Minerva Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all of our pupils and expects all adults working in school, staff and volunteers, to share this commitment. For detailed information please see our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy (see link below).
Sometimes we may need to share information and work with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We ensure that concerns are discussed with parents/carers first unless there is reason to believe that this would be contrary to a child’s welfare.
If you have a concern about a child, you may consult the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or deputies who will be able to look into the matter and decide if action is required to ensure the child’s safety and well being. They can be contacted by email: [email protected] or phone: 01823 337051.
If you believe a child may be at immediate risk of harm, you may make a referral to Somerset Children’s Social Care on 0300 123 2224.
Statutory guidance documents from the Department of Education set out what schools must do to comply with the law:
Our safeguarding policy has been written in response to the Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 guidance. Our policy is reviewed annually; however, we are continually reviewing our procedures in light of any new guidance and local issues that arise.
We are an equal opportunities employer. At least one member of every interview panel has had Safer Recruitment training. All offers of employment are subject to a disclosure and barring check (DBS), medical clearance and satisfactory references.
All visitors to the academy must sign in at main reception, where they will be issued with a visitors badge and lanyard.
Should you have any concerns in terms of safeguarding relating to the behaviour of a member of staff, you should immediately contact the Principal. Should you feel that your concerns have not been dealt with appropriately by the school or Academy Councillors, you should contact the Designated Officer at the Local Authority (Somerset LADO) on 0300 123 2224.
If you have any concerns regarding the safety of the school site, please contact a member of the school’s safeguarding team.
Children at Minerva Primary School use the internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. In school we have regular E-Safety activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online. When using the iPads and laptops children are continually reminded of how to keep themselves safe and get the best from the amazing resources of the internet. The CLF uses Impero to help us monitor the use of the internet and immediately alerts us to any inappropriate content.
Below are a few links to some very useful information regarding E-Safety for parents, carers and children:
Supporting Young People Online
The Thinkuknow website has been designed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, who you may have seen commenting on issues in the News. This is a valuable source of information for children, parents, carers and teachers for learning about E-Safety and has some top tips on issues such as social networking. Jessie & Friends is a new series of three animations which aims to give 4–7-year-olds the knowledge, skills and confidence to help them respond safely to risks they may encounter online.
Childnet’ provides useful links to websites relating to E-Safety for parents and carers.
Minerva Primary School takes its Prevent duty seriously. The Prevent duty became law back in 2015. This is a duty on all schools and registered early years providers to have due regard to preventing people being drawn into terrorism. To protect children in our care, we must be alert to any reason for concern in the child’s life at home or elsewhere.
The Educate Against Hate website has a wealth of information about this subject.
Incidents of extremism and radicalisation are rare and as such when they do occur, make the news. As with all safeguarding issues, it is important to be vigilant, and not complacent, but also not to panic.
Further support can be found on the counter-terrorism website Act Early. The purpose of the ‘Act Early’ site is to increase awareness of the signs of radicalisation, where to go for help and support and to increase understanding and confidence in the referral process.
There is now more emphasis on making sure parents / carers can spot the signs in your children and how to safeguard them.
Female genital mutilation is the mutilation of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is often referred to as female circumcision, ‘cutting’ or ‘sunna’.
If you are worried that this might happen to you or someone you know, you can speak to a member of the safeguarding team in school. They will be able to help and support you.
Alternatively, you can report this abuse by contacting one of the following:
If there’s immediate danger or if you or someone you know is in immediate danger of FGM, contact the police.
Call 999 to report emergencies or 101 for non-emergencies.
You should also contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office if you know a British national who’s already been taken abroad.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Telephone: 020 7008 1500
If you or someone you know is at risk: contact the NSPCC anonymously if you’re worried that a girl or young woman is at risk or is a victim of FGM.
NSPCC FGM Helpline
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0800 028 3550
Sexual exploitation can take many forms from the seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship where sex is exchanged for attention/affection, accommodation or gifts, to serious organised crime and child trafficking. What marks out exploitation is an imbalance of power within the relationship. The perpetrator always holds some kind of power over the victim, increasing the dependence of the victim as the exploitative relationship develops.
The NSPCC has useful information.
Somerset Domestic Abuse provides a range of services for parents who may be experiencing domestic abuse.
Department for Education: support for parents and carers to keep children safe online
CEOP Education Team: provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to help protect children and young people form online child sexual abuse.
Parent Info: a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations.
Internet Matters: provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world.
Let’s Talk About It: advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation.
UK Safer Internet Centre: tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services.
