All staff receive appropriate training in Safeguarding and Child Protection to ensure that they are aware of the school’s procedures for child protection and their responsibilities.  We have a written policy and procedures for Child Protection complying with Local Authority guidance.  The Designated Teachers for Safeguarding are Louise Nichols (Executive Headteacher), Evelyn Deeney (Associate Headteacher) and Ruth Mackintosh (Deputy Headteacher).  The designated governor for Child Protection is Gillian Brady.

Cyber Saftey

E-Safety is taught as an integral part of the Computing Curriculum and PSHE Curriculum throughout a child's time at Kingsmead. To maintain safe internet use in school we have clear rules for responsible use, which are covered with the children and are displayed in classrooms and the E-Learning Zone. 

We have filtering systems in place to prevent children at school accessing websites considered to be unsafe or inappropriate, and encourage parents and carers to recognise the importance of being aware of the online material and websites that their children are accessing at home.

School staff work in conjunction with the latest advice and guidance on the online safeguarding of children. We work in collaboration with parents to address any online issues that concern particular children.

Further information on how to help support e-safety at home is available for parents and carers on this page.

Bullying

It is the responsibility of the whole school to ensure that school is a bully free zone. We are proactive in promoting a caring and positive ethos between all members of the school community. We have a LEAP anti-bullying document which is part of the LEAP Behaviour policy, with very clear procedures in place in the event of an incident involving bullying. We follow the school PSHE curriculum (Jigsaw scheme of work) which includes celebrating difference and relationships with a specific focus on bullying. Every year we celebrate anti-bullying week and involve the children in anti-bullying activities and discussions.

Recording and Reporting Racist Incidents

Under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and Home Office Code of Practice on reporting and recording racist incidents (2000) schools are required to record and investigate all racist incidents and to report them to the Local Authority on a regular basis. Incidents of racism are recorded and monitored as part of the school's behaviour and safeguarding systems. The definition of a racist incident: as recommended in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report 1999:  ‘A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.’

Preventing Radicalisation and Extremism

In line with the DfE's Prevent Duty guidance (2015) we are committed to actively promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those with different Faiths and Beliefs. Our core mission of diversity permeates all we do. We place a strong emphasis on the common values that all communities share such as self-respect, tolerance and the sanctity of life. We work hard to broaden our children's experiences, to prepare them for life and work in contemporary Britain. We teach them to respect, value & celebrate the diversity around them. We recognise that we have a responsibility to protect children from all forms of extremism and this forms an integral part of our Safeguarding Policy. This includes the use of internet filtering systems in school, to ensure children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when using the internet. If you have any concerns regarding radicalisation and extremism please contact one of our Safeguarding Officers (Ruth Mackintosh, Evelyn Deeney, Louise Nichols) at the school. All staff receive training on their Prevent duty.

Please try and make appointments out of school hours if possible. If you have to collect your child during the school day for a medical or dental appointment, please contact the school office. 

Please keep them at home and notify us by 10am on the first day of any absence so that we know they are safely at home with you.  We have a policy of contacting parents / carers if we haven’t received a message by 10am. If your child becomes ill during the day they will be monitored and we will telephone you if we feel it is necessary to do so.  Any cuts and grazes resulting from normal play in the playground will be dealt with by our first aid trained staff.  Any head injuries or more serious first aid issues will be reported to the child’s teacher and parents / carers will also be notified. We ensure that there are always  members of staff who have full paediatric First Aid training available at all times.

If a child is receiving ongoing medication, parents are allowed to come into school by prior arrangement to administer this. Medication cannot be administered by school staff without prior agreement: please visit the school office to discuss this. Parents will be asked to complete and sign a permission form for staff to administer medicine. Medicine and tablets must never be given to a child to be brought into school. The school nurse will contact you to create an  Individual Medical Care Plan if your child has medical needs. Please advise the school if there are any changes to your child’s health which the school should know about.

Shortly after starting school our Reception children will see the School Nurse for a health check and parents / carers have the opportunity to discuss any worries that they may have with her.  If the parent, nurse or teacher have any concerns, they can request a medical. Health checks are carried out at various points during your child’s education.

See our Health and Welfare page on this website.

For the sake of safety we request that jewellery should not be worn to school, with the exception of small stud earrings and watches which may be worn at the owner’s risk. 

The Local Authority regulations state that all jewellery must be removed for P.E.

Once a year the school welcomes representatives from the local Fire Brigade who come to talk to Ks1 and KS2 children about FireSafety.

Fire Drills 
Our fire bells are tested weekly and a fire drill is held each term to ensure the swift evacuation of the building.  If you are helping in school and the alarm sounds, please leave by the nearest exit and assemble in the Multi Use Games Area in the playground

As part of our Travel Plan we have set a target to continue to increase the number of children walking and cycling to school.  We ask parents / carers to support us and ease traffic congestion by walking your child to school, or by encouraging them to scoot or cycle; this provides an ideal opportunity to teach your child about road safety and traffic awareness.  Zig-Zag lines are in force around the school so, if you do travel by car, please park well away from the school entrance for the sake of the safety of our pupils. 

Road Safety Officers visit the school on an annual basis to ensure that all children are aware of how to stay safe as pedestrians. They also work with the school's Junior Road Safety Officers who help to promote road safety within the school.

As part of the level 2 cycle training children in years 5 & 6 are taught how to cycle safely on quiet roads and about road safety awareness.

Before and after school

Please do not allow your children to ride bikes or scooters once in the playground at the beginning or end of the school day.

Please do not bring dogs onto the school premises ever.

 During school hours

We have very clear rules about behaviour and use of play equipment in the playground. Supervising adults are outside with the children every playtime and lunchtime.

Our school building and grounds are a designated No Smoking area so we ask for your co-operation in extinguishing cigarettes before entering the site.

The school was built or has been adapted with security of pupils and staff in mind including:

• perimeter walls, fencing  and gates
• fenced nursery playground for our youngest pupils
• a sophisticated intruder alarm
• a modern effective fire alarm system
• door entry system with electronic signing in procedure for all visitors and staff
• all staff wear ID badges at all times

Although we want to have an open door policy we must balance this against the safety of pupils and staff and we request that parents & carers respect this. 

Visiting the school

Any visitors to the school must sign in and out as a visitor and wear their badge at all times.  Our staff are trained to challenge anyone not following this practice, so we apologise in advance. 

Gate Duty

At the beginning and end of each day there is always at least two members of staff at the gate to make sure that children stay safely inside the school playground once they have been dropped of by parents and do not leave without an accompanying adult (unless they are older pupils with permission to go home unaccompanied).

 

As part of the national curriculum children cover age appropriate sex and relationship education. All parents receive a letter before the subject is covered explaining the topic and how they are taught. We ask parents & carers to make an appointment to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team if they have any questions about this.

Yrs 5 and 6 also cover drug misuse through various outside agency input (e.g: Police, Diverse Voices workshops)

We have excellent relations with out local police and neighbourhood safety officers who regularly attend our school events and are invited in to different classes to talk about a variety of topics.

Children in years 3, 4 and 5 go swimming for one term during the school year.  They are accompanied by at least 2 members of staff who remain poolside during the lesson and supervise the children in the changing rooms. The children are taught swimming by fully trained instructors.

All school trips involve the undertaking of a risk assessment and our children wear high visibility tabards clearly identifying them as Kingsmead Primary School pupils on all educational trips. Adults also wear high visibility vests.