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Safeguarding

Safeguarding in the Curriculum

Safeguarding our pupils is at the heart of everything we do and we recognise that our children need to feel safe and secure before any learning can take place.

Safeguarding is embedded through daily routines, circle time activities and assemblies, as well as through our PSHE & RHE curriculum. Pupils also learn about keeping safe through our Science curriculum and our RE curriculum (mutual respect and religious and cultural diversity). We have themed days/weeks such as Mental Health Awareness week and E-Safety week where pupils take part in a range of activities and games that help them learn how to stay safe. Pivitol to this is our approach to communication. We ensure all pupils have access to a range of communication strategies they are familiar with, so they have a voice that is listened to, and can let others know if something is wrong. 

Contact number for CASS: 0121 303 1888

Safeguarding is defined as –

  • Protecting children from maltreatment whether that is within or outside the home, including online;
  • Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;
  • Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
  • Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

The Bridge School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils/students. We believe that:

  • All children/young people have the right to be protected from harm;
  • Children/young people need to be safe and to feel safe in school;
  • Children/young people need support that matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse;
  • All children/young people have the right to speak freely and voice their values and beliefs;
  • All children/young people must be encouraged to respect each other’s values and support each other;
  • All children/young people have the right to be supported to meet their emotional, and social needs as well as their educational needs – a happy, healthy, sociable child/young person will achieve better educationally.
  • Schools can and do contribute to the prevention of abuse, victimisation, bullying, exploitation, extreme behaviours, discriminatory views and risk taking behaviours; and
  • All staff and visitors have an important role to play in safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse.

The Bridge School will fulfil its local and national responsibilities as laid out in the following documents: –

On occasions we may need to speak to parents or carers about F.G.M. (female cutting), domestic abuse, forced marriage, child sex exploitation, online safety and expression of extreme views. We will also comply with any mandatory reporting responsibilities in these and other areas of safeguarding. We encourage parents or carers to speak to us if they have any concerns about these or other areas.

We provide advice and training sessions for parents re: online safety and we welcome any requests for advice or input in this area.  Parents and carers can ask and talk to us if they have any concerns no matter how small they feel they may be.  Online safety is a very important, influential and ever-changing aspect of children’s lives that can leave any child very vulnerable.

Operation Encompass is a police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership that supports children and young people exposed to Domestic Abuse. It aims to ensure Schools are notified in a timely manner of any Domestic Abuse incident where child/ren are present or registered at the address. This early notification should mean that, in the majority of cases, schools are alerted in readiness for the children arriving at school the first working day following an incident. The Bridge School is part of Operation Encompass which is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and police forces.

At The Bridge School the staff and children promote and practice British Values across the curriculum and in all we do every day, as part of our immersion in the principles set out in the Birmingham Curriculum Statement.

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