Safeguarding
At our school, we take the safeguarding of our pupils very seriously. We are proud that our children say that they feel happy and safe in our school and that they know they can speak up if they have any worries.
The school's Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Deborah Bertram (head@sandiway.cheshire.sch.uk)
We work closely with Cheshire West and Chester's Safeguarding Team to ensure that safeguarding expectations are met. We use their continuum of need model to assess the safeguarding needs of our children. Staff are trained in understanding where children may be at risk, the signs to look out for and how to report concerns.
We have key policies to help keep our pupils safe when in school and we welcome parents to read and comment on these documents. Each term, the Headteacher meets with the Safeguarding Link LAB member and the Health and Safety Link LAB member to monitor that everything is in place to ensure the safety of our whole school community.
We understand that children can be impacted by adult behaviours at home, including domestic violence. Our Operation Encompass page gives you more information about this initiative.
Please take the time to look at the pages related to safeguarding our pupils. The on-line safety page gives advice and support on how they can keep their children safe on line at home. The anti bullying page gives web links on advice and support for supporting children who feel they are being bullied.
There is lots of information on the National Online Safety website: https://nationalonlinesafety.com/.
Deciding if your child is ready to be left home alone can be a tricky decision. The age at which this is done depends on a number of factors including your child's level of maturity. Remember, babies and young children should never be left alone, even for a short time.
The NSPCC has some useful advice for parents:
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/leaving-child-home-alone/
www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/advice-and-info/home-alone-guide-keeping-child-safe.pdf
It's something every parent experiences; the day that their child starts asking if they can go out on their own or with friends. It's just a natural part of their growing independence and, like every part of growing up, it can be a challenging hurdle for a parent to overcome. Advice from the NSPCC can be found here:
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/staying-safe-away-from-home/