We pride ourselves in the effort we make to develop a nurturing and caring ethos and relationship with our families.

We are delighted to be able to support families throughout any stresses or strains they may have. We can do this ‘in house’ by giving family members our time and counselling skills or we can enlist the help of our professional colleagues who can access or signpost services in the medical, mental health or social services departments.

Occasionally we do have a worry or query about some aspect of a child’s life. This might be because a child is upset or because a parent has approached us for help. We have long since realised that we do not live in a perfect world and none of us have the perfect answer to child related problems.

However, we are legally obliged to pass on any concerns we have about a child’s safety and wellbeing to the appropriate authority. We never do this anonymously and we never do it behind parents’ backs unless circumstances call for this. If we have a concern about your child we would normally discuss our intentions with you. If we are approached by social services or any other safeguarding body / force, we are obliged to work with them to support any issues they have been asked to investigate and it would be up to them as the lead professionals to inform you about their concerns.

If we ever have serious concerns that a child is being subjected to criminal behaviour, we would immediately contact the appropriate authority without delay in order to keep the child protected from any further harm.

Very often, children who are distressed or anxious about something relating to their home life do disclose information to us as they seek our help. We always tell the child to consider that we cannot keep secrets and must act on their information if we feel that they are in danger of criminal harm. The same goes for any adult disclosure if it concerns serious harm of any child.

We are here to educate, help, support, nurture and safeguard your child. If you have any more questions relating to Child Protection in our school, please contact our Child Protection Officers.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and expect all adults on site to share this commitment.

If you have concerns, please record these, along with any observation or conversation heard, and report this as soon as possible. Staff will have access to CPOMs or red forms are available from the staffroom, and should be returned immediately to Mrs Spencer.

• Do not conduct your own investigation
• Do not keep your own personal records
• Do keep all concerns and information confidential

Concerns may arise from:

• You seeing an injury
• A pupil tells you something
• Another adult tells you something
• Something else that does not feel quite right

If a pupil chooses to tell you something:

• Promise confidentiality but not secrecy
• Reassure the child that they have done the right thing
• Listen but do not ask leading questions
• Record and pass on your concerns to Mrs Spencer,Mrs Adamson or Miss Wilkinson
• Your help in supporting our safeguarding work is appreciated by the school and by our pupils. If you do not feel your concerns have been dealt with appropriately then please call the Local Authority Designated Officer, Ms Jayne Hammill (01482 396999)

North Ferriby is part of a project run by Humberside Police called Operation Encompass.

The project aims to support children who are affected by Domestic Abuse.

As a result, following any domestic abuse incident specialist police officers will make contact with the school and communicate relevant and necessary information to nominated and trained school staff.  This will ensure that the school is made aware before the start of the next school day and can subsequently provide support in a way that means the child feels safe.

There is also more information on their website – www.operationencompass.org