Bishop Henderson School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.  All our staff receive regular child protection training which includes school child protection procedures and policies, and all have current enhanced CRB/DBS checks.

We follow Department for Education (DfE) guidelines for ‘Safer Recruitment’ when employing new staff.

Our safeguarding policy and procedures apply to all of the school community, including all staff, governors and volunteers working in the school, and any visitors or contractors working on site.

We follow the current statutory guidance provided by the DfE and local guidance issued by the Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership. 

We will ensure that parents/carers are made aware of our child protection policy through its publication on our website.

Promoting the welfare of children and protecting them from harm are everyone’s responsibility.  All staff and volunteers involved with children have a responsibility to be mindful of issues related to their safety and welfare and a duty to report any concerns.

We use CPOMS to report and manage all safeguarding concerns. The DSL ensures that appropriate action is taken promptly and recorded via this system.

There are five main elements to our safeguarding and child protection policy:

• Provide a safe environment in which children can learn and develop.
• Ensure we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children.
• Implement procedures for identifying vulnerable children and reporting cases of suspected abuse.
• Support pupils who have been harmed or abused.
• Raise awareness of safeguarding children, child protection processes and equip children with the skills needed to keep them safe.

School gates are locked during the school day so that visitors have to enter via the main entrance and the school office.

Bishop Henderson School’s Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Chris Lane.  The Deputy Safe Guarding leads are Mrs Kirstin Tesoriere and Mrs Kelly Young.

If you have any concerns regarding safeguarding issues, please speak to any member of staff.