Child Protection and Safeguarding at Richard Taylor School.

 

It is the school’s highest priority to work with parents and outside agencies to make sure that all of the children in our care remain safe at all times.

https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/

Any parents who are worried that a child is at risk can either contact the school or seek information via the website www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk or by following the link below.

Alternatively, if you are concerned about the welfare of a child, out of hours, you can use the following telephone number: 0845 034 9417.

 

https://www.childline.org.uk/

Other useful websites include the NSPCC homepage and Childline, click on each logo to find out more.

The school works regularly with the NSPCC to deliver training to pupils on how to stay safe.

There are many other useful links which can be found in the e-safety section of this page. 

We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission, or it is necessary to do so in order to protect a child. 

School will share with parents any concerns we may have about their child unless to do so may place a child at risk of harm. 

We encourage parents to discuss any concerns they may have with their child’s class teacher or senior child protection managers in school. 

The School’s Child Protection Policy is available in the policies section of the school website. All new parents are made aware of our child protection policies and procedures at our induction meeting and via the school brochure. 

Richard Taylor C.E. Primary School is committed to ensuring the welfare and safety of all children in school. All North Yorkshire schools, including Richard Taylor School, follow the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board procedures. The school will, in most circumstances, endeavour to discuss all concerns with parents about their children. However, there may be exceptional circumstances when the school will discuss concerns with Social Care and/or the Police without parental knowledge (in accordance with Child Protection procedures). The school will, of course, always aim to maintain a positive relationship with all parents. The school’s child protection policy is available on request and on Policies page of our website

All teaching staff, support staff and midday supervisors and governors have received training in how to deal with child protection issues in school. Mr A Symonds is the senior designated child protection officer in school. Mrs E Crisell and Mrs Styles are the deputy senior designated child protection officers in school. Dr Jan Johnson is the child protection governor. The school Child Protection Policy is updated annually to reflect changes to practice, personnel and training. 

The school maintains a detailed single central record regarding the appointment of all staff. All appointment panels include a governor or senior manager who is fully training in safer recruitment practices. 

The school also fulfils its statutory duties with regard to the government’s Prevent programme. This ensures that children are protected against extremist views and recognise ‘British Values’.  

 

 

Safeguarding Leads

Photo of Mr A Symonds
Senior Designated Child Protection Officer

Mr A Symonds

Photo of Mrs E Crisell
Deputy Senior Designated Child Protection Officer

Mrs E Crisell

Deputy Senior Designated Child Protection Officer

Mrs E Styles

Photo of Dr J Johnson
Child Protection Governor

Dr J Johnson

E-safety at Richard Taylor School

See our Internet Safety Information Evening Presentation byclicking here 

The internet has changed all of our lives, particularly our children’s. It is a wonderful tool but one which can put children at risk if they are not taught how to stay safe online. 

At RTS e-safety is at the heart of our computing curriculum. Your children are taught how to stay safe online. 

The links established on this page will help you to support the work of the school in training your child to stay safe online and recognise the risks. 

There are many age-appropriate activities which you can do with your children. 

BBC Children in Need https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/about-us/staying-safe-online/

CBBC have some great games and videos to help children stay safe online. 

 

https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/ThinkUKnow 

This is part of the CEOP website which has some of the very best advice and guidance for parents and children. It is an excellent resource which is divided into sections and contains large amounts of information, games and resources about internet and mobile phone safety issues. 

NetSmartz Kids 

This is an interactive way of teaching young people how to recognize dangers and increase self-confidence whenever they go online. Includes games and puzzles. 

 

Understanding Screen Addiction and Responsible Digital Use 

Child Safe Search Engines 

These are links to search engines that are considered safe for children: 

Further Guidance for Parents 

Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online. 

Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see. 

Use parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start, and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly. Find your service provider and learn how to set your controls. 

If you want further information, please contact your child’s class teacher or Miss Hamer, who is the school’s computing & e-safety coordinator. 

 

School E-safety Policy. 

Below is a link to the school’s e-safety policy which outlines in more detail how the school maintains e-safety. Need New Link  

 

 

Reporting Cohttps://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/ncerns 

If you have any concerns regarding any aspect of e-safety you can report them on the CEOPs website via the link below. 

 

The Prevent Strategy, A Guide for Parents. 

 ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ – Matthew (ch22 vs39)

At Richard Taylor School we are proud of the inclusive values that we promote within our community. Prevent is the government’s national strategy for ensuring that children in schools are protected against extreme ideas and ideologies. 

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. 

The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes. 

You can read the School’s Prevent Statement via the link below

RTS Prevent Strategy Statement 

From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism 

This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or violence. 

Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves. 

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. 

These include: 

  • Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity 
  • Challenging prejudices and racist comments 
  • Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity 
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy. 

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they cannot access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils. 

Different Schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community. 

Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs 

Ideology – a set of beliefs 

Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause. 

Radicalisation – the pro cess by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism. 

Frequently asked questions 

Schools have been requires to promote British Values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent Strategy 

British Values include: 

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty and mutual respect
  • Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. 

The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved. 

 

Extremism can take many forms, including political religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of this may be a bigger threat in our area than others. 

We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives. 

 

Contact the school if you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent strategy and what it means for your child. 

See our policies – you will find more details about radicalisation in our safeguarding policy which is available on the school website under policies. 

Operation Encompass 

Richard Taylor School has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between all schools, academies and colleges in York and North Yorkshire Police. 

This project, Operation Encompass, has been designed to provide early reporting to schools of any domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of normal school hours and that might have had an impact on a child attending our premises the following day. This information will be shared at the earliest opportunity between Monday to Friday and when an incident occurs on weekend the school will be notified on the Monday by the police. 

A nominated member of school staff, known as a key adult, will receive the information the police. They will be able to use information that has been shared with them, in confidence, to ensure that we able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children or their families. Information will be shared where it is identified that a child or young person was present, witnessed or was involved in a domestic abuse incident. 

Operation Encompass has already proved to be very effective in providing appropriate support to children. 

We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our children and we believe this is initiative is going to be extremely beneficial and supportive for all those involved.