Safeguarding

St. Joseph's welcomes the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of families in our federation. We learn a lot from each other and we embrace the opportunity to share our different backgrounds. We recognise that approaches to being a parent can vary within families, ethnic groups and communities.

 

British society acknowledges and affirms cultural diversity but children whatever their cultural background, always have the right to be protected from physical, emotional and psychological harm. Anything that causes harms to a child, whether part of a cultural or faith tradition, is never acceptable. Practices that may be culturally acceptable in some countries are against the law in the United Kingdom.

 

St. Joseph's Camberwell Catholic Schools' Federation is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for children, staff and visitors and promoting a climate where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safely or the well-being of others.

We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Our schools' are committed to safeguarding and child protection of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. The school has a responsibility to protect and promote the welfare of children. If the school has serious concerns regarding any child's welfare, these will be referred to Social Services.

 

This page has been created to offer important information to parents/carers regarding issues surrounding Safeguarding & Child Protection.

• We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support children, families and staff at school.
• We ensure that all staff receive appropriate training, guidance and support to undertake the effective safeguarding of children.

 

If you have concerns there are always three routes available to take to raise these:

• Speak to one of the team below, by making an appointment through the school office.
• Contact Children's Social Services directly at Southwark, by ringing
• Contact the Police, by ringing 101 (non-urgent) or 999 (emergency).

 

                                                                   

 Safeguarding children and young people is everyone's responsibility.

Our schools follow the Southwark Safeguarding Children Board procedures, including PREVENT procedures. Our first priority of course your child's welfare and school is required to take any reasonable action to ensure the safety of its pupils. However, there may be occasions when we have reason to be concerned that a child may be subject to ill-treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse. We will ensure that our concerns about a child are discussed with his/her parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child's welfare. In this case the school is obliged to follow the Child Protection 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 Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and/or the Police without parental knowledge.

 

Referrals

Where there is a safeguarding concern, our systems and process operate with the best interests of the child at heart.

Referrals to services regarding concerns about a child or family typically fall into three categories:

• Early Help Services;
• Child in need - Section 17 (Children Act 1989) referrals;
• Child protection - Section 47 (Children Act 1989) referrals.

 

Policies

Safeguarding is the policies and procedures that schools and Governing Bodies employ to keep children safe and promote their well-being. This means everything from security of the buildings, to the safe recruitment of staff and everything in between. St Joseph's Camberwell Catholic Schools' Federation's Safeguarding and Child Protection Policies are available by clicking the links and are reviewed annually.

 

Safeguarding Policy

Click here to download the Safeguarding Policy 2022

 

The Governing Body keep these policies under regular review. They ensure the Headteacher provides termly updates on safeguarding as part of her report to Governors. The Governing Body appoints a named Governor for Child Protection and Looked after Children. This is Katie Brooks. If you have any concerns about the Headteacher please refer these to the Chair of Governors. Patricia Winters.

Reporting a Concern of Abuse or Neglect

If you have concerns that a child you know is at risk of serious harm through abuse or neglect it is important that you report your worries to the correct agency. Support can be found through the link below which will direct you to children's services or please contact the school for help.

 

This team will use your information to make a decision about how they can best respond to your concerns.

 

You can also report your concerns to the NSPCC who will offer you support and advice if you are feeling worried about a child's safety:

 

  

 

 AFRUCA works in UK BME communities to protect and safeguard children from abuse and harm. 

 

The National Crime Agency's CEOP Education team aim to help protect children from online child sexual abuse.

 

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