Policy statement and principles

The purpose of the Becklands Safeguarding Policy is to provide clear guidance to staff, other community members and visiting professionals for the safeguarding of children and young people at The Becklands School.

At the Becklands we believe all learners should progress, be included and receive their full educational entitlement and for this to be achieved all our pupils must feel safe and listened to. We believe in providing a secure environment for learning where our community of children and young people can thrive and develop to be their best selves. We know that where children have been the victims of abuse their life chances are seriously affected adversely and in the most serious cases can lead to serious harm and even death. We want to prevent this from happening. The children and young people at the Becklands are more at risk because of their complex needs and disabilities therefore we must be thoroughly vigilant. We have a range of support mechanisms at the school and through East Riding of Yorkshire which can be deployed which includes for example, therapeutic input. The Becklands will make referrals to social care if we have concerns about a child’s welfare and safety. Normally parents and carers will be informed that we are making a referral, however if we feel that the child is at serious risk of harm by letting the parent or carer know we are making a referral, then we will not inform the parent or carer. In these cases, we will take advice from social care on next steps.

Our core safeguarding principles are:

• safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility
• the school’s responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children is of paramount
  importance
• safer children make more successful learners
• representatives of the whole-school community of pupils, parents, staff and governors will be involved in policy development and review
• policies will be reviewed at least annually unless an incident or new legislation or guidance suggests the need for an interim review.