’s Early Help Offer.
By implementing these commitments St Mary's Catholic Primary School aims to ensure:
• Pupils, parent/carers and staff are clear on the Early Help support available through the school
• Clarity for partners, supporting improved multi-agency working
• Delivery approaches of Early Help support for more vulnerable families are up to date with local offers
• Commitment to the personal development and well-being strand of the Ofsted Framework