About our Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of all pupils.
We expect all staff, governors, and volunteers to share this commitment to safeguarding our pupils.
We listen carefully to our pupils and provide them with many opportunities to talk to us openly and honestly. We develop very positive relationships with pupils and our families enabling us to provide them with the best possible support and guidance.
All of our staff are training in Child Protection and our pupils know who they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Staff are trained to talk to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and a range of specific safeguarding issues and are required to follow the school procedures in reporting these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the Stoke-on-Trent Safeguarding Children Board and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this, for the safety of all. On rare occasions, our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parents/carers first before any referrals are made unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.
Who are our main Safeguarding staff?
In our school, we have a large safeguarding team that allows us to support pupils and their families. We have a dedicated area in school named the “B-Safe Zone” (Behaviour, Safeguarding and Family Engagement) which pupils know is a safe place that they can go to. All staff wears a “bee” on their lanyard so that children know which staff belongs to this team.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is: Mrs E. Day (Deputy Head Teacher)
The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are: Mrs D. Broadhurst (Head Teacher)
Miss S. Hudson (School Liaison Officer), Mr S. Murphy (Behaviour Support)
The Designated Teacher for Looked After Children is: Mrs E. Jones (SENdCO)
Safeguarding and Child Protection
Safeguarding is the policies and practices that schools and Governing Bodies employ to keep children safe and promote their well-being. This means everything from security of the buildings, to the safe recruitment of staff and everything in between.
Child Protection is a term used to describe the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School is particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating. Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. This system is described in statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018. Schools and colleges work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff works with the Stoke-on-Trent Children’s Advice and Duty Service (ChAD). Anyone with any concerns that a child may be at risk of immediate significant harm should report to this service on 01782 235100 between 8.30 and 6 p.m. For contact outside of these hours, please contact the Emergency Duty Team on 01782 234234. This applies to reports from the public, council staff, partners, and outside agencies.
If a child is in immediate danger of being harmed or is home alone, call the police on 999.
For guidance and advice about keeping children safe, please click here.
Online Safety
At Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff, all pupils are taught about Online Safety from Nursery up to Year 6. This is taught through the Purple Mash scheme of work and is complemented by resources from the National Online Safety website.
The school currently has the National Online Safety accreditation meaning that staff, parents, governors, and pupils are regularly accessing resources and training from the website. This enables us to provide our pupils with as much information as possible to keep themselves safe online.
In school, our computers are protected by monitoring and filtering software to make sure that our pupils only access resources that are suitable for their education. We use Net Support DNA which alerts the safeguarding team of any potential issues and the RM Safety Net filtering of websites when pupils are accessing their school-based accounts.
If you would like to access the resources from National Online Safety then please use this link:
nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/co-op-academy-clarice-cliff
If you would like any further information about keeping your child safe on any devices then please access “Think U Know” which gives age-specific guidance:
If you are worried about who your child may be communicating with online then please access the CEOP website for information and support:
Anti-Bullying
We take any concerns about bullying very seriously, as outlined in our academy Anti-Bullying policy.
Pupils are taught about the different types of bullying throughout our PSHE curriculum, Jigsaw. They are taught the definition of bullying and how to report any incidents of bullying. They are also taught how to be respectful towards each other, communities and cultures.
The academy participates in the National anti-bullying week annually where pupils take part in a range of activities linked to the theme of the week.
If you have any concerns about bullying, in the first instance please speak to your child’s class teacher. If you are still concerned, we have a strong safeguarding team in place, the B-Safe team, who are able to support with any concerns around bullying. If you wish to contact them, please email the school office on clar-office@coopacademies.co.uk or on the school telephone number 01782 881480.
Below are two links that you may find useful.
Stonewall | Children and Young People’s Services Champions programme
Operation Encompass
The academy has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between schools / academies and Staffordshire Police.
Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools / academies, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced any domestic abuse.
Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the academy staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs Day) known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the academy is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been experienced a domestic abuse incident.
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved. An information leaflet with further information is available on the academy website or for further information, please contact a member of the safeguarding team on the academy phone number.
Operation Encompass is an information-sharing partnership between Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent educational settings (from Reception through to Higher Education) which allows schools to offer immediate support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse.
How does Operation Encompass work?
Information obtained by the police at the attendance of a domestic abuse incident is shared with a school prior to the start of the next school day which enables appropriate support to be given dependent on the needs and wishes of the child.
How do the schools receive notification by the police that a domestic incident has occurred?
When an officer attends the incident and completes the risk assessment on their handheld device, the name(s) of the children who form part of the household (whether present on not) are included. Alongside the details of the child, the officer will select the school that the child attends from the dropdown list. By completing this section of the risk assessment, the officer generates an automatic referral to the school via an email in real time.
How does the notification help to support the child?
Children experiencing domestic abuse are negatively impacted by this exposure and this can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm. By providing the school with the knowledge that a domestic incident has taken place in the child’s home the previous day, it allows the school to put support in place for the child before they arrive at school.