Keeping Children Safe - Safeguarding

Children's Services across the country have a duty to protect children and young people and ensure that they are effectively safeguarded from the potential risk of harm.  Schools are part of Children's Services and therefore we have an important part to play in the safeguarding of children in Kingston and in our local area.

              At Maple Infants' School, we take this role very seriously.

​We place great emphasis on the safety and welfare of all our pupils.  We take rigorous steps to ensure that children stay safe and do not come to harm and we actively promote an ethos whereby staff, pupils, parents and governors feel able to articulate concerns comfortably, safe in the knowledge that effective action will be taken as appropriate .  We work closely with parents and carers and a range of professional external agencies in order to do this.

At Maple Infants' School we provide a safe and secure environment, which includes:
  • Ensuring that every child is aware of his/her right to be safe
  • Ensuring that our staff receive appropriate training on safeguarding matters and that this is updated regularly
  • Ensuring that we follow the statutory guidance in the DfE publication 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' (copy below)
  • Following Safer Recruitment guidelines when appointing staff
  • Ensuring that all relevant checks are carried out on all adults who have contact with children in our school
  • Working with professionals, including  Children's Services and the Police, through Operation Encompass
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Every​ member of staff at Maple Infants' School has a responsibility to keep children safe in our school.  We work together to teach and support our children to:
  • keep themselves safe and healthy
  • recognise and manage risks
  • ​develop healthy habits
  • learn about relationships
  • ​be aware of staying safe online
  • ​deal with conflict and bullying

A copy of our Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy can be found below.  It applies to all adults, including volunteers, working in or on behalf of our school and it is expected that everyone working here shares the responsibility to keep children safe from harm and abuse and reports any concerns to our Designated Safeguarding Leaders.
If you have any concerns, no matter how small they may seem, about the safety or welfare of a child, please  contact our school's Designated Safeguarding Lead - Miss Helen Funnell, Deputy Head.  

​Helen's contact details - Telephone number: 020 8399 3341 or Email: [email protected]

If Helen is not available, please ask to speak to one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads, also contactable using the details above:

Mrs Claire Barwell, (Headteacher) 
Mrs Jessica Banks
​Mrs Jennie Mason
You can also contact Kingston Children's Services directly through their Single Point of Access - the following information is from their website which can also be found by clicking here
PREVENT is one of the four elements of CONTEST, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Home Office works with local authorities and a wide range of government departments, and community organisations to deliver the Prevent Strategy.
The Prevent Strategy:
  • responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views
  • provides practical help to prevent individuals from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support
  • works with a wide range of institutions (including education, statutory services charities, online and health) where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to deal with
The strategy covers all forms of terrorism and extremism. You can read the Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales on GOV.UK.

Act Early
It can be hard to know what to do if you’re worried someone close is expressing extreme views or hatred, which could lead to them harming themselves or others.

Working with other organisations, the police protect vulnerable people from being exploited by extremists through the Home Office programme, Prevent.

Act early and tell us your concerns in confidence. You won’t be wasting our time and you won’t ruin lives, but you might save them.  Visit the Act Early website to find out more information. ​
Local Authority Designated Officer
Every local authority has a statutory responsibility to have a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) who is responsible for co-ordinating the response to concerns that an adult who works with children, may have caused them or could cause them,  harm. In Achieving for Children there is a LADO service which provides this role and support, across Richmond and Kingston.
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The LADO’s key role is to: 
  • Provide advice and guidance to employers or voluntary organisations
  • Liaise with police and other agencies including Ofsted and professional bodies, such as the General Medical Council and the Teaching Regulation Agency
  • Monitor the progress of referrals to ensure they are dealt with as quickly as possible, consistent with a thorough and fair process
  • Seek to resolve any inter-agency issues
  • Collect strategic data and maintain a confidential database in relation to allegations
  • Disseminate learning from LADO enquiries throughout the children’s workforce

For more information on the LADO service, click here

Useful Safeguarding Documents

Please click on documents to open
The NSPCC also produces several useful resources for schools and families to use that help promote keeping children safe from harm.  Links to these resources can be found below by clicking on the resource name:
                 NSPCC - The Talk PANTS Guide for Parents                                           NSPCC - PANTS Guide for Children