Safeguarding and Online Safety

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Miss C Cochrane - Designated Safeguarding Lead (Lead) and Online Safety
Mrs N Henshall - Senior DSL (Deputy)
Mr R Gabrasadig - DSL (Deputy)
Mr P Marsden - DSL (Deputy)
Mrs R Bridges - DSL (Deputy)

Safeguarding and Child Protection at Saint Bede's

As a Catholic School within the Diocese of Lancaster we are committed to recognising, and respecting, the uniqueness of each individual in our community. Thus we seek to reflect the true Christian values proclaimed in the Gospel and thus to provide a caring community in which young people can grow as balanced individuals, morally, intellectually and spiritually, and so participate fully in the real world.

Moreover, we accept that we have statutory responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection issues. All of our staff and Governors are informed of key changes to guidance issued by the Department of Education through the “Keeping Children Safe in Education” (KCSIE) document. Additional guidance material is also shared within the staff resource area and regular updates are issued through the “Safeguarding and SEN Bulletin”. We know that in order to keep our pupils safe from significant harm we need to ensure effective information sharing and communication with all adults in school as well as external agencies and professionals.

In all schools safeguarding is the responsibility of all staff; however, in order to coordinate school responses to concerns raised there are a number of identified staff with key responsibilities listed below. In certain circumstances we are required, by law, to report any concerns regarding children who may have been abused, or are in danger of abuse, to the relevant authorities. We will always be guided by Lancashire through the Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) and the School’s Safeguarding Officers at the Local Authority.

Operation Encompass

We are an Operation Encompass School, this is a partnership between police and schools.

One of the principles of Operation Encompass is that all incidents of domestic abuse are shared with schools, not just those where an offence can be identified. The School nominates Key Adults who receive the information and can then share it with relevant adults who may have contact with that child during the school day.

This timely information sharing enables appropriate support to be provided for that child so that all interactions, from when the child first arrives at the school gates, are of a positive nature.

Operation Encompass Poster

Guidance and Help for Parents

CEOP If you have been a victim of online abuse or you're worried about somebody else
Bullying.co.uk What to do if you're being bullied on a social network
Childline Online safety guide
NSPCC The UK's leading children’s charity
MIND The Mental Health Charity
Young Minds Children and Young Peoples mental health charity

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy - For more information on this, please refer to the school policies section on the ‘about us’ tab.

Online Safety

Having access to online information and the opportunities that the digital world can offer has many benefits and for some it plays an important part of our everyday lives.

At Saint Bede’s, we have policies in place to ensure our pupils are learning in a safe and secure environment, which includes being safe online. The online safety information provided here has been organised to help parents contribute to the process of helping their child to be aware of the potential risks associated with using the Internet and modern technologies and allow pupils to easily access help and support. However, as technology moves on at such a pace, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with new trends and developments, particularly with regard to mobile/games technologies, social networking sites and secure and safe accessibility to other online material.

Online Safety Policy - For more information on this, please refer to the school policies section on the ‘about us’ tab.