School policies cover every aspect of school life. Below are some of our most important policies for your reference. If you want to know our policy on something that is not listed, please ask the school office.
Paper copies of all information on our website is available free of charge. Please ask at the school office.
Next review March 2026
1. Aims
Schools are required under the Equality Act 2010 to have an accessibility plan. The purpose of the plan is to:
- Increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
- Improve the physical environment of the school to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
- Improve the availability of accessible information to disabled pupils
Our school aims to treat all its pupils fairly and with respect. This involves providing access and opportunities for all pupils without discrimination of any kind.
Principles
- Compliance with the Equality Act is consistent with our setting’s aims and equal opportunities policy and SEN information report.
- Our staff recognise their duty under the Equality Act:
- Not to discriminate against disabled pupils in their admissions and exclusions, and provision of education and associated services
- Not to treat disabled pupils less favorably
- To take reasonable steps to avoid putting disabled pupils at a substantial disadvantage
- To publish an accessibility plan
- In performing their duties governors have regard to the Equality Act 2010
- Our setting
- recognises and values the young person’s knowledge/parents’ knowledge of their child’s disability
- recognises the effect their disability has on his/her ability to carry out activities,
- respects the parents’ and child’s right to confidentiality
- The setting provides all pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum that is differentiated, personalised and age appropriate.
The plan will be made available online on the school website, and paper copies are available upon request.
Our school is also committed to ensuring staff are trained in equality issues with reference to the Equality Act 2010, including understanding disability issues.
The school supports any available partnerships to develop and implement the plan.
Our school’s complaints procedure covers the accessibility plan. If you have any concerns relating to accessibility in school, this procedure sets out the process for raising these concerns.
2. Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and the Department for Education (DfE) guidance for schools on the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality Act 2010 defines an individual as disabled if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on his or her ability to undertake normal day to day activities.
Under the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, ‘long-term’ is defined as ‘a year or more’ and ‘substantial’ is defined as ‘more than minor or trivial’. The definition includes sensory impairments such as those affecting sight or hearing, and long-term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.
Schools are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for pupils with disabilities under the Equality Act 2010, to alleviate any substantial disadvantage that a disabled pupil faces in comparison with non-disabled pupils. This can include, for example, the provision of an auxiliary aid or adjustments to premises.
The Accessibility Plan will be published on the school website.
It is a requirement that the school’s accessibility plan is resourced, implemented, reviewed and revised as necessary and reported on every three years. Below is a set of action plans showing how the school will address the priorities identified in the plan.
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Aim |
Current good practice |
Objectives |
Actions to be taken & Cost |
Success criteria |
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Increase access To the curriculum for pupils with a disability.
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Our school offers a differential curriculum for all pupils. Curriculum progress is tracked for all pupils including those with a disability. Targets are set effectively and are appropriate for pupils with additional needs. The curriculum is reviewed to ensure it meets the needs of all pupils. |
Learning environment Training – Provide appropriate and relevant ongoing training for all staff on matters of inclusion.
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Review individual classrooms. Are they inclusive? Use of typeface/lettering/backgrounds/ display. Classroom champions to help transform/adapt – towards inclusion
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All staff are aware of individual’s needs. All pupils are able to access all school trips and take part in a range of activities. Classrooms are inclusion friendly |
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Improve the delivery of information to pupils with special needs and those with a disability
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Our school uses a range of communication methods to ensure information is accessible. This includes: Pictorial or symbolic Representations Use of google translate-website/dojo Dojo system directly linked to parent’s phones – improving communication channels. School admin team support and help parents to access and complete forms. Phone system allows parents to leave messages 24 hours a day in different categories e.g. reporting absence – Flexible and easier communication between home and school. |
Clear, straight forward and simple communication with parents and community |
Administration staff aware of individuals who may need information explaining directly or personally. Encourage parents with barriers to language. Promote use of language translations- google
New office/new phone system- investigate if improvements can be made. New technology on offer. |
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Ensure appropriate Evacuation provision for upper floors |
Regular fire drills Risk assessments Escape plans Training of staff |
Review evacuation routes to assembly points |
New educare online e training available. Expand training to wider staff. Review plans regularly - and include particular needs (eg ear defenders) in plans for individuals |
Suitable evacuation procedures and facilities in place. All disabled pupils, and staff working with them are safe in the event of a fire. There is constant supervision for disabled children who would need help in the event of an evacuation. |
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To review attainment of all SEN pupils |
Pupil planning meetings with pupil, parent/carer, SENCO |
Be aware of staff, governors and parent access needs and meet as appropriate. |
See SENCO development plan |
Children achieve their potential, are happy and well centred in a welcoming environment. Good progress by all SEND pupils
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To review all statutory policies to ensure that they reflect inclusive practice and procedures |
To comply with the Equality Act 2010
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To ensure all school policies and terms of reference for each committee reflect equality, inclusiveness and implications of accessibility practice.
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Review regularly |
All policies clearly reflect inclusive practice and procedures |
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Improve and maintain access to the physical environment
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The environment is adapted to the needs of pupils as required: This includes: Disabled toilets and changing facilities Corridor widths |
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Review school on a regular basis – include as part of workplace inspections/walk-throughs. Review clutter/access. New disabled toilet and access via redeveloped front entrance. Review the pedestrian access vs carpark. Include suitable signage, disabled access and parking. |
New entrance that is inclusive and welcoming |
4. Monitoring Arrangements.
This document will be reviewed every 3 years, but may be reviewed and updated more frequently if necessary.
It will be approved by the headteacher.
5. Links with other policies
This accessibility plan is linked to the following policies and documents:
- Risk assessment policy
- Health and safety policy
- Special educational needs (SEN)
- Supporting pupils with medical conditions policy
Next review - in progress
Context
Our school is one in which we want pupils to flourish both academically and socially.
We aim to foster a healthy and safe community where individuals take responsibility
for their own behaviour and show respect for others, emphasising the importance of
positive relationships amongst all members and groups of the school community.
Purpose of the anti-bullying policy:
This policy seeks to:
- Ensure the whole school community has a shared understanding of what bullying is and the detrimental impact it can have on wellbeing and achievement
- Ensure staff, parents, carers, and pupils work together to ensure a safe learning environment for all and to safeguard pupils who experience bullying
- Prevent, de-escalate and or stop any continuation of harmful behaviour
- Ensure all bullying behaviours and prejudiced based incidents are taken seriously, recorded and responded to in a proportionate and consistent way
- Encourage shared solutions so that those reporting bullying have an appropriate say in what happens next
- Ensure those using bullying behaviour are supported to change their behaviour
- Outline the consequences for those who show bullying behaviour
- Ensure everyone is mutually valued and respected and that in line with the Equality Act 2010 we aim to eliminate discrimination based on sex, gender identity, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and belief
- Encourage pupils to adopt agreed standards of behaviour and values in order to develop a sense of right and wrong and the ability to take responsibility for their own actions.
Our stated commitment is that when a pupil or parent or carer speaks out about bullying:
- they will be listened to
- their concerns will be taken seriously
- the matters will be investigated
- together we will find a way to tackle it
- someone will be there to help and support them.
Definitions
Bullying
We understand that bullying takes place when a person or a group of people deliberately try to hurt or upset another person or group of people on more than one occasion. Children may be hurt or upset by other children’s behaviour but this only becomes bullying if it is repeated deliberately.
We define cyber bullying as the use of information and communications technology (ICT), particularly mobile phones, the internet and social media to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others. We recognise cyberbullying as an extension of face-to-face bullying, with technology providing another bullying behaviour to harass their target. We recognise that cyberbullying can have a particularly negative impact because it can invade home and personal space. There are also challenges for example in controlling electronically circulated messages; the size of the audience; perceived anonymity; and even the profile of the person doing the bullying and their target. Ongoing changes to technology mean the methods used to bully keep evolving.
Bullying is not one-off acts of aggression or nastiness, such behaviours if repeated, however, may be viewed as bullying. In this policy and in our anti-bullying work we try to avoid referring to bullies and victims as these label pupils in unhelpful ways.
Friendship issues, relational conflict and bullying behaviour
We acknowledge that friendship problems and bullying behaviour can be upsetting for both pupils and parents and carers, but it is important to distinguish between the two, as the responses to friendship problems will be different to the strategies used to address bullying behaviour. Pupils will fall in and out with each other, have arguments, stop talking to each other and have disagreements. This relational conflict can be a normal part of growing up.
During a relational conflict or friendship problem groups of pupils may disagree, be very upset and find it difficult to resolve the disagreement without adult help. It is unlikely however, to be repeated behaviour and may even be accidental, but pupils will make an effort to resolve the problem and will want to resolve the problem. However, we recognise that repeated friendship problems or relational conflict can sometimes lead to bullying behaviour particularly when there is an imbalance of power [when a group acts against an individual for example].
Forms of bullying
Bullying can take many forms:
- Physical bullying (hitting, punching, finger jabbing, any inappropriate touching, pinching, jostling, breaking, damaging or taking property)
- Verbal bullying (name calling, taunts put downs, threats, teasing, ridiculing, belittling, excessive criticism or sarcasm.)
- Emotional / psychological (rumours or stories, exclusion from a group, shunning, invading privacy, graffiti designed to embarrass)
- Cyber-bullying (sending nasty phone calls, text messages or in e-mails/chat rooms/social media.)
Bullying takes place where there is an imbalance of power of one person or persons over another. This can relate to:
- the size of the individual,
- the strength of the individual
- the numbers or group size involved
- being from a majority rather than a minority group
- anonymity – through the use of cyberbullying or using email, social networking sites, texts etc.
Bullying can take place in the classroom, playground, toilets, on the journey to and from school, on trips and cyberspace. It can take place in group activities and between families in the local community.
Prejudice-based bullying
Bullying is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, on the grounds of ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. It might be motivated by actual differences, perceived differences or as a result of association with someone else. We record these forms of prejudiced based bullying by their type and report on them
to the local authority. This is in recognition that these groups are protected by the Equality Act 2010 because of the prejudice experienced by some groups in the wider society. We also recognise that there are others groups of children and young people who may be vulnerable to bullying including children is in care, young carers or those with mental health issues. We recognise therefore that we sometimes have to look at develop specific work or practice to prevent bullying of groups of pupils.
Prejudiced based / hate incident
This is a one-off incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility, prejudice or ignorance, based on a person’s perceived or actual ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity or their association with someone from one of these groups. These can also include indirect prejudice driven behaviour that is not targeted at one individual. The impact of this expression of prejudice against an equality group whether intentional or not can be damaging and must therefore be responded to as a prejudice based or hate incident.
One-off incidents are not bullying, however we separately record prejudiced based incidents identified using the above definition as we recognise the impact they can have and that they could be an indicator of bullying behaviour or contribute to an environment where bullying could happen.
Bullying outside of school
We understand that bullying behaviour can take place on the way to and from school or in the wider community and can have a significant impact on a pupils’ wellbeing and their ability to learn. We recognise that cyberbullying in particular can mean that a child or young person can experience bullying throughout their day and including when they are at home. Therefore we act to prevent and respond to bullying outside of school as far as we are able to. We may seek support from the Police and or the Community Safety Case Work Team to help us to do this effectively.
Being proactive
Bullying can seriously damage a child’s confidence, sense of self-worth and future mental health, and they will often feel that they are at fault in some way. Pupils may not realise they are being bullied because of their age or special educational need. Pupils who are being bullied may show changes in behaviour, such as becoming shy and nervous, feigning illness or taking unusual absences. There may be evidence in learning patterns, lacking concentration or truanting from school. These signs and symptoms may indicate other problems, but bullying is considered a possibility and will be investigated. Therefore, like other safeguarding issues, staff aim not wait to be told of bullying to raise their concerns. We are also aware that some groups of pupils may find it harder to report bullying than others. For example, black and minority ethnic pupils might feel that reporting racism will put their friendship groups at risk. Wherever possible and appropriate, we will involve those who are experiencing bullying in finding the solutions.
Prevention of bullying
We use a range of strategies to prevent bullying behaviour:
- The school values of respect, cooperation, courage, fairness, tolerance and determination are promoted across the school day and the curriculum
- PSHE education and other curriculum subjects are used to promote social and emotional skills including those needed to work together, show empathy, build friendships, get support and help others
- Small group work interventions are used to support those who need extra help to develop their social and emotional aspects of learning
- PSHE education lessons are used to develop understanding of safety and how to stay safe
- E-safety is taught across the curriculum and through assemblies and visual reminders around the school community
- PSHE education lessons are used to develop understanding of bullying, its impact and ways to respond to bullying situations. PSHE education is also used to develop understanding of similarity and differences and the unacceptability of all forms of prejudice and bullying
- Regular whole school assemblies are also used to develop understanding of bullying, its impact and encourage reporting
- Learning Review / Circle Time provides opportunities for dealing with issues that
- have arisen in the class and wider and a time to reflect
- Playground Buddies are used to reduce potential conflict during lunchtime
- We regularly survey pupils using Bounce Together wellbeing tools and use this to inform developments
- All staff monitor behaviour and intervene when it becomes necessary to address friendship problems and prevent bullying from developing.
- All concerns are recorded using CPOMS
Staff training
All staff new to the school receive a copy of this policy. There is regular training for all school staff on aspects of bullying and we take care to ensure all staff are trained to understand the different forms bullying behaviour [including cyber-bullying] and are trained to identify, record and challenge prejudiced based bullying and incidents.
Strategies for responding to bullying behaviour – a whole school approach
Reporting bullying - Early identification of bullying is the most effective way of minimising bullying behaviour and the effects on the person being bullied. We also acknowledge that the pupil doing the bullying needs to understand that their behaviour is unacceptable and
will need support to change their behaviour and explore the underlying reasons for bullying.
Pupils are encouraged to report any harmful or hurtful behaviour, even if they are not sure whether it is bullying. They are encouraged to report for themselves or for their friends. They can do this through:
- Speaking to their class teacher
- Speaking to another trusted adult in the school community
- Speaking to a parent/other adult who may then contact the school in any of the ways listed
- Speaking to a friend and asking the friend to help tell an adult
- Calling a confidential helpline such as ChildLine.
Parents and carers must inform us if they think or know there is a problem for their own child or for another child. They can do this by calling the office and asking to speak to Mrs Sue Watson, our Learning Mentor.
Recording bullying
All incidents of bullying must be recorded. All incidents are recorded according to type and these are recorded on CPOMS so that we can monitor the individual incidents, but also monitor incidents across the school. This monitoring will inform the PSHE education curriculum and assemblies. We also record prejudiced based incidents using the same system, but record them differently so that we can report on two separate data sets.
Responding to bullying
All pupils have a role to play to intervene to support their peers (if it is safe to do so) and to report bullying:
- Alert an adult in school to any concerns
- Talk to your friends about the situation
- Above all always tell someone. Adults will usually need to intervene to stop bullying
- All of us have a responsibility to avoid encouraging or inciting bullying and to not stand by and let someone else be harmed.
Pupils (if you have been bullied)
- If you feel able to and it is safe to do so, ask the bully to stop, ignore it, say no and walk away
- Try not show you are upset or angry, but remember this is not your fault
- Tell a friend what is happening and ask for their support
- Tell a trusted adult in or out of school (ask a friend to go with you if it helps)
- Do not delete evidence of online bullying as it can be used as evidence
- It is possible the situation will take time to resolve, but unless you tell someone, we cannot help you – and we can make sure you are safe
Parents and carers
- Listen and talk to your child about the situation and discuss and agree next steps
- Contact Mrs Watson if you are worried or concerned
- Monitor social networks/computer use
- Reinforce the value of good behaviour
School Staff
- Take seriously any report of bullying
- Record it and report it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or deputy DSL
The DSL will investigate the bullying case and will:
- Speak with the person targeted for bullying and involving them in what they would like to happen next
- Speak to the pupil carrying out the bullying behaviour and find out their perspectives
- Find witnesses to explain what they saw
- Contact and involve the parents and carers of those targeted and the parents and carers of those doing the bullying behaviour
- We will (age appropriately) challenge the behaviour and ideas of the person doing the bullying and help them to understand that what they said or did was hurtful and not in line with the school’s values, ethos or policies
- We will consider the intentions of the perpetrator before helping him or her develop a repair plan
- We will let other pupils that have witnessed the incident know that the behaviour was unacceptable and that it is being dealt with
- We will keep the target of bullying and their parents and carers informed about progress and any actions taken and a review date
- We will record on CPOMS whether the incident has been resolved and whether the target and their parents or carers are satisfied with the outcome
- We will identify clear times to ‘check in’ with those involved (and including parents and carers) to ensure issues have been resolved.
Where bullying behaviour is denied and evidence is hard to find, those involved will be closely observed and monitored. The pupil saying they are being bullied will be checked in with regularly by a designated adult.
Head teacher and governors
- Reports of bullying and prejudiced based incidents will be made by the Head teacher to the governing body
- The Head teacher will also report on the Bounce Together Wellbeing Survey
- The Head teacher and the governing body will monitor the effectiveness of this policy in discussion with the School Council and the staff in school and will be involved in any unresolved concerns raised by pupils or parents and carers about bullying in the school community.
Interventions to support responses to bullying
As a school we are committed to ensure that those who have used bullying behaviours understand the impact of this and the unacceptability of bullying inside school and wider. Mrs Watson will usually provide this educational input. When appropriate and with the agreement of all parties, we also run restorative sessions to encourage those involved to take responsibility for and make amends for their actions.
Consequences
Sanctions by themselves are unlikely to change bullying behaviour but we may need to make decisions to keep the target of bullying behaviour safe (eg preventing a child who has used bullying behaviour from playing outside) or to help the child who has shown bullying behaviour learn some skills. These will be case and child-specific:
- Parents and carers of those involved will be informed of actions taken
- Records will be kept on pupils’ files
While at Frenchwood we do not believe that children should be excluded from school and that school is the best place for children to learn positive behaviours and the consequences of negative behaviour. We do have legal powers to exclude children and while we don’t intend to use these powers, it remains our right to do so. The school is able to administer:
- Minor fixed-term exclusion
- Major fixed-term exclusion
- Permanent exclusion
Child-on-Child abuse including sexualised abuse
Frenchwood Community Primary School has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, including child-on-child abuse. Child-on-Child abuse is defined as abuse between children under 18 years of age.
All bullying, including cyberbullying and prejudice-based or discriminatory bullying can be described as child-on-child abuse. However, these behaviours can usually be managed in the ways described above.
Other ways that child-on-child abuse can be manifested, include:
- Physical abuse – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages physical abuse.
- Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers.
- Sexual violence – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages sexual violence.
- Sexual harassment, including online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse.
- Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent.
- The consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.
- Upskirting.
- Initiation and hazing-type violence and rituals, which can include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group, and may also include an online element.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will refer to the specific guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education Part five: Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment and Lancashire Procedures. 5.31 Peer Abuse (proceduresonline.com)
All staff will be aware that child-on-child abuse can occur between pupils of any age and gender, both inside and outside of school, as well as online. All staff will be aware of the indicators of child-on-child abuse, how to identify it, and how to respond to reports. All staff will also recognise that even if no cases have been reported, this is not an indicator that child-on-child abuse is not occurring. All staff will speak to the DSL if they have any concerns about child-on-child abuse.
All staff will understand the importance of challenge inappropriate behaviour between peers and will not tolerate abuse as “banter” or “part of growing up”.
All staff will be clear as to the school’s policy and procedures regarding child-on-child abuse and the role they have to play in preventing it and responding where they believe a child may be at risk from it.
All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of pupils with SEND, who evidence suggests are more likely to be abused than their peers. Staff will not assume that possible indicators of abuse relate to the pupil’s SEND and will always explore indicators further.
All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of LGBTQ+ pupils, who evidence suggests are also more likely to be targeted by their peers. In some cases, pupils who are perceived to be LGBTQ+, regardless of whether they are LGBTQ+, can be just as vulnerable to abuse as LGBTQ+ pupils. The school’s response to sexual violence and sexual harassment between pupils of the same sex will be equally as robust as it is for incidents between children of the opposite sex.
Pupils will be made aware of how to raise concerns or make a report and how any reports will be handled. This includes the process for reporting concerns about friends or peers. Pupils will also be reassured that they will be taken seriously, be supported, and kept safe. This process will be continually reviewed by the SLT.
The DSL has trained in the use of the Brook Traffic Lights Tools (renewal due November 2024) which supports the recognition and identification of sexual behaviours, differentiating between those which are part of healthy sexual development and those which are problematic or harmful, and develop an appropriate response that meets the needs of the child or young person
Following a report of child-on-child abuse, the DSL will refer to guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education Sept 2023, Part 5, and consider:
- the wishes of the victim in terms of how they want to proceed
- the nature of the alleged incident
- the ages of the children involved
- the development stages of the children involved
- any power imbalance between the children
- is the incident a one-off or a sustained pattern of abuse
- contextual safeguarding issues.
An immediate risk and needs assessment will be undertaken by the DSL (or a deputy DSL), considering:
- the victim
- the alleged perpetrator
- all other children (and if appropriate adult students and staff)
Risk assessments (if required) will be recorded and kept under review as a minimum termly
Complaints
If a parent or carer thinks the school has not resolved a complaint effectively then they should follow the school’s complaint policy. This can be found on the school website.
Monitoring and Evaluation
This document will be monitored and evaluated regularly and updated to take account of new Government and local guidance, and the views of the whole school community.
Next review September 2026
This policy is part of the school’s policies for safeguarding children.
Our school will give a warm and friendly welcome to each child on arrival and ensure that they depart safely at the end of each session.
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Arrivals |
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Gates |
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Appointments |
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Departures
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Next review September 2026
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1 Introduction |
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2 Responsibilities and expectations |
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2.1 Families |
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2.2 School (including contact information for attendance-related matters) |
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2.3 Lancashire County Council |
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3 Types of absence |
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3.1 Authorised absences |
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3.2 Unauthorised absences |
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3.3 Persistent Absence (PA) |
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3.4 Leave during term time |
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3.5 Religious absence |
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3.6 Participation in sporting events |
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3.7 Participation in performances |
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4 Registration |
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4.1 Attendance registration |
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4.2 Late arrival |
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4.3 Punctuality |
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5 School attendance procedures |
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5.1 First day of absence |
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5.2 Attendance concerns |
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5.3 Pupils with medical needs who have difficulty attending school |
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5.4 Pupils refusing to attend school |
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5.5 Promotion of good attendance |
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5.6 Use of penalty notices and other attendance legal interventions |
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6 Alternative provision and use of directions |
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7 Notifications school must submit to the local authority |
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7.1 Admissions |
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7.2 Leavers |
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7.3 Pupils who fail to attend |
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7.4 Pupils on a part-time timetable |
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7.5 Children missing education |
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Appendix: School attendance and the law |
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Parents and carers |
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Schools |
1 Introduction
This is a successful school and every child plays their part in making it so. We aim for an environment which enables and encourages all pupils to achieve their potential and aspire to excellence.
For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and every child should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless they have an unavoidable reason to be absent. Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning.
Absence or late arrival also disrupts daily routines and teaching and so may affect the learning of others in the same class.
Government research shows a direct link between attendance and attainment and good attenders also make better progress socially, learn to work with others, and are better prepared for the transition to secondary school and, eventually, higher education, training and employment.
It is very important therefore that you make sure your child attends regularly and our attendance policy sets out how together we will achieve this. The policy will be applied fairly and consistently and we will always consider the individual needs of pupils, and their families, who have specific barriers to attendance. We will also be mindful of our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and give consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Our attendance target this year is 95%, but all pupils should strive to achieve 100% attendance if they can.
2 Responsibilities and expectations
2.1 Families
Parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly, if they are of compulsory school age and registered at a school (see the appendix for details of how the law applies to school attendance and how "parent" is defined in law).
Parents and pupils should know the times the school day starts and finishes and when the register closes (see section 4, below), the processes for requesting leave (see section 3.4), and the process for informing school of the reason for unexpected absence (as follows).
If your child is going to be absent, parents must inform school as soon as possible and at the latest by 8.55 am on the first day of absence. This should be by leaving a message on the school telephone system – 01772 253244, Option 1.
Parents must also ensure that school has up-to-date contact information for themselves and emergency contacts.
Pupils' responsibilities depend upon their age, maturity and capability but they too must do their best to attend school regularly and punctually.
School contact information for attendance-related matters is given below at the end of section 2.2.
2.2 School
Head Teacher
- Ensure there are designated staff with day-to-day responsibility for attendance matters and protected time allocated to discharge those responsibilities.
- Take overall responsibility for ensuring the school confirms to statutory requirements regarding attendance.
- Consider each request for leave against the school's criteria, decide whether some, all, or none of the leave will be authorised and notify parents of this decision.
- Where there is uncertainty regarding an absence, make the decision whether or not to authorise an absence, or to request further evidence to support the decision-making process.
- Provide regular reports to the governing body on school attendance, including persistent absence and vulnerable groups.
Senior Attendance Champion
- Take overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance in school, liaising with pupils, parents and external agencies where needed.
- Set a clear vision for improving and maintaining good attendance.
- Establish and maintain effective systems for tackling absence and make sure they are followed by all staff
- Have a comprehensive understanding of attendance data.
- Use attendance data to target attendance improvement efforts and support to the pupils or pupil cohorts who need it most.
- Regularly monitor and evaluate progress, including the efficacy of the school’s strategies and processes.
- Regularly communicate pupil attendance and punctuality levels to parents.
Other staff with designated responsibilities for attendance
- First day response: contact parents if a reason for absence has not been provided and record this information accordingly. Contact emergency contacts if parents cannot be reached.
- Update attendance registers.
- Regularly monitor and analyse data to identify pupil, class and whole school attendance concerns and to target attendance improvement support for those who need it most, particularly vulnerable groups.
- Discuss attendance concerns at an early stage with pupils and parents.
- Work with pupils and parents to remove barriers to regular and punctual attendance, using attendance contracts where appropriate.
- Involve external agencies to support pupils and parents as appropriate to better understand and address the issues causing attendance concerns.
- Promote regular attendance through the school newsletter, website and displays and ensure the school's attendance policy is readily accessible.
- Use projects and strategies to improve attendance and punctuality for groups, classes or the whole school (eg incentive and reward schemes, certificates, traffic light letters).
All school staff
- Provide a welcoming atmosphere for pupils and a safe learning environment, particularly for those returning to school following a period of absence.
- Be aware of factors that can contribute to poor attendance and punctuality.
- Recognise that absence is a symptom of other issues impacting a pupil’s welfare and can be a warning sign of safeguarding concerns.
- Adhere to the procedures in place within school to promote good attendance.
- Promote the link between attendance and educational attainment to pupils and parents.
- Complete attendance registers in accordance with the legislation and under the direction of the head teacher.
- Raise any concerns about attendance with the Senior Attendance Champion and/or head teacher.
Governors
- Ensure compliance with The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.
- Agree an attendance policy and review it annually or more frequently if required.
- Agree targets for attendance at Frenchwood Community Primary School.
- Where the school is not meeting its attendance targets, or when the governors believe there is cause for concern, instigate a review of school's attendance procedures.
- Authorise the head teacher (or other designated person) to make decisions regarding leave of absence requests.
- Work with the head teacher in establishing equitable and consistent criteria against which leave requests will be considered.
Schools are bound by a range of attendance legislation, regulations and guidance; please see the appendix for further details.
School attendance contacts
Mrs Lisa Robinson or Ms Laila Ali, Office Administrators: access voice mail messages and update registers.
Mrs Cathryn Antwis, Headteacher: senior leader responsible for the strategic approach to attendance in school.
Mrs Jacqui Hobson, Senior Attendance Champion: contact for day to day enquiries about attendance, including for specific and more serious attendance concerns.
The staff named above can be contacted on 01772 253244.
2.3 Lancashire County Council (the local authority)
School Attendance Support Team
Each school has a named contact in the School Attendance Support Team who can advise schools on attendance related matters, and with whom Targeting Support Meetings will be held. For mainstream nursery, primary and secondary schools this will be a School Attendance Support Worker (SASW); for special schools, short stay schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) this will be a School Attendance Consultant (SAC).
School Attendance Legal Team (SALT)
Following requests from schools for legal interventions when parents fail to ensure their children attend regularly, the School Attendance Legal Team undertakes enforcement processes, including penalty notices, prosecutions, parenting orders, education supervision orders and school attendance orders.
Children Missing Education (CME) Team
The Children Missing Education Team ensures the local authority fulfils its statutory duty to identify children in their area who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. For further information see section 7, below, regarding notifications schools must submit.
3 Types of absence
Every half-day absence from school is classified by the school as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required from parents/carers. As a school, we will always work with parents (and other agencies, as appropriate) to understand the reasons underlying absence.
3.1 Authorised absences
Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness, medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable causes or exceptional circumstances.
3.2 Unauthorised absences
Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable or justifiable. If school has followed its attendance procedures and a pupil continues to have unauthorised absences, the school may see seek advice from the local authority School Attendance Support Team or request legal interventions from the School Attendance Legal Team. Examples of unauthorised absences are:
- Parents/carers keeping their child off school unnecessarily.
- Absences which are not explained satisfactorily.
- Pupils who arrive at school after the register has closed and without a legitimate reason (see section 4.2).
- Days off for shopping, birthdays or looking after other children.
- Day trips and other leave in term time which have not been agreed by the head teacher.
- Days that exceed an amount of leave agreed by the head teacher.
It is the head teacher's responsibility to decide if an absence is authorised or unauthorised and, if there is any uncertainty relating to an absence, school may request further confirmation from parents before an absence is authorised. For absence due to illness, this may be in the form of:
- Sight of an appointment for your GP or for the hospital, clinic, etc.
- Sight of prescribed medication or prescription for medication.
- Sight of medical notes/records.
- A letter from a medical professional such as a specialist or consultant.
- School's medical evidence slip, authorised by a pharmacist, doctor, receptionist, etc which indicates that you have sought medical advice and outlines your child's medical condition.
Parents should not ask their doctor (GP) to provide "sick notes" to excuse absence.
Whilst any child may be off school because they are ill, sometimes they can be reluctant to attend school for other reasons. If your child is reluctant to attend it is better to speak to school as soon as possible to resolve the issue, rather than trying to cover up their absence, or give in to pressure to let them stay at home. As a school, we will always work with parents (and external agencies as appropriate) to understand and address the reasons behind absence.
3.3 Persistent Absence (PA)
Persistent absence is when a pupil misses 10% or more of their schooling across the school year for whatever reason, authorised and unauthorised (including illness, exclusion, holiday, etc). Absence at this level will damage any pupil’s educational prospects and we expect parents' fullest support and co-operation to address this.
At Frenchwood Community Primary School, we monitor all absence thoroughly, therefore any pupil whose attendance indicates they are likely to reach the PA threshold will be prioritised and parents will be informed of this promptly. Pupils who are persistent absentees are tracked and monitored carefully and the attendance procedures below (section 5) will be followed.
3.4 Leave during term time
By law, maintained schools cannot authorise any leave in term time other than in exceptional circumstances. Taking a child out of school in term time will affect their education and progress as much as any other absence. If leave is being requested that involves arranging travel or accommodation, approval must be obtained from the head teacher before making any bookings.
Leave of absence in term time will not be granted unless:
- a request for leave has been made in advance by a parent with whom the pupil normally resides (using the form available on the school website or from the school office), and
- the head teacher considers that leave of absence should be granted due to the exceptional circumstances relating to the request.
Due to the need to evidence exceptional circumstances, parents are advised to provide school with any relevant information regarding their request at the point of application if they believe the circumstances are exceptional.
In considering the request school will also consider other factors such as:
- The timing of the requested leave, eg when a pupil is just starting at school or during assessment periods, such as SATs.
- A pupil’s attendance record already includes unauthorised absence.
- Attendance is already a concern, or could become a concern, as a result of taking leave.
- Other periods of leave which the pupil may have had, either during the current or previous academic year.
Any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school, or in excess of that agreed, will be classed as unauthorised and may attract legal sanctions such as a penalty notice.
In certain circumstances, as outlined in regulation, parents risk losing their child's place on the school roll if leave is taken and the criteria governing removal from roll are met (see appendix).
3.5 Religious absence
School will authorise one day of absence per religious festival, eg Eid, and this will be marked as code R in the register. The day authorised will be that set aside by the religious body of which the parent is a member.
Parents must request any additional leave in advance and this can only be authorised if the head teacher agrees that exceptional circumstances apply; this would be marked in the register as code C.
3.6 Participation in sporting events
Parents can request leave of absence for their child to take part in regional, national and international sporting events. However, as always, granting leave is at the head teacher’s discretion and she/he will need to discuss with you the length and frequency of the absence(s) requested and how learning will continue if absence occurs, eg the sports club or association providing an approved education tutor.
Leave for a sporting activity that has been approved by the school and supervised by someone authorised by the school can be marked in the register as code P.
Permission for your child to leave early or arrive late in order to attend coaching and training sessions is also at the discretion of the head teacher and is unlikely to be approved if it would occur regularly.
3.7 Participation in performances (eg theatre, television, modelling)
Parents of a child performer can request leave from school for their child to take part in a performance. A local authority licence must be obtained before a child can take part in a performance. Before a licence is granted, school will be consulted and head teachers must be satisfied that the leave will not have a negative effect on the child’s education.
Where the licence specifies the dates that the child is to be away from school, the head teacher should authorise those days. However, where the licence does not specify dates, it is at the discretion of the head teacher to authorise the leave request. Any absence authorised for the child to take part in a performance will be recorded as code C1.
Parents wishing to apply for a performance licence should go the Lancashire County Council Child performance licences webpage.
4 Registration
4.1 Attendance registration
Morning registration is between 8.55am and 9.00am.
Afternoon registration is five minutes after the return to class after lunch (varies due to staggered lunchtimes across school).
The school day starts at 8.55am. Pupils are expected to be on the premises at that time and that is when the registration period starts (ie when the register is taken and remains open).
When the attendance register has been taken it remains open until 9.25am in the morning and 1.30pm in the afternoon.
School finishes at 3.15pm.
4.2 Late arrival
Pupils who arrive after 8.55am must go straight to the school office at the main entrance to sign in and give a reason for their lateness. They must be accompanied by a parent. The parents of those pupils who walk to school by themselves will receive a phone call advising them that their child has arrived late.
Pupils who arrive after the register has been taken (9.00am or 1.20pm) but before it is closed (9.25am or 1.30pm), will be marked as code L. This is classed as late but present for the session (ie the morning or afternoon).
Pupils who arrive after the register has closed and without a valid reason for being late (such as attending a dental or medical appointment) will be marked as code U, which is classed as an unauthorised absence but indicates that the pupil was physically present in school for part of the session.
4.3 Punctuality
Poor punctuality is not acceptable. If your child misses the start of the day, they can miss work and do not spend time with their class teacher getting important news and information for the day. Pupils arriving late also disrupt lessons, which can be embarrassing for the child and can in turn, encourage absence. Being 10 minutes late every day throughout the academic year is the same as missing two weeks of school.
If your child is often late you will be asked to meet with the head teacher and/or the Senior Attendance Champion to discuss ways to improve punctuality, but you can approach us at any time if you are having problems getting your child to school on time.
Persistent lateness after the register has closed may result in further action, as outlined below, under section 5.
5 School attendance procedures
5.1 First day of absence
If your child is absent and we have not heard from you, we will telephone you on the first day of absence to find out what the reason is and when your child is expected to return. If we are unable to contact you, we will approach your emergency contacts and, if necessary, make a home visit. Please note that such home visits may be unannounced.
5.2 Attendance concerns
Parents are expected to contact school at an early stage and to work with us in resolving any attendance problems together; this is nearly always successful. However, if concerns persist or absences are unexplained, school will use the following procedures and interventions, as required, to support parents in improving their child's attendance and/or punctuality:
- Telephone calls and/or letters to make parents aware of school's concern about their child's attendance.
- When there is uncertainty about the reason for absence, school may ask parents to provide appropriate evidence and/or undertake home visits to ascertain where a child is and to ensure they are safe.
- Invitation to meetings to discuss concerns with head teacher and/or the Senior Attendance Champion.
- Attendance contracts to identify barriers to regular attendance, ways to overcome these and agree targets for improvement.
- Incentive and reward schemes for individual pupils, if appropriate.
- The Early Help Assessment (EHA) process and/or referral to other agencies and services, including School Nurses and Primary Mental Health Workers, if appropriate.
- For unauthorised absences, request legal interventions by the local authority, such as penalty notices, prosecution or other attendance-related court orders.
At any stage, we may seek advice from the local authority School Attendance Support Team.
5.3 Pupils with medical needs who have difficulty attending school
Government guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (see appendix) emphasises the role of governing bodies in ensuring that pupils with medical conditions are able to fully access education in the same way as other pupils. A key element of this responsibility is reducing the amount of time missed by these pupils, whether their condition is short or long term.
School will work with parents and other relevant professionals to minimise absence for reasons of ill health. This may be in the form of reasonable adjustments, specific support or resources used within school, or by sourcing appropriate provision at another establishment. When education is to be provided at an alternative location, this should always be done via the use of a direction (please see section 6, below).
When a pupil has been absent from school for an extended period, the Senior Attendance Champion and other support services will work with the family to ensure that a smooth reintegration is achieved.
5.4 Pupils refusing to attend school
At Frenchwood Community Primary School, we believe that every child has a right to a full-time education, and we would not accept "school refusal" as a reason for non-attendance. In such cases, we will work with parents to identify the reasons why a child may be reluctant to attend school. We may request advice from the School Attendance Support Team and, with consent, make referrals to other external partners such as the Children and Family Wellbeing Service or Primary Mental Health Workers, as appropriate, to try to ensure the correct support is secured for the child and their family.
5.5 Promotion of good attendance
School will promote and incentivise attendance by acknowledging and rewarding good attendance by all pupils and efforts to improve attendance by individual pupils who have additional needs or challenging circumstances.
5.6 Use of penalty notices and other attendance legal interventions
Legal interventions may be sought if providing support to improve attendance is not appropriate (eg for an unauthorised holiday in term time), or has not been successful or engaged with. In accordance with the Lancashire code of conduct, we may request that the local authority issue penalty notices for unauthorised absences that include:
- Leave of absence which is taken without a prior request being made.
- Leave taken after a request has been declined.
- Days taken in excess of an agreed period of leave, without good reason.
- Other unauthorised absence that meets the required threshold, including sessions marked as late after the register has closed (code U).
On 19 August 2024 new penalty notice arrangements came into force, with changes to the cost of a penalty notice and to the thresholds at which penalty notices may be requested by school. The DfE now requires that schools must consider if a penalty notice is appropriate when the thresholds are met. The changes to be aware of are:
- Penalty notices issued for offences that take place after 19 August 2024 will be charged at £160 per parent per child. This will reduce to £80 if paid within 21 days.
- Any second penalty notice issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period will be issued at the rate of £160 to be paid within 28 days with no option for a discounted rate.
- The threshold at which a penalty notice must be considered is set at 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10-school week period. This may include absences as a result of arriving late after the register closes. The 10 school weeks may span different terms or consecutive school years.
- A maximum of two penalty notices may be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period, so at the 3rd (or subsequent) offence(s) another course of action will need to be considered (such as prosecution or one of the other attendance legal interventions).
- If a school requests a penalty notice for absences other than unauthorised holidays, including being late after the register has closed, the local authority School Attendance Legal Team may issue a Notice to Improve to parents. A Notice to Improve is a final opportunity for parents to engage in support and improve attendance before a penalty notice is issued. If the national threshold has been met and offers of support have not been engaged with by parents or have not worked, a Notice to Improve may be issued to give parents a final chance to engage with support and improve their child's attendance.
The code of conduct for penalty notices and information and FAQs for parents can be found on the Lancashire County Council education penalty notice webpage.
6 Alternative provision and use of directions
There is a range of circumstances when pupils might be required to access educational provision at a venue other than their main school. The main reasons are:
- Pupils who have been permanently excluded or suspended for a period of more than 5 days.
- Pupils unable to access provision at their main school for medical reasons.
- Pupils required to attend another venue for the purpose of improving behaviour, either on a temporary basis or with a view to making a permanent move to the alternative provision (via a managed move).
When a pupil is required to attend alternative provision for the purposes of improving behaviour, the governors of the main school must issue a written direction or notice informing all parents of the alternative provision which their child is required to attend. Where a pupil is required to attend alternative provision for other reasons, the issuing of a written direction is considered best practice.
7 Notifications school must submit to the local authority
7.1 Admissions
All schools must notify the local authority within five days of adding a pupil’s name to the admission register and must provide the local authority with all the information held within the admission register about the pupil. This duty does not apply to pupils who are added to the admission register at the start of the school’s youngest year unless the local authority also requests for such information to be provided (currently Lancashire does not).
7.2 Leavers
All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register. This duty does not apply where the pupil’s name is removed after they have completed the school’s final year, unless the local authority requests for such information to be provided (Lancashire currently does not).
Where a school notifies a local authority that a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register, the school must provide the local authority with the required information as laid out in the regulation.
In addition to submitting a notification about removal from roll, some circumstances also require school to make referral to other local authority teams such as the Elective Home Education team or the Children Missing Education team. Schools may also contact the School Attendance Support Team for advice on removing children from roll. For pupils with an EHCP on roll at a special school, the school must have the agreement of the Lancashire Inclusion Service (SEND) before removing from roll.
7.3 Pupils who fail to attend
All schools (including academies) must inform the local authority of any pupil who fails to attend school regularly or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 days or more. In Lancashire schools, this can be done via a variety of means and school can contact the School Attendance Support Team for further advice.
7.4 Pupils on a part-time timetable
Schools must also inform the local authority when a pupil is placed on a part-time timetable. In Lancashire, this should be done via the appropriate form available to schools.
7.5 Children missing education (CME)
Local authorities have a duty to put in place arrangements for identifying (as far as possible) those children of compulsory school age in their area who are not on roll at a school or receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. Local authorities should trace those children and ensure they receive a full-time education.
If a pupil has stopped attending and her or his location is unknown, schools must make reasonable enquiries to establish the whereabouts of the child jointly with the local authority, before deleting the pupil’s name from the register. In such cases, school should undertake a home visit, prior to a referral being made to the local authority Children Missing Education team.
Appendix: School attendance and the law
There are many pieces of legislation and government regulations and guidance that are relevant to school attendance and to children and their parents and carers. The list below relates to this attendance policy but is not exhaustive. Some elements of government regulations and DfE guidance do not apply to academies and independent schools (but may apply to independent special schools).
Parents and carers
Duty to ensure children receive education
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 covers the duty of parents to secure the education of children in their care who are of compulsory school age and states:
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable—
(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
(b) to any special educational needs he may have,
either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.
Offence if a child does not attend regularly
Under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996, if a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly, their parent is guilty of an offence.
The offence is absolute as the only defences available to the parent are those statutory defences listed within that section of the Act, ie:
- the child was absent with leave granted by the school;
- the child was prevented from attending by reason of sickness or any unavoidable cause;
- absence was on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which their parent belongs;
- that the school is not within statutory walking distance and that the local education authority has made no suitable transport arrangements or enabled the pupil to become registered at an alternative nearer school.
Compulsory school age
Section 8 of the Education Act 1996 establishes that a child becomes of compulsory school age on the start date of the term following her/his fifth birthday, or that day if her/his fifth birthday falls on the day term starts.
A child ceases to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday in June in the academic year in which he/she reaches the age of 16 or if he/she reaches 16 after the last Friday in June but before the start of the new school year.
Legal definition of "parent" in relation to attendance
The law requires that all “parents” are held responsible for their child’s attendance. This definition can include any person who has care of the child. Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 states:
Meaning of “parent”.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, “parent”, in relation to a child or young person, includes any person—
(a) who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him, or
(b) who has care of him.
Thus, the definition of “parent” means all natural parents, whether they are married or not, and includes any person who, although not a natural parent, has parental responsibility and/or care for a child or young person.
Schools
Attendance and absence registration codes
Working together to improve school attendance, DfE statutory guidance 2024, explains which codes schools should use to record attendance and absence in their registers, and specifies the DfE's expectations of schools and local authorities with respect to school attendance.
Data protection
Schools must ensure that personal data is handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. See Frenchwood Community Primary School's Privacy Notice for information about how personal data will be used.
Duty for schools to include attendance information in reports for parents
The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005
Duty for schools to notify the local authority when pupils join or leave school
Regulation 13 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
Duty for schools to report attendance concerns about individual pupils to the local authority
Regulation 13 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
Duty for schools to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
Keeping children safe in education, DfE statutory guidance, regularly updated
Duty for schools to share attendance data with the Government
Section 537A of the Education Act 1996 and
Share your daily school attendance, DfE guidance 2024
Leave of absence
Regulation 11 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
Legal interventions
Parents/carers commit an offence if a child who is on a school roll fails to attend regularly and those absences are recorded by the school as unauthorised.
Legal interventions are available under the following acts, guidance and regulations:
- Section 444 of the Education Act 1996
- Section 36 of the Children Act 1989
- Section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
- The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
- School attendance parental responsibility measures, DfE guidance 2015
Pupils experiencing social, emotional or mental health issues
Mental health issues affecting a pupil's attendance: guidance for schools, DfE 2023
Pupils with health needs who cannot attend school
Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs, DfE statutory guidance 2023
Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions, DfE statutory guidance 2015
Pupils with individual needs and specific barriers to attendance
When considering the individual needs of pupils and families who have specific barriers to attendance, schools should be mindful of their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Equality Act 2010. The Technical Guidance for Schools in England, published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, outlines the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 for schools.
Regulations regarding participation in performances
The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014
Regulations regarding removal from roll
Regulation 9 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
Regulations regarding the school day and number of sessions
The Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999
Requirement for mainstream, state-funded schools to deliver a school week of at least 32.5 hours
Length of the school week, DfE guidance 2023
Specialist and alternative provision settings are also encouraged to consider extending their core week where appropriate.
Next review September 2026
Purpose and scope
We achieve our aims by:
- Working in partnership with parents to support their child’s learning
- Creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and parents
- Being positive examples for our pupils at all times
To help us do this, we set clear expectations and guidelines on behaviour for all members of our community. This includes staff (through the Staff Code of Conduct) and parents (through our Conduct Policy).
This policy is designed to support the way in which all members of the school can work together in a supportive way. It aims to promote an environment in which everyone feels happy, safe and secure.
The Relational Behaviour and Self-regulation Policy is a means of promoting relationships where we understand each other, enabling everyone to work together with the common purpose of helping all pupils to achieve their best. This policy supports the school community in aiming to allow everyone to work together in an effective and mindful way. The school expects every member of the school community to behave in a considerate, cooperative and respectful way towards others. Pupils should be treated impartially and with the policy being applied in a consistent and attuned way. It aims to help pupils to grow in a safe and secure environment, and to become positive, responsible and increasingly independent members of the school and the wider community. It is designed to recognise, encourage, and promote positive behaviour, in part, through the ongoing development of pupil emotion regulation.
Supporting pupils to develop the school vision and values
Alongside our school motto, The Frenchwood Family – Together We Grow, and our shared values statement, we have identified six core values that support our learning and personal development.
At Frenchwood Community Primary School, we are a family with shared values. These are at the core of everything we do, and were developed by pupils, parents, staff and governors in Summer Term 2022.
Members of The Frenchwood Family are ASPIRATIONAL; we develop the skills to be successful citizens of a future that we will be responsible for shaping.
By working and learning in a COLLABORATIVE way, we make the best of all our talents, support each other and develop skills for life.
We are HARD-WORKING; there is no short cut to success. Through our efforts we build up our skills, confidence and can feel proud of our achievements.
We are KIND to ourselves, to each other and to the environment.
We are RESPECTFUL of ourselves, and other people, especially those with the experience to guide us, such as parents or adults in the school and community.
It is important to members of The Frenchwood Family that we are WELCOMING to new pupils, families, guests and the wider community; whoever they are, wherever they are from, whatever their beliefs or life experiences.
Rationale
At Frenchwood we recognise that behaviour is communicative and often reflects an emotion or feeling. This policy is grounded in the belief that we are able to develop our ability to self-regulate our emotions and behaviour. Adult and child relationships are integral for this to occur. Through co-regulation of feelings, children learn to become more independent and develop self-regulation.
Staff Responsibility
Developing supportive relationships with pupils is the responsibility of all members of staff. Staff will seek to understand the pupils’ perspective of the situation, strive to understand the child’s feeling whilst maintaining firm but fair limits on behaviour. Staff will help pupils to develop a range of strategies to manage expectations.
The Role of the Adult
It is the responsibility of adults in school to develop empathic relationships with pupils and ensure that school expectations are applied fairly in their classes. This is particularly important for those adults working within class. Teachers and teaching assistants expect their classes to behave in a responsible manner whenever the pupils are in their care. They have high expectations of the pupils with regard to behaviour, and strive to ensure that all pupils work to the best of their ability. Our staff are social, emotional, and learning role models for pupils. Additionally, they help pupils to co-regulate to achieve high expectations when necessary. Teachers treat all pupils in their classes with respect and understanding.
The Role Parents and Families
When parents enrol their child at Frenchwood, they are agreeing to support our policies and the actions of our school. Parents are able to address any queries regarding Emotion Coaching, co- and self-regulation and restorative approaches firstly to the class teacher, then to a member of the Senior Leadership Team. We aim to work with parents to achieve a shared approach and consistent messages between home and school to support their child’s emotional and behaviour development.
Promoting Pupil Engagement and Self-Regulation
School Expectations
We keep our general school rules simple, encouraging our pupils to ‘Be Frenchwood’. This means that we all need to:
- Be Kind
- Be Respectful
- Be Safe
Class Expectations
- Class expectations are generated by the pupils. They are displayed in each classroom and
Should be revisited with the pupils at the beginning of each term and at other times if necessary.
- Class teachers, support staff and pupils devise these at the beginning of the academic year. They are intended to be guidelines of behaviour expectations that both pupils and adults would like to see in their classroom. They should be phrased in a positive manner.
- Expectations are prominently displayed in the classroom
- All classes use reflection sessions as a tool for promoting positive behaviour. These sessions may be combination of games and opportunities for children to respond positively to each other in a safe, friendly environment. They may also provide the class with an opportunity to discuss and reflect upon situations that have been difficult to manage, to then consider ways in which the situation can be managed more successfully in future.
Therapeutic Teaching
As a school, we are undertaking training to achieve the Therapeutic School Award by summer 2026.
The aim of Therapeutic Teaching is to develop emotionally intelligent children who can understand and manage their feelings. At Frenchwood, we strive to create an emotionally safe, trauma-informed, and attachment-aware environment where all children can thrive.
We recognise that, on occasions, children may need time to ensure they are ready to learn. We provide time, space, and tools to enable children to self-regulate. Once children are calm and using their rational brain, they will be ready to learn and succeed.
Steps of a Therapeutic Response
Staff will work alongside the child to name their feelings and understand how these have impacted their behaviour. This approach gives children the language to recognise their emotions and how these influence their responses.
Staff will aim to remain positive by encouraging the child or offering opportunities for time and space. Once children are calm, staff can then work with the children around boundaries and teach them what they could do in the future.
Example of a Therapeutic Response:
- Name: Sam
- Feeling: “You are feeling… / You are… / It’s hard when…”
- Behaviour: “…and now you… / and so you are…”
- Encourage: “You are… / You have… / Remember when…”
- Regulate: “Go and get some water / Let’s…”
- Boundary: “Let’s go and… / I’m going to…”
- Teach: “Next time try… / Say…”
Inclusion Spaces
Each classroom includes a regulation station or calm corner—areas where children can self-regulate before returning to learning.
On occasions, children may need to use other inclusion areas around school, such as The Dell or The Hollow, to help self-regulate. Once children return to their learning, staff can support them both academically and emotionally.
Rewards
Our aim is that our children grow to appreciate that doing the right thing and knowing that you have done your best are intrinsically rewarding. However, extrinsic rewards could include:
- Focused verbal praise and personal feedback on behaviour and engagement
- In class awards as agreed by the class. This could be Class Dojo points, stickers etc
- Nomination in the values celebration assembly on Friday afternoon
- Calls or messages home
Toys, gifts or sweets are not offered as rewards.
Consequences
Unfortunately there always consequences for poor choices, but we avoid sanctions. Consequences may include:
- being late out to play due to finishing task or engaging in a restorative chat with the class teacher or another adult;
- undertaking a calm activity or alternative game at break time;
- taking incomplete tasks as homework.
Conversations about possible consequences will always take place discreetly.
Monitoring and reporting behaviour patterns
Every adult is able to report behaviour using our online monitoring system, CPOMS. This system is monitored by the senior leaders. Patterns, trends, actions and impact are reported to the Governing Board termly. No individual pupils are identified.
Support for adults to ensure consistency
All new staff have an induction meeting which includes the ethos of our school and this policy is outlined and explained along with Emotion Coaching. All staff have received training which is reviewed regularly. Supply or short term staff are inducted into school systems on arrival through the class supply information sheet. Staff get feedback on learning and other forms of pupil encouragement and engagement and motivation in lesson observations and sharing best practice with colleagues. All staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their own development in this area and to seek support/guidance where they feel a need is arising.
Additional Needs
We acknowledge that some pupils’ behaviour may be significantly impacted by family circumstances, social, emotional and mental health, or other learning needs. The SEND policy gives more detail about how additional needs are supported in the school.
Where an individual persistently needs adult support to regulate behaviour, alternatives will be put in place, e.g. star chart, jigsaw chart. These alternatives will be personalised to have the best impact for the individual pupil.
When a learner is unable to self-regulate to the extent that they put themselves and others in danger, a risk assessment plan will be created with the input of staff, pupil and families. As part of our risk management we will attempt to reduce risk by managing:
- The environment
- Our body language
- The way we talk to the children
- The way we act
- And by personalising curriculum and other learning programmes
Positive Handling
Our staff have been trained on positive safer handling with teams assigned across school on the rare occasions that a child needs physical support to keep themselves, others or property safe. These occasions are recorded and reported to parents the same day.
Suspension and Exclusion
In our school it is rare that school support will not have a positive impact upon pupil behaviour development and regulation. However, the school does and will suspend pupils for persistent abusive or violent behaviour or repeated and escalating low level disruptive behaviour. It is our ethos that we will make every provision for a child to achieve socially and emotionally but if, in spite of this, behaviours are risky, unsafe, violent, and prevent the efficient education of others, suspension or permanent exclusion may be applied.
We abide by the DfE guidance on this and report any exclusions routinely to Lancashire LA following local and national guidance.
Next review May 2026
This charging and remissions policy complies with statutory requirements and is reviewed on an annual basis.
Activities without charge
There will be no charge for the following activities:
- education provided wholly or mostly during school hours. This includes the supply of any materials, books, instruments, other equipment and also transport provided in school hours to carry pupils between the school and an activity;
- education provided outside school hours if it is part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination which the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education;
- instrumental and vocal music tuition for pupils learning individually or in groups , unless the tuition is provided at the request of the pupil's parent / carer.
- entry for a prescribed public examination including re-sits if the pupil has been prepared for it at the school
- examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit at the school
Voluntary Contributions
The school may ask for voluntary contributions towards the cost of school-time activities to assist with funding, subject to the following conditions:
- any children of parents who do not wish to contribute will not be treated any differently;
- where there are insufficient contributions to make the activity viable, or the school cannot fund it from some other source, then the activity will be cancelled.
All requests to parents for voluntary contributions will make it clear that the contributions are voluntary and that there is no obligation to make a contribution.
Chargeable Activities
The school may recover the full costs of the following activities but charges will not exceed actual cost:
• any materials, books, instruments, or equipment, where the child’s parent wishes him/her to own them;
• optional extras (see below);
• music and vocal tuition, in limited circumstances (see Appendix B);
• certain early years provision (see the Education (Charges for Early Tears Provision) Regulations 2012);
Optional Extras
Charges may be made for some activities which are detailed below:
• education provided outside of school time that is not:
 part of the national curriculum;
 part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school; or
 part of religious education.
• examination entry fee(s) if the registered pupil has not been prepared for the examination(s) at the school;
• transport (other than transport that is required to take the pupil to school or to other premises where the local authority/governing body have arranged for the pupil to be provided with education);
• board and lodging for a pupil on a residential visit (subject to remission arrangements)
• extended day services offered to pupils (for example breakfast club, after-school clubs, tea and supervised homework sessions where this is run under the responsibility of the governing body).
In calculating the cost of optional extras an amount may be included in relation to:
• any materials, books, instruments, or equipment provided in connection with the optional extra;
• the cost of buildings and accommodation;
• non-teaching staff;
• teaching staff engaged under contracts for services purely to provide an optional extra, this includes supply teachers engaged specifically to provide the optional extra; and
• the cost, or an appropriate proportion of the costs, for teaching staff employed to provide tuition in playing a musical instrument, or vocal tuition, where the tuition is an optional extra.
Any charge made in respect of individual pupils will not exceed the actual cost of providing the optional extra activity, divided equally by the number of pupils participating.
Remissions Policy
There will be no charge for board and lodgings for pupils whose parents are receiving specified benefits. This is subject to change but usually equates to pupils being eligible for free school meals (due to the receipt of specified benefits and not through the introduction of universal infant FSM). Current eligible benefits can be found on the DfE website.
Charges for other 'chargeable activities' may also be fully or partly remitted. Where appropriate Governors approve the use of the delegated budget and other funding streams such as Pupil Premium to allow 'chargeable activities' to be fully or partly remitted.
Details of any remission arrangements will be made clear when parents are informed of charges for individual activities.
Next review September 2026
- Context and Rationale
Frenchwood Community Primary School fully recognises the contribution we can make to protect children from harm and to support and promote the welfare of all children who are pupils at our school. This policy applies to all stakeholders; this includes pupils, staff, parents, governors, volunteers, placement students and visitors.
This policy will give clear direction to all stakeholders about expectations and our legal and moral responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our school.
Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the physical, mental and emotional welfare of every pupil. We implement a whole-school preventative approach to managing safeguarding concerns, ensuring that the wellbeing of pupils is at the forefront of all action taken. We recognise that no single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.
This policy sets out a clear and consistent framework for delivering this promise, in line with safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance. It will be achieved by:
- Ensuring that members of the governing board, the headteacher, staff and whole school community understand their responsibilities under safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance, are alert to the signs of child abuse, and know to refer concerns to the DSL. In additional, to ensure that staff are aware that ANYONE can make a referral.
- Teaching pupils how to keep safe and recognise behaviour that is unacceptable.
- Identifying and making provision for any pupil that has been subject to, or is at risk of, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
- Creating a culture of safer recruitment by adopting procedures that help deter, reject or identify people who might pose a risk to children
- Endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued; where the voice of the child is listened to and is paramount
- Where it is believed that a child is at risk of or is suffering significant harm, the school will follow the procedures set out by our local Lancashire Safeguarding Children Partnership arrangements. Reporting & Support - Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (safeguardingpartnership.org.uk)
- The school will have due regard to Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) Procedures Manual.
https://panlancashirescp.trixonline.co.uk/contents/contents
- Definitions
The terms “children” and “child” refer to anyone under the age of 18.
The purpose of this safeguarding policy is to ensure every pupil at Frenchwood Community Primary School is safe and protected from harm. The Department for Education (DfE) ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2023), states safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
- providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
- protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
- preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as child-on-child abuse and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to) bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying); sexual violence and sexual harassment; physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm; upskirting; initiating/hazing type violence and rituals; abuse in intimate personal relationships between children; consensual or non-consensual sharing of nudes or semi-nude images or videos, or causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent.
For the purposes of this policy, “sexual violence” refers to the following offences as defined under the Sexual Offences Act 2003:
- Rape: A person (A) commits an offence of rape if they intentionally penetrate the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with their penis, B does not consent to the penetration, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
- Assault by penetration: A person (A) commits an offence if they intentionally penetrate the vagina or anus of another person (B) with a part of their body or anything else, the penetration is sexual, B does not consent to the penetration, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
- Sexual assault: A person (A) commits an offence of sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person (B), the touching is sexual, B does not consent to the touching, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
- Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent: A person (A) commits an offence if they intentionally cause another person (B) to engage in an activity, the activity is sexual, B does not consent to engaging in the activity, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents. This could include forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party.
For the purposes of this policy, “sexual harassment” refers to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that occurs online or offline, inside or outside of school. Sexual harassment is likely to violate a pupil’s dignity, make them feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated, and create a hostile, offensive, or sexualised environment. If left unchallenged, sexual harassment can create an atmosphere that normalises inappropriate behaviour and may lead to sexual violence. Sexual harassment can include, but is not limited to:
- Sexual comments, such as sexual stories, lewd comments, sexual remarks about clothes and appearance, and sexualised name-calling.
- Sexual “jokes” and taunting.
- Physical behaviour, such as deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone’s clothes, and displaying images of a sexual nature.
- Online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence. This includes:
- The consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.
- Sharing unwanted explicit content.
- Upskirting.
- Sexualised online bullying.
- Unwanted sexual comments and messages, including on social media.
- Sexual exploitation, coercion, and threats.
Upskirting refers to the act, as identified the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, of taking a picture or video under another person’s clothing, without their knowledge or consent, with the intention of viewing that person’s genitals or buttocks, with or without clothing, to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm. Upskirting is a criminal offence. Anyone, including pupils and staff, of any gender can be a victim of upskirting.
Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos, colloquially known as “sexting” and "youth produced imagery", is defined as the sharing between pupils of sexually explicit content, including indecent imagery. Indecent imagery is defined as an image which meets one or more of the following criteria:
- Nude or semi-nude sexual posing
- A child touching themselves in a sexual way
- Any sexual activity involving a child
- Someone hurting a child sexually
- Sexual activity that involves animals
Consent is defined as having the freedom and capacity to choose to engage in sexual activity. Consent may be given to one sort of sexual activity but not another and can be withdrawn at any time during sexual activity and each time activity occurs. A person only consents to a sexual activity if they agree by choice to that activity and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Children under the age of 13 can never consent to any sexual activity. The age of consent is 16.
- Law and Guidance
This policy has due regard to all relevant legislation and statutory guidance including, but not limited to:
Legislation
- Children Act 1989
- Children Act 2004
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
- The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended)
- Education Act 2002
- Sexual Offences Act 2003
- Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by the Serious Crime Act 2015)
- Apprenticeships, Children and Learning Act 2009
- Equality Act 2010
- Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015
- The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The Childcare (Disqualification) and Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Extended Entitlement) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
- Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019
- Domestic Abuse Act 2021
- Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022
- Victims and Prisoners Act 2024
Statutory guidance
- HM Government (2020) ‘Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation’
- HM Government (2013) ‘Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases of Forced Marriage’
- HM Government (2021) ‘Channel Duty Guidance: Protecting people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism’
- HM Government (2021) ‘Channel Duty Guidance: Protecting people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism’
- Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2023) ‘Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage and Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases of forced marriage’
- DfE (2025) ‘Keeping children safe in education’
- DfE (2023) ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’
- Home Office (2022) ‘Domestic Abuse guidance’
- DfE (2023) ‘The Prevent Duty Guidance’
- DfE (2018) ‘Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006’
- DfE (2024) ‘Working together to improve school attendance’
Non-statutory guidance
- DfE (2015) ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’
- DfE (2024) ‘Information sharing’
- DfE (2024) ‘Academy Trust governance’
- DfE (2017) ‘Child sexual exploitation’
- DfE (2024) ‘Recruit teachers from overseas’
- DfE (2024) ‘Behaviour in schools’
- DfE (2021) ‘Teachers’ Standards’
- DfE (2024) ‘Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges’
- Department of Health and Social Care (2024) ‘Virginity testing and hymenoplasty: multi-agency guidance’
- DfE (2024) ‘Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working
with children and young people’
This policy operates in conjunction with the following school policies:
- School Attendance Policy
- Anti-Bullying Policy
- Online Safety Policy
- Data Protection Policy
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Staff Code of Conduct
- Relational Behaviour and Self-regulation Policy
- Managing pupils with medical conditions policy
- Complaints Policy
- Low-level Safeguarding Concerns Policy
- Roles and responsibilities
All staff have a responsibility to:
- Consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the pupil with a child-centred approach
- Contribute to, and maintain a high safeguarding ethos within the setting, with safeguarding pupils at the forefront of practice, at all times
- Ensure ALL children have opportunities to communicate and know that they are listened to and understood
- Contribute to providing a curriculum which will equip all children with the skills to keep themselves safe and develop an attitude which will enable them to enter adulthood successfully and reach their full potential
- Establish effective, supportive, and positive relationships with parents, carers, pupils and other professionals
- Maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned
- Be proactive to provide a safe and secure environment in which pupils can learn
- Be prepared to identify pupils or families who may benefit from early help
- Be aware of the school’s individual procedures that support safeguarding, including all policies, internal reporting procedures, information and engage with training provided
- Be aware of the role and identity of the DSL and deputy DSLs and seek them for advice if required
- Undertake safeguarding training, including online safety training, during induction and subsequently on a regular basis (at least annually), (which, amongst other things, includes an understanding of the expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring) including receiving bulletins, emails and briefings. Staff should undertake Prevent awareness training at least every two years
- Be aware of the local early help process and understand their role in it.
- Be aware of, and understand, the process for making referrals to Children's Social Care, understanding that anyone can make a referral
- Understand how to make a referral to CSC and/or the police immediately, if at any point there is a risk of immediate serious harm to a child
- Be aware of and understand the procedure to follow, in the event that a child confides they are being abused, exploited or neglected, in a timely manner
- Maintain appropriate levels of confidentiality when dealing with individual cases
- Reassure victims that they are being taken seriously, that they will be supported, and that they will be kept safe
- Be aware of safeguarding issues that can put pupils at risk of harm
- Be aware of behaviours linked to safeguarding issues such as drug-taking, alcohol misuse, deliberately missing education, sharing indecent images, extremist behaviours and other signs that pupils may be at risk of harm
- Be fully aware of the importance of mental health in relation to safeguarding and that all staff should also be aware that mental health problems can, in some cases, be an indicator that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation
- Be aware that a pupil may not feel ready or know how to tell someone that they are being abused, exploited or neglected, and/or may not recognise their experiences as harmful
- Avoid victim-blaming attitudes, and challenge it in a professional way if it occurs
- Understand the process for reporting concerns over staff or adult conduct or behaviours.
- All staff will be aware of the indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation and will understand that children can be at risk of harm both inside and outside of the school and home, and online. Staff will also be aware that pupils can be affected by seeing, hearing or experiencing the effects of abuse.
Teachers, including the headteacher, have a responsibility to:
- Safeguard pupils’ wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties, as outlined in the ‘Teachers’ Standards’
- Report, by law, any disclosures of FGM to the police.
The governing body has a duty to:
- Take strategic leadership responsibility for the school’s safeguarding arrangements
- Ensure that the school complies with its duties under the above child protection and safeguarding legislation
- Ensure that all governors receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training. This should equip them with the knowledge to provide strategic challenge to test and assure themselves that the safeguarding policies and procedures in place are effective. Their training should be regularly updated.
- Ensure that staff read, understand and follow part one and Annex B of KCSIE September 2025.
- Ensure a named Governor takes leadership responsibility (Ms Michelle Sharkey) for safeguarding arrangements and receives appropriate training in the management of safeguarding
- Attend Prevent training at least every two years
- Appoint an appropriate member of staff from the SLT to the role of DSL and one or more deputy DSLs to provide support. Ensure that they are trained to the same standard as the DSL ensuring that the roles are explicit in their job description(s). Ensure the provision of appropriate support, funding, training, resources, and time to carry out their role effectively
- Support and monitor a whole-school approach to safeguarding; this includes ensuring that safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront and ethos remains consistently high
- Ensure systems are in place so that children to confidently report abuse, knowing that their concerns will be treated seriously, and they can safely express their views and give feedback; these systems will be well-promoted, easily understood, and easily accessible. Ensure that the voice of the child is heard and acted upon
- Ensure effective and appropriate policies and procedures are in place
- Make sure that pupils are taught about safeguarding, that safeguarding is embedded with the curriculum, including protection against dangers online (including when they are online at home), through teaching and learning opportunities, as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum
- Adhere to statutory responsibilities by conducting pre-employment checks on staff who work with children, following safer recruitment protocol
- Ensure the school has clear systems and processes in place for identifying possible mental health problems in pupils, including clear routes to escalate concerns and clear referral and accountability systems
- Ensure that at least one person on any recruitment panel has undertaken safer recruitment training
- Ensure that all staff receive relevant safeguarding and child protection training updates, including online safety and expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring systems e.g. emails, as required, but at least annually, including a thorough induction
- Confirm that there are transparent procedures in place to handle allegations against staff, supply staff, volunteers and contractors, including when the school premises are let out to a third party
- Confirm that there are procedures in place to make a referral to the DBS and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), where appropriate, if a person in regulated activity has been dismissed or removed due to safeguarding concerns or would have been had they not resigned
- Ensure that appropriate disciplinary procedures are in place, as well as policies pertaining to the behaviour of pupils and staff
- Ensure that procedures are in place to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, including those in relation to child-on-child abuse
- Appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of CLA and ensure that this person has undergone appropriate training
- Ensure that the appropriate level of recruitment checks are completed on Governors
- Create a culture where staff are confident to challenge senior leaders over any safeguarding concerns or lack of action taken
- Understand that online safeguarding is an interrelated and running theme through safeguarding practice. Ensure effective arrangements are in place to ensure that children are safe online. This should include appropriate online safety education and that effective filtering and monitoring systems are in place, regularly reviewing their effectiveness, understanding those children that are potentially at greater risk of harm, along with the proportionality of costs versus safeguarding risks
- Put in place appropriate safeguarding responses for pupils who become absent from education, particularly on repeat occasions and/or for prolonged periods, to help identify any risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation and prevent the risk of escalation in the future
- Ensure staff in school are aware of, and policies are personalised to reflect, an understanding of specific issues such as child-on-child abuse and safeguarding children with disabilities and special educational needs
- Partake and complete the S175/175 audit tool on a two-yearly cycle (at least) as directed by the Local Authority (Completed Spring 2024)
- Be aware of their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty), and the local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements
- Ensure there is an effective early help procedure and ensure all staff understand the procedure and their role in it
- Ensure that all practice and procedures operate with the best interests of the child at the centre with a firm child centred approach.
- Ensure that the school contributes to multi-agency working in line with the statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’.
The DSL has a duty to:
- The designated safeguarding lead should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place, ensuring their effectiveness) whilst creating a culture of safeguarding throughout the setting, continually raising the profile of safeguarding
- Provide advice, support and expertise to other staff on child welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters
- Take part in strategy discussions, inter-agency meetings and Child Protection Conferences and/or support other staff to do so
- Contribute to the assessment of children, and/or support other staff to do so
- Ensure that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training at induction, including online safety and expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring. This updated regularly, at least annually
- Be available during school hours for staff to discuss any safeguarding concerns
- Arrange, alongside the school, adequate and appropriate cover for any activities outside of school hours or terms
- Refer cases:
- To CSC where abuse and neglect are suspected, and support staff who make referrals CSC
- To the Channel programme where radicalisation concerns arise, and support staff who make referrals to the Channel programme
- To the DBS where a person is dismissed or has left due to harm, or risk of harm, to a child
- To the police where a crime may have been committed, in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) guidance.
- Act as a point of contact with the multi-agency partners
- Ensure effective communication and information sharing (when appropriate) between the school leadership team, including governors.
- Liaise with staff when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically
- Liaise with the senior mental health lead and, where available, the Mental Health Support Team, where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health.
- Promote supportive engagement with parents in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances
- Work with relevant staff, taking lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes for children, by understanding the lasting impact that adversity and trauma can have on children’s behaviour, mental health and wellbeing, knowing the safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and identifying the impact that these issues might be having on their attendance, engagement and achievement at school. This includes:
- Ensuring that the school knows which pupils have or had a social worker
- Understanding the academic progress and attainment of these pupils
- Maintaining a culture of high aspirations for these pupils
- Supporting teachers to provide additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to help these pupils reach their potential
- Ensure that child protection files are kept updated and secure, monitoring the quality and accuracy of logs
- Ensure that a pupil’s child protection file is transferred as soon as possible, and within five days, when transferring to a new school, and consider any additional information that should be shared to support a child's journey
- Ensure all stakeholders understand the Child Protection Policy, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 statutory guidance and internal procedures to report any concerns are transparent and understood by all. Ensure this information is given in induction and at regular intervals/training
- Work with the governing board to ensure the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually, and the procedures are updated and reviewed regularly
- Undergo DSL initial training, and update this training with refresher training at least every two years to remain compliant
- Ensure opportunities for further training and opportunities for upskilling are taken
- Have due regard to the PACE Code C 2023 in regards to the role of an appropriate adult
- Encourage a culture of listening to children promoting the voice of the child
- Recognise the importance of information sharing, including within school, with other schools and with the safeguarding partners and other agencies by understanding relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR
- Undertake Prevent awareness training (at least) every two years
- Be provided with appropriate support and supervision in order to carry out the role safely and effectively
- Liaise with the Local Authority Personal Advisors for any Care Leavers
- Have due regard to Appendix C of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025– 'The Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead'
The designated teacher has a responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of CLA and previously CLA (PLAC), and for children who have left care through adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement orders or who were adopted from state care outside England and Wales. In our setting, this is Mr Thomas O’Beirne.
- Training and Induction
Frenchwood Community Primary School recognise the importance of ongoing staff training and development to keep staff aware of emerging issues and keeping the ethos of safeguarding high. Everybody has a role to play in safeguarding our children and we strive to ensure all staff are well informed and know what to do if they have any concerns. Staff members, governors and volunteers will undergo safeguarding and child protection training at induction, which will be updated on a regular basis and/or whenever there is a change in legislation.
The induction training will cover:
- The Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
- The Staff Code of Conduct
- Cyber safety
- Part one and Annex B of ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE 2025)
- Relational Behaviour and Self-regulation Policy
- The School Attendance Policy, including the safeguarding response to children who have unexplained absences or go missing from education
- Appropriate child protection and safeguarding training, including online safety training
- Information about the role and identity of the DSL and deputy DSL(s)
- How to record concerns in your setting.
Records are kept of all inductions
Following induction, Frenchwood Community Primary School recognises the need to ensure continual, effective training to staff and other stakeholders. We will ensure:-
- ALL staff, Governors and volunteers will receive Safeguarding Training (at least) annually
- The DSL/s will provide ALL staff, volunteers and governors with regular safeguarding updates
- ALL staff, volunteers and governors will read and show an understanding of any updates that are provided
- DSLs will attend DSL training every 2 years and update their knowledge, skills and understanding of relevant safeguarding issues on a regular basis
- The DSL, along with Governors and all staff will undertake Prevent awareness training (at least) every two years
- That at least one person on any recruitment panel has undertaken safer recruitment training
- ALL staff, volunteers and governors will undertake any additional specialised training on matters such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Prevent, Child-on-Child abuse, Online Safety, FGM etc. as is deemed necessary by senior leaders and that is particularly relevant to the context and needs of the setting
- Any staff member will discuss any specific training requirements or gaps in knowledge or understanding with the DSL/s
- Staff will receive opportunities to contribute towards and inform the safeguarding arrangements in the school
- Detailed records will be held of staff safeguarding training and ensure that no training becomes out of date.
Frenchwood Community Primary School has due regards to the safeguarding requirements in the EYFS for group and school providers for staff and Designated Safeguarding Leads, including the criteria for safeguarding training set out in Annex C of the framework.
- Multi-Agency Working
The school contributes to multi-agency working as part of its statutory duty. The school is aware of and will follow the local safeguarding arrangements. Further details on www.safeguardingpartnership.org.uk
The school will be fully engaged, involved, and share information with local safeguarding arrangements. Once the school is named as a relevant agency by local safeguarding partners, it will follow its statutory duty to cooperate with the published arrangements in the same way as other relevant agencies.
The school will work with Children & Family Well – Being Team, CSC, the Police, Health services and other relevant partners and agencies for the benefit of families and children ensuring contribution to multi-agency plans to provide additional support.
Where a need for early help is identified, the school will allow access for CSC from the host LA and, where appropriate, a placing LA, for that LA to conduct (or consider whether to conduct) a section 17 or 47 assessment.
Frenchwood Community Primary School also recognises the particular importance of inter-agency working in identifying and preventing CSE and CCE.
- Information sharing
The school recognises the importance of proactive information sharing between professionals and local agencies in order to effectively meet pupils’ needs and identify any need for early help.
Considering the above, staff will be aware that whilst the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 place a duty on schools to process personal information fairly and lawfully, they also allow for information to be stored and shared for safeguarding purposes – data protection regulations do not act as a barrier to sharing information where failure to do so would result in the pupil being placed at risk of harm.
Staff members will ensure that fear of sharing information does not stand in the way of their responsibility to promote the welfare and safety of pupils. If staff members are in doubt about sharing information, they will speak to the DSL or deputy DSL(s).
- Early help
Early help means providing support as soon as the need emerges, at any point in a child’s life. Staff at Frenchwood Community Primary School recognise that any professional can provide early help. Any pupil or family may benefit from early help, but staff will be alert to the potential need specifically for early help for pupils who:
- Are disabled, have certain health conditions, or have specific additional needs
- Have SEND, regardless of whether they have a statutory EHC plan
- Have mental health needs
- Are young carers.
- Show signs of being drawn into anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups or county lines
- Are frequently missing or going missing from care or from home
- Are at risk of modern slavery, trafficking, or sexual or criminal exploitation
- Are at risk of being radicalised
- Is misusing drugs or alcohol
- Have family members in prison, or are affected by parental offending
- Are in a family circumstance presenting challenges for them, such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health problems, or domestic abuse
- Have returned home to their family from care
- Are at risk of HBA, such as FGM or forced marriage.
- Are privately fostered.
- Are displaying harmful sexual behaviours which may pose a risk to other children and themselves
- Are persistently absent from education, including persistent absences for part of the school day
- Show any other early signs of abuse, neglect any other identified reason not listed above that requires extra support or intervention to improve outcomes for families and children.
- Have experienced multiple suspensions and are at risk of, or have been, permanently excluded from school, alternative provision or a PRU
- Have experienced bereavement
- Viewing problematic or inappropriate online content or developing inappropriate relationships online.
The DSL or a deputy DSL will take the lead where early help is appropriate and consent has been gained. This includes liaising with other agencies and setting up an inter-agency assessment as appropriate. The local early help process will be followed as required to help provide the right, effective support at the right time.
Early Help Assessment - information for professionals - Lancashire County Council
Staff may be required to support other agencies and professionals in an early help assessment, in some cases acting as the lead practitioner. Any such cases will be kept under constant review assessing the impact of the support.
We therefore ensure that:
- All staff and volunteers can identify the risk factors that indicate a family or pupil may benefit from Early Help and can follow school procedures to share this with the DSL
- DSL or a deputy DSL will undertake a Family Early Help Assessment, when appropriate, to identify what Early Help is required
- DSLs will signpost and refer to appropriate support agencies
- DSLs will lead on TAF meetings where is it appropriate for them to do so
- DSLs will follow the local safeguarding processes and refer to Working Well with Children and Families in Lancashire guidance using the Continuum of Need.
- Abuse and neglect
Abuse is defined as a form of maltreatment of a child which involves inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Harm can include ill treatment that is not physical as well as the impact of witnessing the ill treatment of others – this can be particularly relevant, for example, in relation to the impact on children of all forms of domestic abuse. Children may be abused in a family, institutional or community setting by those known to them or by others, e.g. via the internet. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by one or multiple adults or other children.
Physical abuse is defined as a form of abuse which may involve actions such as hitting, shaking, throwing, biting, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical abuse can also be caused when a parent fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child. Staff are aware of Female Genital Mutilation, a form of Physical abuse.
Emotional abuse is defined as the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. This may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless, unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child the opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them, ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children, such as interactions that are beyond their developmental capability, overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, including cyberbullying, causing the child to frequently feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, but it may also occur alone.
Sexual abuse is defined as abuse that involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, and regardless of whether the child is aware of what is happening. This may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration, or non-penetrative acts, such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing. It may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can be perpetrated by people of any gender and age.
Neglect is defined as the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of a child’s health or development. This may involve a parent or carer failing to provide a child with adequate food, clothing or shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); failing to protect a child from physical or emotional harm or danger; failing to ensure adequate supervision (including through the use of inappropriate caregivers); or failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
- All staff will be aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect and be vigilant and always raise concerns with the DSL. All staff, especially the DSL and deputy DSL(s), will be aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with contextual factors outside the school and/or can occur between children outside of these environments; this includes being aware that pupils can at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families (extra-familial harms.)
- All staff will be aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues, including online abuse, cyberbullying, radicalisation and the sharing of indecent images.
- ALL staff understand that children who perpetrate abuse or display harmful behaviour should be treated as victims first and foremost and supported in the same way a victim of abuse would be supported - Risk Assessments will be undertaken where a child's behaviour poses a risk to others, themselves or the environment.
- ALL staff and volunteers understand that there are specific and emerging ways in which children can be abused and are aware of these specific issues, reporting any concerns, in the appropriate manner to the DSL. Specific issues include (but are not limited to):
- Domestic abuse
In line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, domestic abuse is defined as abusive behaviour of a person towards another person where both are aged 16 or over and are personally connected. Abusive behaviour includes physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, or another form of abuse.
The school will recognise the serious, long lasting emotional impact of domestic abuse on children, as victims in their own right, if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse. All staff will be aware of the signs of domestic abuse and follow the appropriate safeguarding procedures where concerns arise.
Frenchwood Community Primary School has commitment to Operation Encompass and informing all stakeholders of the initiative. The lead person for Operation Encompass is Mrs Cathryn Antwis
- Homelessness
The DSL and deputy DSL(s) are aware of the contact details and referral routes into the Local Housing Authority so that concerns and support over homelessness can be raised as early as possible. Indicators that a family may be at risk of homelessness include:
- Household debt
- Rent arrears
- Domestic abuse
- Anti-social behaviour
- Any mention of a family moving home because “they have to” or frequent moves.
Referrals to the Local Housing Authority do not replace referrals to CSC where a child is being harmed or at risk of harm. For 16- and 17-year-olds, homelessness may not be family-based and referrals to CSC will be made as necessary where concerns are raised.
- Children absent from school
Staff will be aware a child being absent from school is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect and, as such, these pupils are particularly at risk of being victims of harm, sexual and criminal exploitation, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or radicalisation.
Mrs Jacqui Hobson, with the support of office staff, will monitor daily attendance, identify unexplained absence or concerning patterns, and liaise with the DSL where safeguarding concerns are suspected. The DSL will ensure attendance concerns are considered in all safeguarding assessments and in accordance with the school attendance policy.
Where attendance fails to improve despite early intervention, the school will escalate concerns to the Local Authority Attendance Team and further local escalations procedures, referring to the guidance of LCC working well with Families Threshold guidance.
All staff will receive training on recognising the safeguarding implications of poor attendance and the procedures for reporting concerns, ensuring staff are aware of Working together to improve school attendance.
Where reasonably possible schools and colleges will hold more than one emergency contact number for their pupils and students.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will follow local guidance when children go missing from home https://panlancashirescp.trixonline.co.uk/chapter/children-missing-from-care-home-and-education
- Children attending an approved educational activity
An approved educational activity is where a pupil is attending another school at which they are registered or taking part in off-site activity such as field trips, educational visits, work experience or unregistered alternative provision.
A pupil can only be recorded as attending a place for an approved educational activity if:
• the place is somewhere other than the school, another school where the pupil is registered, or a place where educational provision has been arranged for the pupil by a local authority under section 19(1) of the Education Act 1996 or sections 42(2) or 61(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014;
• the activity is of an educational nature;
• the school has approved the pupil’s attendance at the place for the activity; and
• the activity is supervised by a person considered by the school to have the appropriate skills, training, experience and knowledge to ensure that the activity takes place safely and fulfils the educational purpose for which the pupil’s attendance has been approved. Supervision means the pupil is physically supervised by someone who meets this definition.
All relevant school policies continue to apply throughout any approved educational activity. Any activity which is approved will be risk assessed (where relevant) and school will ensure that attendance at any activity is monitored and robust communication is agreed with the provider/accompanying adults.
Remote education is not considered an approved educational activity. As set out in the DfE’s guidance on ‘Providing remote education’, pupils who are absent from school and receiving remote education will be recorded as absent using the most appropriate absence code. School will monitor and record a pupil’s engagement with remote education, but this is not formally tracked in the attendance register.
- Child Criminal exploitation (CCE)
Child criminal exploitation is defined as a form of abuse where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into taking part in criminal activity, for any of the following reasons:
- In exchange for something the victim needs or wants
- For the financial advantage or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator
- Through violence or the threat of violence (this could be online or through technology)
Specific forms of CCE can include:
- Being forced or manipulated into transporting drugs or money through county lines.
- Working in cannabis factories.
- Shoplifting or pickpocketing.
- Committing vehicle crime.
- Committing, or threatening to commit, serious violence to others.
The school will recognise that pupils involved in CCE are victims themselves, regardless of whether they have committed crimes, and even if the criminal activity appears consensual. The school will also recognise that pupils of any gender are at risk of CCE.
School staff will be aware of the indicators that a pupil is the victim of CCE, including:
- Associating with other children involved in exploitation
- Suffering from changes in emotional wellbeing
- Misusing drugs or alcohol
- Going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late
- Regularly missing school or education
- Appearing with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions.
Criminal exploitation of children can include County Lines. This is a geographically widespread form of harm that is a typical feature of county lines criminal activity: drug networks or criminal networks / gangs groom and exploit children and young people to carry drugs and money into one or more areas. Key to identifying potential involvement in county lines are missing episodes, when the victim may have been trafficked or the purpose of transporting drugs and a referral to the National Referral Mechanism should be considered in addition to normal safeguarding procedures.
As well as the general indicators for CCE, school staff will be aware of the specific indicators that a pupil may be involved in county lines, including:
- Going missing and subsequently being found in areas away from their home.
- Having been the victim or perpetrator of serious violence, e.g. knife crime.
- Receiving requests for drugs via a phone line, moving drugs, collecting money
- Being found in accommodation they have no connection
- Owing a ‘debt bond’ to their exploiters
- Having their bank account used to facilitate drug dealing.
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Child Sexual Exploitation is defined as a form of sexual abuse where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual activity, for any of the following reasons:
- In exchange for something the victim needs or wants
- For the financial advantage, increased status or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator
- Through violence or the threat of violence, this could be online or through technology.
The school will recognise that CSE can occur over time or be a one-off occurrence, and may happen without the pupil’s immediate knowledge, e.g. through others sharing videos or images of them on social media. The school will recognise that CSE can affect any pupil who has been coerced into engaging in sexual activities, even if the activity appears consensual; this includes pupils aged 16 and above who can legally consent to sexual activity. The school will also recognise that pupils may not realise they are being exploited and they believe they are in a genuine romantic relationship.
School staff will be aware of the key indicators that a pupil is the victim of CSE, including:
- Appearing with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions.
- Associating with other children involved in exploitation.
- Suffering from changes in emotional wellbeing.
- Misusing drugs or alcohol.
- Going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late.
- Regularly missing school or education or not taking part.
- Having older boyfriends or girlfriends.
- Suffering from sexually transmitted infections.
- Displaying sexual behaviours beyond expected sexual development.
- Becoming pregnant.
All staff will consider the language and terms used when raising concerns and providing ongoing support to pupils who have experienced abuse through exploitation to ensure victims are not unintentionally blamed or seen as active participants in their own abuse.
Where CSE, or the risk of it, is suspected, staff will discuss the case with the DSL. If after discussion a concern remains, local safeguarding procedures will be triggered.
- Concealed and Denied pregnancy
A concealed pregnancy is when a woman knows she is pregnant but does not tell anyone; or when she tells a professional but conceals the fact that she is not accessing antenatal care; or when she tells another person or persons and together they conceal the fact from all agencies. A denied pregnancy is when an expectant mother is unaware of or unable to accept the existence of her pregnancy. Physical changes to the body may not be present or be misconstrued; they may be intellectually aware of the pregnancy but continue to think, feel and behave as though they were not pregnant. There may be a number of reasons why a pregnancy is concealed or denied, including, but not limited to; fear of stigma or shame, in cases of rape, sexual or domestic abuse, forced or sham marriage, in cases of rape, sexual or domestic abuse, forced or sham marriage, fear of a child being removed or asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who may be reluctant to come to the attention of authorities. In some cases the woman may be truly unaware that she is pregnant. In some cases an expectant mother may be in denial of her pregnancy.
Where there is a suspicion of a concealed or denied pregnancy, the school will follow the procedures set out by our local Safeguarding Children Partnership arrangements.
- Modern slavery
Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking and slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour. This can include CCE, CSE, and other forms of exploitation.
All staff will be aware of and alert to the signs that a pupil may be the victim of modern slavery. Staff will also be aware of the support available to victims of modern slavery and how to refer them to the National Referral Mechanism. (From The Modern Slavery Act 2015, Section 52) The public authority (including schools) bears this obligation where it has ‘reasonable grounds to believe that a person may be a victim of slavery or human trafficking’:
- FGM
FGM is defined as all procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. FGM is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences.
All staff will be alert to the possibility of a pupil being at risk of FGM, or already having suffered FGM. If staff are worried about someone who is at risk of FGM or who has been a victim of FGM, they are required to share this information with CSC and/or the police. The school’s procedures relating to managing cases of FGM and protecting pupils will reflect multi-agency working arrangements.
As outlined in Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015), teachers are legally required to report to the police any discovery, whether through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence, of FGM on a pupil under the age of 18. Teachers failing to report such cases may face disciplinary action. Teachers will not examine pupils, and so it is rare that they will see any visual evidence, but they must personally report to the police where an act of FGM appears to have been carried out. Unless the teacher has a good reason not to, they should also consider and discuss any such case with the DSL and involve CSC as appropriate. NB: This does not apply to any suspected or at-risk cases, nor if the individual is over the age of 18. In such cases, local safeguarding procedures will be followed.
All staff will be aware of the indicators that pupils may be at risk of FGM. While some individual indicators they may not indicate risk, the presence of two or more indicators could signal a risk to the pupil. It is important to note that the pupil may not yet be aware of the practice or that it may be conducted on them, so staff will be sensitive when broaching the subject.
Indicators that a pupil may be at heightened risk of undergoing FGM include:
- The socio-economic position of the family and their level of integration into UK society
- The pupil coming from a community known to adopt FGM
- Any girl with a mother or sister who has been subjected to FGM
- Any girl withdrawn from PSHE
- Travel abroad or a long holiday with relatives to a country known to practise FGM.
FGM is included in the definition of honour-based’ abuse (HBA) which involves crimes that have been committed to defend the honour of the family and/or community. All forms of HBA are forms of abuse and will be treated and escalated as such. Staff will be alert to the signs of HBA, including concerns that a child is at risk of HBA, or has already suffered from HBA, and will consult with the DSL who will activate local safeguarding procedures if concerns arise.
- Forced marriage
Forced marriage is defined as a marriage that is entered into without the full and free consent of one or both parties, and where violence, threats or any other form of coercion is used to cause a person to enter into the marriage. Threats can be physical, emotional, or psychological. A lack of full and free consent can be where a person does not consent or where they cannot consent, e.g. due to some forms of SEND. Forced marriage is a crime in the UK and a form of HBA.
Staff who have any concerns regarding a pupil who may have undergone, is currently undergoing, or is at risk of forced marriage will speak to the DSL and local safeguarding procedures will be followed – this could include referral to CSC, the police or the Forced Marriage Unit. It will be made clear to staff members that they should not approach the pupil’s family or those with influence in the community, without the express consent of the pupil, as this will alert them to the concerns and may place the pupil in further danger.
- Extremism & Radicalisation
For the purposes of this policy, “extremism” is defined by the government as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to:
- negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
- undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or
- intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (1) or (2)
Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.
Terrorism refers to an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person or people, serious damage to property, or seriously interferes with or disrupts an electronic system. The use or threat of these actions must be designed to influence the government or intimidate the public, and be made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.
Protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation is part of the school’s wider safeguarding duties. The school will actively assess the risk of pupils being radicalised and drawn into extremism and/or terrorism. Staff will be alert to changes in pupils’ behaviour which could indicate that they may need help or protection. Staff will use their professional judgement to identify pupils who may be at risk of radicalisation and act appropriately, which may include contacting the DSL or making a Prevent referral. The school will work with local safeguarding arrangements as appropriate to ensure awareness of local & national incidents that may heighten the activity of extreme groups or cause increased curiosity of children.
The school will ensure that they engage with parents and families, as they are in a key position to spot signs of radicalisation. In doing so, the school will assist and advise family members who raise concerns and provide information for support mechanisms. Any concerns over radicalisation will be discussed with the pupil’s parents, unless the school has reason to believe that the child would be placed at risk as a result.
The DSL will undertake Prevent awareness training to be able to provide advice and support to other staff on how to protect pupils against the risk of radicalisation and ensure that all staff and governors have received appropriate and up-to date training.
- The Online Safety Policy will support the safeguarding of children online by ensuring they cannot access terrorist and extremist material when using the internet and that suitable filtering and monitoring software and supervision is in place.
- DSLs understand when it is appropriate to make a referral to the Channel Panel and are aware of how to do so. 'Notice. Check. Share.'
The Prevent duty
Under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, all schools are subject to a duty to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”, known as the Prevent duty, forming part of the school’s wider safeguarding obligations.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will ensure that ALL Staff, Governors and volunteers are informed and have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’, known as the ‘Prevent Duty' and follow guidance from www.lancashirepreventpartnership.org.uk
Prevent referral process -
|
Prevent Lead |
Mr Steven McLoughlin |
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Prevent Governor Lead |
Ms Michelle Sharkey |
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Prevent Curriculum Lead |
Mr Steven McLoughlin |
- Private fostering
Where a period of UK homestay lasts 28 days or more for a child aged under 16, or under 18 for a child with SEND, this may amount to private fostering under the Children Act 1989. Where the school becomes aware of a pupil being privately fostered, they will notify CSC as soon as possible to allow the LA/CSC to conduct any necessary checks.
- Pupils with family members in prison
Pupils with a family member in prison will be offered pastoral support as necessary. They will receive a copy of ‘Are you a young person with a family member in prison?’ from Action for Prisoners’ Families where appropriate and allowed the opportunity to discuss questions and concerns.
- Child-on-Child abuse including sexualised abuse
Child-on-Child abuse is defined as abuse between children under 18 years of age.
Frenchwood Community Primary School has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, including child-on-child abuse.
Frenchwood Community primary School will refer to the specific guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education Part five: Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment and Lancashire Procedures. 5.31 Peer Abuse (proceduresonline.com)
All staff will be aware that child-on-child abuse can occur between pupils of any age and gender, both inside and outside of school, as well as online. All staff will be aware of the indicators of child-on-child abuse, how to identify it, and how to respond to reports. All staff will also recognise that even if no cases have been reported, this is not an indicator that child-on-child abuse is not occurring. All staff will speak to the DSL if they have any concerns about child-on-child abuse.
All staff will understand the importance of challenge inappropriate behaviour between peers and will not tolerate abuse as “banter” or “part of growing up”.
Child-on-child abuse can be manifested in many different ways, including:
- Bullying, including cyberbullying and prejudice-based or discriminatory bullying.
- Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers.
- Physical abuse – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages physical abuse.
- Sexual violence – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages sexual violence.
- Sexual harassment, including online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse.
- Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent.
- The consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.
- Upskirting.
- Initiation and hazing-type violence and rituals, which can include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group, and may also include an online element.
All staff will be clear as to the school’s policy and procedures regarding child-on-child abuse and the role they have to play in preventing it and responding where they believe a child may be at risk from it.
All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of pupils with SEND, who evidence suggests are more likely to be abused than their peers. Staff will not assume that possible indicators of abuse relate to the pupil’s SEND and will always explore indicators further.
All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of LGBTQ+ pupils, who evidence suggests are also more likely to be targeted by their peers. In some cases, pupils who are perceived to be LGBTQ+, regardless of whether they are LGBTQ+, can be just as vulnerable to abuse as LGBTQ+ pupils. The school’s response to sexual violence and sexual harassment between pupils of the same sex will be equally as robust as it is for incidents between children of the opposite sex.
Pupils will be made aware of how to raise concerns or make a report and how any reports will be handled. This includes the process for reporting concerns about friends or peers. Pupils will also be reassured that they will be taken seriously, be supported, and kept safe. This process will be continually reviewed by the SLT.
The school’s procedures for managing allegations of child-on-child abuse are outlined in the Anti – Bullying Policy.
The DSL will consider:
- the wishes of the victim in terms of how they want to proceed
- the nature of the alleged incident
- the ages of the children involved
- the development stages of the children involved
- any power imbalance between the children
- is the incident a one-off or a sustained pattern of abuse
- are there ongoing risks to the victim, other children, school or college staff
- contextual safeguarding issues.
Following a report of sexual violence, the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) will make an immediate risk and needs assessment, considering:
- the victim
- the alleged perpetrator
- all other children (and if appropriate adult students and staff)
- Risk assessments (if required) will be recorded and kept under review as a minimum termly
- Refer to Guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education Sept 2023, Part 5.
Where relevant, risk assessments will be written, informed by the voice of the children involved, consulted on with parents and shared on a need to know basis with relevant staff. and kept under review as a minimum, termly.
- Serious violence
Through training, all staff will be made aware of the indicators which may signal a pupil is at risk from, or is involved with, serious violent crime. These indicators include, but are not limited to:
- Increased absence from school.
- A change in friendships.
- Relationships with older individuals or groups.
- A significant decline in academic performance.
- Signs of self-harm.
- A significant change in wellbeing.
- Signs of assault.
- Unexplained injuries.
- Unexplained gifts or new possessions.
Staff will be made aware of some of the most significant risk factors that could increase a pupil’s vulnerability to becoming involved in serious violence. These risk factors include, but are not limited to:
- Being male.
- Having been frequently absent from school.
- Having been permanently excluded from school.
- Having experienced child maltreatment or trauma.
- Having been involved in offending, such as theft or robbery.
Staff members who suspect a pupil may be vulnerable to, or involved in, serious violent crime will immediately report their concerns to the DSL.
- Online Safety
Frenchwood Community Primary School will adhere to the Online Safety Policy at all times and is committed to keeping children safe online. The school recognises that addressing online safety issues should form an integral part of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, all pupils will be made aware of online risks and taught how to stay safe online.
The school will ensure that suitable filtering systems are in place on ICT equipment to prevent children accessing inappropriate material. This system will be monitored and reviewed with any inappropriate behaviours or searches being followed up appropriately.
Further information regarding the school’s approach to online safety can be found in the Online Safety Policy.
When school become aware of an online safety issue that has occurred outside of school, it is managed in accordance with the Online Safety Policy and School Relational Behaviour and Self-regulation Policy.
Staff will be aware that ongoing in-person monitoring is required in addition to the software in place as it is vital staff don’t rely solely on IT systems as this may leave some children vulnerable.
Staff will be aware of the filtering and monitoring systems in place and will know how to escalate concerns where they are identified. Staff will be made aware of their expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring systems during their induction.
- Personal electronic devices
The use of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones and cameras, by staff and pupils is closely monitored by the school, in accordance with the Online Safety Policy.
Where photographs and videos will involve pupils who are CLA, adopted pupils, or pupils for whom there are security concerns, the headteacher will liaise with the DSL to determine the steps involved. The DSL will, in known cases of pupils who are CLA or who have been adopted, liaise with the pupils’ social workers, carers or adoptive parents to assess the needs and risks associated with the pupils.
Staff will report any concerns about pupils’ or other staff members’ use of personal electronic devices to the DSL, following the appropriate procedures. Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to keeping pupils safe by ensuring that electronic devices such as cameras, phones and tablets are used in an appropriate manner.
School will therefore ensure that:
• informed parental consent is obtained to take and use photographs and/or videos of children, for use in school, to market the school or to share on social media / internet
• staff, visitors, volunteers and students do not use their own mobile phones or devices to take or record any images of children.
- Upskirting
Under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, it is an offence to operate equipment for the purpose of upskirting. “Operating equipment” includes enabling, or securing, activation by another person without that person’s knowledge, e.g. a motion-activated camera.
Upskirting will not be tolerated by the school. Any incidents of upskirting will be reported to the DSL, who will then decide on the next steps to take, which may include police involvement.
- Sharing nude and semi-nude images
Formerly referred to as ‘Sexting’, sharing nudes and semi-nudes is defined as the sending or posting of nude or semi-nude images, videos or live streams online by young people under the age of 18. This could be via social media, gaming platforms, chat apps or forums. (UKCIS, 2020)
UKCIS – Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings (UKCIS, 2020)
The school will ensure that all staff are aware to treat the sharing of indecent images as a safeguarding concern.
Staff will receive appropriate training regarding child sexual development and will understand the difference between sexual behaviour that is considered normal and expected for the age of the pupil, and sexual behaviour that is inappropriate and harmful. Staff will receive appropriate training around how to deal with such instances in the school community, including understanding motivations, assessing risks posed to pupils depicted in the images and how and when to report.
Staff will be aware that creating, possessing, and distributing indecent imagery of children is a criminal offence, regardless of whether the imagery is created, possessed, and distributed by the individual depicted; however, staff will ensure that pupils are not unnecessarily criminalised.
Where a member of staff becomes aware of an incidence of sharing nudes/semi-nudes that involves indecent images of a pupil, they will refer this to the DSL as soon as possible. Where a pupil confides in a staff member about the circulation of indecent imagery, depicting them or someone else, the staff member will:
- Refrain from viewing, copy, printing, sharing, storing or saving the imagery.
- Tell the DSL immediately if they accidentally view an indecent image and seek support.
- Explain to the pupil that the incident will need to be reported.
- Respond positively to the pupil without blaming or shaming anyone involved, and reassuring them that they can receive support from the DSL.
- Report the incident to the DSL.
The DSL will attempt to understand what the image contains without viewing it and the context surrounding its creation and distribution – they will categorise the incident into one of two categories:
- Aggravated: incidents involving additional or abusive elements beyond the creation, sending or possession of nudes and semi-nudes; - including where there is an adult involved, where there is an intent to harm the pupil or where the images are used recklessly.
- Experimental: incidents involving the creation and sending of nudes and semi-nudes with no adult involvement, no apparent intent to harm or reckless misuse.
..
Where it is necessary to view the imagery, e.g. if this is the only way to make a decision about whether to inform other agencies, the DSL should:
- never copy, print, share, store or save them; this is illegal.
- discuss the decision with the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team
- make sure viewing is undertaken by the DSL (or equivalent) or another member of the safeguarding team with delegated authority from the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team
- make sure viewing takes place with another member of staff present in the room, ideally the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team.
- wherever possible, make sure viewing takes place on the premises of the education setting, ideally in the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team’s office
- make sure wherever possible that they are viewed by a staff member of the same sex as the child or young person in the images
- record how and why the decision was made to view the imagery in the safeguarding or child protection records, including who was present, why the nudes or semi-nudes were viewed and any subsequent actions.
- if any devices need to be taken and passed onto the police, the device(s) should be confiscated and the police should be called.
The above summarised points are explained in further detail with important supporting guidance in the UKCIS guidance – Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings
- Sextortion
There has been a large increase in reports of children and young people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand after an offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them. This is financially motivated sexual extortion, a type of online blackmail often referred to as ‘sextortion’. It is a form of child sexual abuse. Frenchwood Community Primary School will ensure that staff are aware that this can happen and the school will follow guidance issued by the
- Context of safeguarding incidents
Safeguarding incidents can occur outside of school and can be associated with outside factors. All staff, particularly the DSL and deputy DSL(s), will always consider the context of safeguarding incidents. Assessment of pupils’ behaviour will consider whether there are wider environmental factors that are a threat to their safety and/or welfare. The school will provide as much contextual information as possible when making referrals to CSC or external agencies.
27. Pupils potentially at greater risk of harm
Frenchwood Community Primary School recognises that some groups of pupils can face additional safeguarding challenges, and understands that further barriers may exist when determining abuse and neglect in these groups of pupils. Additional considerations for managing safeguarding concerns and incidents amongst these groups are outline below.
- Pupils who need social workers
Pupils may need social workers due to safeguarding or welfare needs. These needs can leave pupils vulnerable to further harm and educational disadvantage.
As a matter of routine, the DSL within each school will hold and use information from their LA about whether a pupil has a social worker in order to make decisions in the best interests of the pupil’s safety, welfare, and educational outcomes.
Where a pupil needs a social worker, this will inform decisions about safeguarding, e.g. responding to unauthorised absence, and promoting welfare and educational outcomes, e.g. considering the provision pastoral or academic support and support with behaviour.
- Home-educated children
Parents may choose elective home education (EHE) for their children. In some cases, EHE can mean that children are less visible to the services needed to safeguard and support them.
In line with the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, Frenchwood Community Primary School will ensure it informs their LA of all deletions from the admissions register when a pupil is taken off roll.
Where a parent has expressed their intention to remove a pupil from a school within the trust for EHE, the school and other key professionals, will coordinate a meeting with the parent, where possible, before the final decision has been made, particularly if the pupil has SEND, is vulnerable, and/or has a social worker.
Where children are removed from roll for Elective Home Education and there are safeguarding concerns, school will ensure that concerns are shared with the LA.
- CLA
Children most commonly become looked after because of abuse and/or neglect. Because of this, they can be at potentially greater risk in relation to safeguarding. Previously CLA, also known as care leavers, can also remain vulnerable after leaving care.
The school will ensure that the appropriate staff have the information they need, such as:
• Looked after legal status, i.e. whether they are looked after under voluntary arrangements with consent of parents, or on an interim or full care order.
• Contact arrangements with parents or those with parental responsibility.
• Care arrangements and the levels of authority delegated to the carer by the authority looking after the pupil.
- Pupils with SEND
When managing safeguarding in relation to pupils with SEND, staff within the trust and its schools will be aware of the following:
• Certain indicators of abuse, such as behaviour, mood and injury, may relate to the pupil’s disability without further exploration; however, it should never be assumed that a pupil’s indicators relate only to their disability
• Pupils with SEND can be disproportionally impacted by issues such as bullying, without outwardly showing any signs
• Communication barriers may exist, as well as difficulties in overcoming these barriers
When reporting concerns or making referrals for pupils with SEND, the above factors will always be taken into consideration. When managing a safeguarding issue relating to a pupil with SEND, the DSL will liaise with the school’s SENCO, as well as the pupil’s parents where appropriate, to ensure that the pupil’s needs are met effectively.
- LGBTQ+ pupils
The fact that a pupil may be LGBTQ+ is not in itself an inherent risk factor for harm; however, staff will be aware that LGBTQ+ pupils can be targeted by other individuals. Staff will also be aware that, in some cases, a pupil who is perceived by others to be LGBTQ+ (whether they are or not) can be just as vulnerable as pupils who identify as LGBTQ+.
Staff will also be aware that the risks to these pupils can be compounded when they do not have a trusted adult with whom they can speak openly with. All staff will endeavour to reduce the additional barriers faced by these pupils and provide a safe space for them to speak out and share any concerns they have.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma
We acknowledge that children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and trauma may be at increased risk of developing health and social difficulties.
All staff will be made aware of the long lasting impact of experiencing adversity and the lasting effect trauma can have on a child’s development.
Where a pupil is known to have experienced trauma, appropriate arrangements will be made to provide support based on the needs of the pupil and in line with all relevant guidance and policies. This may include close multi-agency working with external services.
- Extracurricular activities and clubs and use of school premises by external organisations
Extra-curricular activities and clubs hosted by external bodies, e.g. charities or companies, will work in collaboration with the school to effectively safeguard pupils and adhere to local safeguarding arrangements.
Staff and volunteers running extracurricular activities and clubs are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and promote the welfare of pupils. Paid and volunteer staff understand how they should respond to child protection concerns and how to make a referral to CSC or the police, if necessary.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will always consider safeguarding arrangements when an extracurricular activity or club is arranged in view of DSL availability or ensuring that a transfer of control document has been completed for external agencies and the school is satisfied that the agency has appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place.
Where the governing board/body hires or rents out school facilities or the school premises to organisations or individuals, e.g. for providers to run community or extracurricular activities, it will ensure that appropriate safeguarding arrangements are in place to keep pupils safe. The school will refer to the DfE’s guidance on keeping children safe in out-of-school settings in these circumstances.
Where the governing board provides the activities under the direct supervision or management of school staff, child protection arrangements will apply. Where activities are provided separately by another body, this may not be the case; therefore, the governing board will seek assurance that the body concerned has appropriate safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures in place, including inspecting these as needed. The governing board will also ensure that there are arrangements in place to liaise with the school on these matters where appropriate. The governing board will ensure safeguarding requirements are included in any transfer of control agreement, i.e. a lease or hire agreement, as a condition of use and occupation of the premises, and specify that failure to comply with this would lead to termination of the agreement.
- Alternative provision
The school will remain responsible for a pupil’s welfare during their time at an alternative provider. When placing a pupil with an alternative provider, the school will obtain written confirmation that the provider has conducted all relevant safeguarding checks on staff and have clear communication procedures in place in view of attendance.
- Managing referrals
All staff members, in particular the DSL, will be aware of the LA’s arrangements in place for managing referrals. The DSL will provide staff members with clarity and support where needed. When making a referral to CSC or other external agencies, information will be shared in line with confidentiality requirements and will only be shared where necessary to do so.
The DSL will work alongside external agencies, maintaining continuous liaison, including multi-agency liaison where appropriate, in order to ensure the wellbeing of the pupils involved. The DSL will work closely with the police to ensure the school does not jeopardise any criminal proceedings, and to obtain help and support as necessary.
Where a pupil has been harmed or is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, the referrer will be notified of the action that will be taken within one working day of a referral being made. Where this information is not forthcoming, the referrer will contact the assigned social worker for more information.
The school will not wait for the start or outcome of an investigation before protecting the victim and other pupils: this applies to criminal investigations as well as those made by CSC. Where CSC decide that a statutory investigation is not appropriate, the school will consider referring the incident again if it is believed that the pupil is at risk of harm. Where CSC decide that a statutory investigation is not appropriate and the school agrees with this decision, the school will consider the use of other support mechanisms, such as early help and pastoral support.
At all stages of the reporting and referral process, the pupil will be informed of the decisions made, actions taken and reasons for doing so. Discussions of concerns with parents will only take place where this would not put the pupil or others at potential risk of harm. The school will work closely with parents to ensure that the pupil, as well as their family, understands the arrangements in place, such as in-school interventions, is effectively supported, and knows where they can access additional support.
If the school are dissatisfied, local escalation procedures will be followed. Conflict Resolution Policy
- Concerns about staff and safeguarding practices
If a staff member has concerns about another member of staff (including supply staff, volunteers and persons who use/hire the school premises), it will be raised with the headteacher. If the concern is with regards to the headteacher, it must be referred to the chair of governors – cog@frenchwood.lancs.sch.uk
Any concerns regarding the safeguarding practices at the school will be raised with the SLT, and the necessary whistleblowing procedures will be followed, as outlined in the Whistleblowing Policy. If a staff member feels unable to raise an issue with the SLT, they should access other whistleblowing channels such as the NSPCC whistleblowing helpline (0800 028 0285).
- Allegations of abuse against staff and low-level concerns
There are clear policies in line with those from the CSAP (Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership) for dealing with allegations against people who work with children.
All allegations against staff, supply staff, volunteers, contractors and any person who may use or hire the school premises, will be managed in line with the school’s Whistleblowing Policy – a copy of which will be provided to, and understood by, all staff at induction. The school will ensure all allegations against staff, including those who are not employees of the school, are dealt with appropriately and that the school liaises with the relevant parties.
When managing allegations against staff, the school will recognise the distinction between allegations that meet the harms threshold and allegations that do not, also known as “low-level concerns”. Allegations that meet the harms threshold include instances where staff have:
- Behaved in a way that has harmed a child or may have harmed a child.
- Committed or possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child.
- Behaved towards a child in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children.
- Behaved, or may have behaved, in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.
All staff at Frenchwood Community Primary School are aware of these procedures and aware of the following expectations and protocol:-
- ALL staff and volunteers are aware that they must refer allegations or concerns around staff (including supply staff) conduct to the Headteacher
- ALL staff and volunteers are aware of the requirement to, and process of referring allegations or concerns around the Headteacher to the nominated Governor and how to contact them
- The Headteacher and/or Chair of Governors will discuss the allegation with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
- CSAP procedures for dealing with allegations against staff will be followed http://panlancashirescb.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_allegations.html
- ALL staff and volunteers remember that the welfare of the child is paramount and that they have a duty to inform HT if any adult's conduct gives cause for concern
- All staff recognise the importance of sharing and reporting low-level concerns (see below guidance on low-level concerns) surrounding staff or any adult in a position of trust to the HT.
- ALL staff are aware of the school’s Whistle Blowing Policy which enables staff to raise concerns or allegations in confidence and for a sensitive enquiry to take place
- Staff are fully aware of Guidance for Safer Working Practice 2022 and Staff Code of conduct and are aware of professional expectations of their own behaviour and conduct.
- Further information, LADO information and flowchart of how allegations are managed:
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) - Lancashire County Council includes the threshold matrix.
Frenchwood Community Primary School recognises that children may make disclosures against someone who is in a position of trust / is working or volunteering with children, not in the school setting. This may be an adult in a place of worship, a sports coach or a club leader. After ensuring that the child is safe, we recognise that we must refer to the LADO and share information.
- Low Level Concerns
Frenchwood Community Primary School ensure that all staff are aware of how to recognise and report low level concerns around staff behaviour or conduct.
The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of the school or college may have acted in a way that:
• is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work and
• does not meet the harm threshold or is otherwise not serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO.
Examples of such behaviour could include, but are not limited to:
• being over friendly with children
• having favourites
• taking photographs of children on their mobile phone, contrary to school policy
• engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door, or
• humiliating pupils.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will promote an open and transparent culture in which all concerns about all adults working in or on behalf of the school or college (including supply teachers, volunteers, contractors or those that have hired/let the premises) are dealt with promptly and appropriately. Frenchwood Community Primary School will strive to embed a culture of openness, trust and transparency in which the school’s values and expected behaviour set out in the staff code of conduct are lived, monitored and reinforced constantly by all staff.
Frenchwood Community Primary School will ensure that staff are encouraged and feel confident to self-refer, where, for example, they have found themselves in a situation which could be misinterpreted, might appear compromising to others, and/or on reflection they believe they have behaved in such a way that they consider falls below the expected professional standards.
All staff are clear on how to report low level concerns and will be empowered to do so. Staff must report their concerns to the Head teacher. If concerns are surrounding the Head teacher, this must be referred to the Chair of Governors. Guidance from Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2023, will be followed in view of recording and storage of such concerns.
If in doubt whether the concern is a low-level concern, the HT will consult with LADO for guidance.
The governing body will ensure low level concern procedures and staff behaviour expectations are clearly addressed within the staff code of conduct, procedures are implemented effectively, ensuring that appropriate action is taken in a timely manner to safeguard children and facilitate a whole school or college approach to dealing with any concerns.
- Safer recruitment
Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to keeping pupils safe by ensuring that adults who work or volunteer in school are safe to do so. We therefore ensure that:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2023, Part 3 guidance is adhered to, to ensure that there is a strong reference and commitment to safeguarding during advertisement, selection and recruitment of new staff.
An enhanced DBS check with barred list information will be undertaken for all staff members engaged in regulated activity. A person will be considered to be in ‘regulated activity’ if, as a result of their work, they:
- Are responsible on a daily basis for teaching, training, instructing or the care or supervision of children.
- Regularly work in the school at times when children are on the premises.
- Regularly come into contact with children under 18 years of age.
(Regular is defined as; at least 3 times in a 30 day period.)
The governing board will conduct the appropriate pre-employment checks for all prospective employees.
School will ensure that:
- The appropriate DBS and suitability checks will be carried out for all governors, volunteers, and contractors. The DfE’s DBS Workforce Guides will be consulted when determining whether a position fits the child workforce criteria.
- The original DBS certificate is seen for all appointees to the school, even where the on-line DBS system indicates that the check is clear.
- There are sufficient staff/Governors who have undertaken appropriate Safer Recruitment training in the last 5 years and reached the required standard as verified by the course facilitators, to enable at least one person on every recruitment panel to be appropriately trained and there are at least 2 people on each selection panel
- Written assurances will be obtained from agencies and other employers that provide staff to work in school, to confirm that appropriate pre- employment checks have been undertaken in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2023
- Individual identity checks will be undertaken on those staff detailed above to ensure they are employees of the named agency/employer
- Conduct an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online and will inform shortlisted candidates of this procedure
- A transfer of control agreement will be used where other agencies/organisations use school premises and are not operating under school's safeguarding policies and procedures
- Adults who are involved in the management or provision of child care of children in Early Years, or in out of school provision for children up to 8 years old, will make a declaration that they are not disqualified under the Child Care Act 2006.
- When an issue is declared, advice will be sought from Ofsted about the need to apply for a waiver. If a waiver is necessary, a risk assessment will be carried out and proportionate measures put in place until a waiver has been issued or matters resolved. If it is not resolved, this must be reported:- disqualification@ofsted.gov.uk
- Advice will be sought from Human Resources, LADO and/or Schools Safeguarding Officers if any staff are unclear about any aspects of Safer Recruitment.
Referral to the DBS
There is a legal requirement for schools and colleges to make a referral to the DBS where they remove an individual from regulated activity (or would have removed an individual had they not left), and they believe the individual has:
• engaged in relevant conduct in relation to children and/or adults, and/or
• satisfied the harm test in relation to children and/or vulnerable adults, and/or
• been cautioned or convicted of a relevant (automatic barring either with or without the right to make representations) offence.
Single central record (SCR)
The school keeps an SCR on Staffsafe (an online portal)which records all staff, including agency, third-party supply staff and teacher trainees on salaried routes, who work at the school, even if they work for one day.
The following information is recorded on the SCR:
- An identity check
- A barred list check
- An enhanced DBS check
- A prohibition from teaching check
- A check of professional qualifications, where required
- A check to determine the individual’s right to work in the UK
- Additional checks for those who have lived or worked outside of the UK
- A section 128 check for those in management positions
- Any other information deemed relevant.
If any checks have been conducted for volunteers or Governors, these may also be recorded on the SCR. If risk assessments are conducted to assess whether a volunteer should be subject to an enhanced DBS check, (with/without a barred list check, depending on whether they are in regulated activity), the risk assessment will be recorded.
The details of an individual will be removed from the SCR once they no longer work or volunteer at the school.
- Review
This Policy is subject to ongoing review; however, will be reviewed no later than September 2024. All staff have received a copy of this policy.
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Designated Safeguarding Lead
Headteacher |
Cathryn Antwis |
DSL Training December 2023 – Schools Safeguarding
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Deputy DSL (s)
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Steven McLoughlin Sue Watson Jacqui Hobson Tom O’Beirne |
DSL Training September 2024 – Schools Safeguarding DSL Training February 2024 (LPDS) DSL Training December 2023 – Schools Safeguarding DSL Training June 2024 (LPDS)
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Chair of Governors Safeguarding Governor |
Michelle Sharkey |
January 2024 Face-to-face Safeguarding for Governors - LPDS |
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Prevent Lead |
Steven McLoughlin |
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LCC School Safeguarding Officers Victoria Wallace, Mechelle Lewis, Natalie Barton and Sarah Holyhead
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01772 531196
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LCC MASH Education Officers Matt Chipchase & Martine Blokland |
Martine Blokland 01254 220914 Martine.blokland@lancashire.gov.uk Matt Chipchase 01254 220989 matt.chipchase@lancashire.gov.uk
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LADO – Local Authority Designated Officers
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01772 536694
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MASH – Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub |
0300 123 6720 0300 123 6722 between 5.00pm - 8.00am
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Lancashire Prevent Team |
01254 585260 |
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Next review June 2026
At Frenchwood Community Primary School, we are a family with shared values. These are at the core of everything we do, and were reviewed and refreshed by pupils, parents, staff and governors in June 2022.
The Frenchwood Family – Together We Grow
Members of The Frenchwood Family are ASPIRATIONAL; we develop the skills to be successful citizens of a future that we will be responsible for shaping.
By working and learning in a COLLABORATIVE way, we make the best of all our talents, support each other and develop skills for life.
We are HARD-WORKING; there is no short cut to success. Through our efforts we build up our skills, confidence and can feel proud of our achievements.
We are KIND to ourselves, to each other and to the environment.
We are RESPECTFUL of ourselves, and other people, especially those with the experience to guide us, such as parents or adults in the school and community.
It is important to members of The Frenchwood Family that we are WELCOMING to new pupils, families, guests and the wider community; whoever they are, wherever they are from, whatever their beliefs or life experiences.
We achieve our aims by:
- Working in partnership with parents to support their child’s learning
- Creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and parents
- Being positive examples for our pupils at all times
To help us do this, we set clear expectations and guidelines on behaviour for all members of our community. This includes staff (through the staff code of conduct) and pupils (through our behaviour policy).
This code of conduct aims to help the school work together with parents by setting guidelines on appropriate behaviour.
We use the term ‘parents’ to refer to:
- Anyone with parental responsibility for a pupil
- Anyone caring for a child (such as grandparents or child-minders)
Our expectations of parents and carers
We expect parents, carers and other visitors to:
- Respect the ethos, vision and values of our school
- Work together with staff in the best interests of our pupils
- Treat all members of the school community with respect – setting a good example with speech and behaviour
- Seek a peaceful solution to all issues
- Correct their own child’s behaviour (or those in their care), particularly in public, where it could lead to conflict, aggression or unsafe conduct
- Approach the right member of school staff to help resolve any issues of concern
Behaviour that will not be tolerated
- Disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, school operations (including events on the school grounds and sports team matches)
- Swearing, or using offensive language
- Displaying a temper, or shouting at members of staff, pupils or other parents
- Threatening another member of the school community
- Sending abusive messages to another member of the school community, including via text, email, Class Dojo or social media
- Posting defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments about the school, its staff or any member of its community, on social media platforms
- Use of physical punishment against your child while on school premises
- Any aggressive behaviour (including verbally or in writing) towards another child or adult
- Disciplining another person’s child – please bring any behaviour incidents to a member of staff’s attention
- Smoking or drinking alcohol on the school premises
- Possessing or taking drugs (including legal highs)
Breaching the code of conduct
If the school suspects, or becomes aware, that a parent has breached the code of conduct, the school will gather information from those involved and speak to the parent about the incident.
Depending on the nature of the incident, the school may then:
- Send a warning letter to the parent
- Invite the parent in to school to meet with a senior member of staff or the headteacher
- Contact the appropriate authorities (in cases of criminal behaviour)
- Seek advice from the local authority’s legal team regarding further action (in cases of conduct that may be libellous or slanderous)
- Ban the parent from the school site
The school will always respond to an incident in a proportional way. The final decision for how to respond to breaches of the code of conduct rests with the headteacher.
The headteacher will consult the chair of governors before banning a parent from the school site.
Next review September 2026
1. PREAMBLE
1 All members of the school community are entitled to expect the highest standards of conduct from all staff employed in schools across Lancashire and this policy reflects relevant legislation and expectations applying to all employees working in such establishments.
2. PURPOSE
2.1 This document sets out a code of conduct for all staff in schools with delegated budgets. This policy is intended to:
- give clear guidance to all concerned regarding appropriate conduct in the workplace;
- enable schools to set out clear expectations of all staff in order to minimise the likelihood of misconduct in the workplace;
- comply with legislation that affects staff employed in educational settings.
2.2 This policy has been the subject of consultation between the Authority and the recognised Trade Unions and Teacher Associations.
2.3 This policy has been adopted and is published as part of the staffing policies of the Governing Body of Frenchwood Community Primary School.
3. APPLICATION
3.1 This procedure applies to all staff employed in Frenchwood Community Primary School.
3.2 Reference to 'Headteacher' throughout this document should read 'Chair of Governors' in the case of the conduct of the Headteacher.
4. BACKGROUND
4.1 The Code sets out the minimum standards that should apply and is not exhaustive.(See Section 6 for further details)
4.2 It is recommended that this document is shared with all staff on appointment and those in current employment and that a copy is included in the schools staff handbook.
4.3 Employees whose conduct fails to meet the standards of conduct as set out in this document may be regarded as being in breach of discipline and may be dealt with under the School's Disciplinary Procedure.
5. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Staff are expected to fulfil the obligations placed upon them under the terms of their contract of employment, i.e.
- Be ready and willing to work as specified in their role definition/Job Description
- Conduct their work in a co-operative manner.
- Attend work
- Be punctual in time keeping
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Obey reasonable management instructions
- Take care of themselves, their colleagues and others while at work
- Take care of school property
- Familiarise themselves with, and follow the Health and Safety rules applicable in their school
- Compliance with the school's Smoking at Work Policy.
6. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
6.1 Teachers are expected to adhere to the Teachers Standards as set out in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document.
6.2 All staff are expected to adhere to and conduct themselves in line with the Department for Education's 'Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults who working With Children and Young people in Education Settings' (May, 2019).
6.3 All staff are expected to adhere to and conduct themselves in line with the Department for Education's statutory guidance for school and colleges on 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' (September 2021)
7.GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Professional Conduct
All staff are expected to:-
i. Accept and adhere to school policies and procedures
ii. Undertake their duties and responsibilities effectively, efficiently and diligently.
iii. Show respect for all members of the school community by being polite, courteous and refraining from the use of inappropriate language in all forms of communication eg verbal, face to face and electronic communications.
iv. Maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information (particularly relating to pupils) obtained in the course of their employment. Any information obtained in the course of employment should be not used for personal gain or benefit, nor should it be passed on to others who might use it in the same way. Any queries about what constitutes 'sensitive' information and who it can be shared with should be directed to the appropriate member of the school's leadership team or the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
v. Ensure fairness at all times when dealing with customers, suppliers, other contractors and sub contractors. No special favour should be given to current/former employees or partners/relatives or associates.
vi. Comply with the school's Statement of Ethical Standards in relation to the acceptance of gifts in cash or kind and hospitality noting that it is a criminal offence under the Bribery Act 2010 to offer, promise or give financial advantage or other advantage to someone; or to request, agree or accept or receive a bribe from another person.
vii. Declare any interests (financial or otherwise) that may be considered as being in conflict with the school's interests.
viii. Use appropriate lines of communication and/or the relevant procedure to express views relating to their employment or the activities of the school.
ix. Have no contact with the media regarding school matters without the express permission of the Headteacher.
x. Notify the Headteacher of any known or suspected breaches of the law or of the school's policies, procedures and regulations and co-operate with any investigation of such breaches, particularly in relation to the safeguarding of children, health and safety and financial irregularity. Where this is considered not possible, reference should be made to the school's whistleblowing policy.
xi. Disclose on appointment or at any time any civil/criminal charges, convictions or being the subject of a criminal investigation process (being charged or in possession of a conviction may not necessarily debar from appointment/employment or lead to disciplinary action; however failure to disclose where required will be considered as a serious act of misconduct).
xii. Provide accurate information on the Annual Staff Confirmation Form and notify the Headteacher of any changes to your circumstances that may impact on the information provided on the Annual Staff Confirmation Form.
xiii. Use school equipment provided for the purposes of carrying out their role in a responsible and lawful manner.
xiv. Not provide a professional reference on behalf of the school unless the contents of such reference have been agreed by the Headteacher.
xv. Keep themselves and other members of the school community safe by ensuring that they act in accordance with current Coronavirus (Covid 19) guidance and legislation.
Personal Conduct
All staff are expected to:
i. Ensure that personal relationships within work do not affect their professional role and do not bring the school into disrepute.
ii. Notify the Headteacher either at appointment or during employment of any personal relationship in or outside of school which may result in honesty, objectivity or integrity being brought into question.
iii. Notify the Headteacher of any change in personal (including medical) circumstances which could impact on ability to carry out their role.
iv. Not engage in outside employment (eg private tutoring of the school's own pupils) which could be considered as undermining or conflicting with the business of the school.
v. Wear any uniform, clothes, overalls or protective clothing as required for their role in school.
vi. Dress in a way which is appropriate for a school setting and which reflects Section 8 of the 'Guidance for Safer Working Practice for those who working With Children and Young people in Education Settings' (October, 2015).
vii. Conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times when wearing clothing or an identification badge that identifies them as an employee of the school
viii. Declare any interest/involvement with any outside organisations which may benefit financially or contractually from decisions taken by the school, eg the procurement of goods or services.
ix. Conduct themselves both on and off duty (including use of social media – See Policy On The Use Of Social Networking Sites And Other Forms Of Social Media) in a manner compatible with their employment status with the school.
x. Ensure personal hygiene and appearance is respective of being employed in a school setting.
xi. Act appropriately in terms of their behaviour, the views they express (in particular political views) and the use of school resources at all times, and should not use school resources for party political purposes.
xvi. Keep themselves and other members of the school community safe by ensuring that they act in accordance with current Coronavirus (Covid 19) guidance and legislation.
Next review September 2026
1. Introduction and aims
We believe that clear, open communication between the school and parents/carers has a positive impact on pupils’ learning because it:
- Gives parents/carers the information they need to support their child’s education
- Helps the school improve, through feedback and consultation with parents/carers
- Builds trust between home and school, which helps the school better support each child’s educational and pastoral needs
The aim of this policy is to promote clear and open communication by:
- Explaining how the school communicates with parents/carers
- Setting clear standards for responding to communication from parents/carers
- Helping parents/carers reach the member of school staff who is best placed to address their specific query or concern so they can get a response as quickly as possible
In the following sections, we will use ‘parents’ to refer to both parents and carers
2. Roles and responsibilities
2.1 Headteacher
The headteacher is responsible for:
- Ensuring that communications with parents are effective, timely and appropriate
- Regularly reviewing this policy
2.2 Staff
All staff are responsible for:
- Responding to communication from parents in line with this policy and the school’s ICT and internet acceptable use policy
- Working with other members of staff to make sure parents get timely information (if they cannot address a query or send the information themselves)
Staff will not respond to communications outside of school hours (8am – 5pm), or their working hours (if they work part-time), or during school holidays.
2.3 Parents
Parents are responsible for:
- Ensuring that communication with the school is respectful at all times
- Making every reasonable effort to address communications to the appropriate member of staff in the first instance
- Respond to communications from the school (such as requests for meetings) in a timely manner
- Checking all communications from the school
Any communication that is considered disrespectful, abusive, or threatening will be treated in line with our parent code of conduct.
3. How we communicate with parents and carers
The sections below explain how we keep parents up-to-date with their child’s education and what is happening in school.
Parents should monitor all of the following regularly to make sure they do not miss important communications or announcements that may affect their child.
3.1 Class Dojo
We use Class Dojo class and school stories to keep parents informed about the following things:
- Class activities or teacher requests
- Upcoming school events
- Scheduled school closures (for example, for staff training days)
- School surveys or consultations
- Short-notice changes to the school day
- Emergency school closures (for instance, due to bad weather)
We use Class Dojo messages for:
- Targeted reminders
3.2 Email
We will email parents about:
- Annual reports
- Personal letters
- Trip letters and consent forms
3.3 School calendar
Our school website includes a full school calendar for the term.
Where possible, we try to give parents at least 2 weeks’ notice of any events or special occasions (including non-uniform days, special assemblies or visitors, or requests for pupils to bring in special items or materials).
Any such event will be included in the school calendar.
3.4 Phone calls
We often telephone parents to seek information when emails and messages are not sufficient or a more timely response is required.
3.5 Reports
Parents receive reports from the school about their child’s learning, including:
- An end-of-year report covering their achievement in each part of the curriculum, how well they are progressing, and their attendance
- Termly progress reports
- A report on KS1 and KS2 SATs tests
3.6 Meetings
We hold 2 parents’ evening each year. During these meetings, parents can talk with teachers about their child’s achievement and progress, the curriculum or schemes of work, their child’s wellbeing, or any other area of concern.
The school may also contact parents to arrange meetings between parents’ evenings if there are concerns about a child’s achievement, progress, or wellbeing.
Parents of pupils with special educational needs (SEN), or who have other additional needs, are asked to attend further meetings to address these additional needs each term.
3.7 School website
Key information about the school can be found on our website, including:
- School times and term dates
- Important events and announcements
- Curriculum information
- Important policies and procedures
- Important contact information
- Information about before and after-school provision
Parents should check the website before contacting the school.
4. How parents and carers can communicate with the school
Please use the list in appendix 1 to identify the most appropriate person to contact about a query or issue, including the school office number and email address.
4.1 Attendance Line (Message service)
All pupil absences must be reported using the absence line. Please ring 01772 253244 and press option 1, giving your child’s full name, class and reason for absence. Please ring each day of the absence unless you have already given an expected date of return in a previous message.
4.2 Email
Parents should always email the school, or the appropriate member of staff, about non-urgent issues in the first instance.
We aim to acknowledge all emails within 2 working days, and to respond in full (or arrange a meeting or phone call if appropriate) within 3 working days.
If a query or concern is urgent, and you need a response sooner than this, please call the school office.
4.3 Phone calls
For general enquiries, please call the school office.
If you need to speak to a specific member of staff about a non-urgent matter, please email the school office and the relevant member of staff will contact you within 3 working days.
If this is not possible (due to teaching or other commitments), someone will get in touch with you to schedule a phone call at a convenient time. We aim to make sure you have spoken to the appropriate member of staff within 3 days of your request.
If your issue is urgent, please call the school office.
Urgent issues might include things like:
- Family emergencies
- Safeguarding or welfare issues
4.4 Meetings
If you would like to schedule a meeting with a member of staff, please email the appropriate address (see appendix 1), or call the school to book an appointment.
We try to schedule all meetings within [number] working days of the request.
While teachers are available at the beginning or end of the school day if you need to speak to them urgently, we recommend you book appointments to discuss:
- Any concerns you may have about your child’s learning
- Updates related to pastoral support, your child’s home environment, or their wellbeing
5. Inclusion
It is important to us that everyone in our community can communicate easily with the school.
We currently make whole-school announcements and communications on Class Dojo and the school website, where there are translation options available in most languages.
Parents who need help communicating with the school can request the following support:
- School announcements and communications translated into additional languages
- Interpreters for meetings or phone calls
We can make additional arrangements if necessary. Please contact the school office to discuss these.
6. Monitoring and review
The headteacher monitors the implementation of this policy and will review the policy every 3 years.
7. Links with other policies
The policy should be read alongside our policies on:
- ICT and internet acceptable use
- Parent code of conduct
- Staff code of conduct
- Complaints
Who should I contact?
If you have questions about any of the topics in the table below, or would like to speak to a member of staff:
- Email or call the school office on bursar@frenchwood.lancs.sch.uk or 01772 253244
- Put the subject and the name of the relevant member of staff (from the list below) in the subject line (for emails)
- We will forward your request on to the relevant member of staff
Remember: check our website first, much of the information you need is posted there. We try to respond to all emails within three working days.
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I have a question about… |
Who you need to talk to |
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My child’s learning/class activities/lessons/homework |
Your child’s class teacher |
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My child’s wellbeing/pastoral support |
Mrs Sue Watson – Learning Mentor Mrs Jacqui Hobsom – Attendance Manager |
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Payments |
Ms Laila Ali or Mrs Lisa Robinson |
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School trips |
Ms Laila Ali or Mrs Lisa Robinson |
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Uniform/lost and found |
Ms Laila Ali or Mrs Lisa Robinson |
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Attendance and absence requests |
If you need to report your child’s absence, call: 01772 253244 (Press 1 and leave a message) If you want to request approval for term-time absence, contact Mrs Jacqui Hobson |
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Bullying and behaviour |
Mrs Sue Watson – Learning Mentor |
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School events/the school calendar |
Mrs Hamida Patel |
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Special educational needs |
Mrs Sue Wilkinson - SENDCo |
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Before and after-school clubs |
School Office |
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Hiring the school premises |
Mrs Hamida Patel |
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The Governing Body |
Mrs Alia Hamid – Chair of Governors |
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Catering/meals |
Ms Shelly Parkinson |
Complaints
If you would like to file a formal complaint, please follow the procedure set out in our complaints policy.
Next review September 2026
We care about what you think
The Policy of this School is to work in partnership with parents/carers and the wider community. Therefore any person, including members of the public, can make a complaint. We try hard to do our best for all our pupils/students. Your views help us plan for the future. We like to know when things are going well. We also want parents/carers to tell us about their worries, concerns or complaints as soon as possible. It is much easier for the school to sort out a recent problem than something that happened some time ago.
Our commitment to you
• We will deal with your concern or complaint in a professional manner.
• It will be looked into thoroughly, fairly and as quickly as possible.
• We will keep you up-to-date with what we are doing.
• We will apologise if the school has made a mistake.
• We will tell you what we are going to do to put things right.
Who can make a complaint?
This complaints procedure is not limited to parents or carers of children that are registered at the school. Any person, including members of the public, may make a complaint to Frenchwood Community Primary School about any provision of facilities or services that we provide. Unless complaints are dealt with under separate statutory procedures (such as appeals relating to exclusions or admissions), we will use this complaints procedure.
The difference between a concern and a complaint
A concern may be defined as ‘an expression of worry or doubt over an issue considered to be important for which reassurances are sought’.
A complaint may be defined as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction however made, about actions taken or a lack of action’.
It is in everyone’s interest that concerns and complaints are resolved at the earliest possible stage. Many issues can be resolved informally, without the need to use the formal stages of the complaints procedure. Frenchwood Community Primary School takes concerns seriously and will make every effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
If you have difficulty discussing a concern with a particular member of staff, we will respect your views. In these cases, Mrs Antwis, will refer you to another staff member. Similarly, if the member of staff directly involved feels unable to deal with a concern, the headteacher will refer you to another staff member. The member of staff may be more senior but does not have to be. The ability to consider the concern objectively and impartially is more important.
We understand however, that there are occasions when people would like to raise their concerns formally. In this case, Frenchwood Community Primary School will attempt to resolve the issue internally, through the stages outlined within this complaints procedure.
How to raise a concern or make a complaint
A concern or complaint can be made in person, in writing or by telephone. They may also be made by a third party acting on behalf on a complainant, as long as they have appropriate consent to do so.
Concerns should be raised with either the class teacher or headteacher. If the issue remains unresolved, the next step is to make a formal complaint.
Complainants should not approach individual governors to raise concerns or complaints. They have no power to act on an individual basis and it may also prevent them from considering complaints at Stage 2 of the procedure.
Complaints against school staff (except the headteacher) should be made in the first instance, to Mrs C Antwis (the headteacher) via the school office. Please mark them as Private and Confidential.
Complaints that involve or are about the headteacher should be addressed to Mrs S Desai (the Chair of Governors), via the school office. Please mark them as Private and Confidential.
Complaints about the Chair of Governors, any individual governor or the whole governing body should be addressed to Mrs T Slater (the Clerk to the Governing Body) via the school office. Please mark them as Private and Confidential.
For ease of use, a template complaint form is included at the end of this procedure. If you require help in completing the form, please contact the school office. You can also ask third party organisations like the Citizens Advice to help you.
In accordance with equality law, we will consider making reasonable adjustments if required, to enable complainants to access and complete this complaints procedure. For instance, providing information in alternative formats, assisting complainants in raising a formal complaint or holding meetings in accessible locations.
Anonymous complaints
We will not normally investigate anonymous complaints. However, the headteacher or Chair of Governors, if appropriate, will determine whether the complaint warrants an investigation.
Time scales
You must raise the complaint within three months of the incident or, where a series of associated incidents have occurred, within three months of the last of these incidents. We will consider complaints made outside of this time frame if exceptional circumstances apply.
Complaints received outside of term time
We will consider complaints made outside of term time to have been received on the first school day after the holiday period.
Scope of this Complaints Procedure
This procedure covers all complaints about any provision of community facilities or services by Frenchwood Community Primary School, other than complaints that are dealt with under other statutory procedures, including those listed below.
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These procedures do not cover |
Who to contact |
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Admissions to schools Appeals for schools |
Concerns about admissions/appeals, should be raised with Lancashire County Council (Pupil Access Team) Email: ESCPupilAccessCentral@lancashire.gov.uk Tel: 0300 123 6707 |
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Inclusion Service: Statutory assessments of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) |
Concerns about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, should be raised with Lancashire County Council Tel: 0300 123 6706 Email: enquiries@lancashire.gov.uk |
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School reorganisation proposals |
Concerns school re-organisation proposals should be raised with Lancashire County Council (School Place Planning Team) Email: schoolplanning@lancashire.gov.uk |
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Child Protection Investigation |
Complaints about child protection matters are handled under our child protection and safeguarding policy and in accordance with relevant statutory guidance.
If you have serious concerns, you may wish to contact the local authority designated officer (LADO) who has local responsibility for safeguarding or the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). |
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School Exclusions * |
Further information about raising concerns about exclusion can be found at: www.gov.uk/school-discipline-exclusions/exclusions.
Concerns about exclusions should be raised with Lancashire County Council (Pupil Access Team) Email: ESCPupilAccessCentral@lancashire.gov.uk Tel: 0300 123 6707
*complaints about the application of the behaviour policy can be made through the school’s complaints procedure. Please refer to the school’s behaviour policy which is located on the school website. |
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These procedures do not cover |
Who to contact |
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Whistleblowing |
We have an internal whistleblowing procedure for all our employees, including temporary staff and contractors.
The Secretary of State for Education is the prescribed person for matters relating to education for whistleblowers in education who do not want to raise matters direct with their employer. Referrals can be made at: www.education.gov.uk/contactus.
Volunteer staff who have concerns about our school should complain through the school’s complaints procedure. You may also be able to complain direct to Lancashire County Council or the Department for Education depending on the substance of your complaint www.education.gov.uk/contactus Complaintsandfeedback@lancashire.gov.uk |
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Staff grievance procedures |
Complaints from staff will be dealt with under the school’s internal grievance procedures. |
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Staff conduct |
Complaints about staff will be dealt with under the school’s internal disciplinary procedures, if appropriate.
Complainants will not be informed of any disciplinary action taken against a staff member as a result of a complaint. However, the complainant will be notified that the matter is being addressed. |
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Complaints about services provided by other providers who may use school premises or facilities |
Providers should have their own complaints procedure to deal with complaints about their service. Please contact them direct. |
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National Curriculum content Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework Collective worship Sex Education |
Please contact the Department for Education at: www.education.gov.uk/contactus |
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Unauthorised absence fines |
Please contact Lancashire County Council Tel: 0300 123 701 |
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Freedom of Information Data Protection (GDPR) |
Data Protection Officer at the school and if this remains unresolved the Information Commission Office Tel: 0303 123 1113 Email: dataprotectionfee@ico.org.uk |
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Functions of the County Council |
Complaints and Appeals Team Legal and Democratic Services County Hall Preston PR1 8XJ Tel: 0300 1236701 |
If other bodies are investigating aspects of the complaint, for example the police, local authority (LA) safeguarding teams or Tribunals, this may impact on our ability to adhere to the timescales within this procedure or result in the procedure being suspended until those public bodies have completed their investigations.
If a complainant commences legal action against Frenchwood Community Primary School in relation to their complaint, we will consider whether to suspend the complaints procedure in relation to their complaint until those legal proceedings have concluded.
Resolving complaints
At each stage in the procedure, Frenchwood Community Primary School wants to resolve the complaint. If appropriate, we will acknowledge that the complaint is upheld in whole or in part. In addition, we may offer one or more of the following:
- an explanation
- an admission that the situation could have been handled differently or better
- an assurance that we will try to ensure the event complained of will not recur
- an explanation of the steps that have been or will be taken to help ensure that it will not happen again and an indication of the timescales within which any changes will be made
- an undertaking to review school policies in light of the complaint
- an apology.
Withdrawal of a Complaint
If a complainant wants to withdraw their complaint, we will ask them to confirm this in writing.
Stage 1
Formal complaints must be made to the headteacher (unless they are about the headteacher), via the school office. This may be done in person, in writing (preferably on the Complaint Form), or by telephone.
The headteacher will record the date the complaint is received and will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing (either by letter or email) within 5 school days.
Within this response, the headteacher will seek to clarify the nature of the complaint, ask what remains unresolved and what outcome the complainant would like to see. The headteacher can consider whether a face to face meeting is the most appropriate way of doing this.
Note: The headteacher may delegate the investigation to another member of the school’s senior leadership team but not the decision to be taken.
During the investigation, the headteacher (or investigator) will:
- if necessary, interview those involved in the matter and/or those complained of, allowing them to be accompanied if they wish
- keep a written record of any meetings/interviews in relation to their investigation.
At the conclusion of their investigation, the headteacher will aim to provide a formal written response within 20 school days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
If the headteacher is unable to meet this deadline, they will provide the complainant with an update and revised response date.
The response will detail any actions taken to investigate the complaint and provide a full explanation of the decision made and the reason(s) for it. Where appropriate, it will include details of actions Frenchwood Community Primary School will take to resolve the complaint.
The headteacher will advise the complainant of how to escalate their complaint should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1.
If the complaint is about the headteacher, or a member of the governing body (including the Chair or Vice-Chair), a suitably skilled governor will be appointed to complete all the actions at Stage 1.
Complaints about the headteacher or member of the governing body must be made to the Clerk, via the school office.
If the complaint is:
- jointly about the Chair and Vice Chair or
- the entire governing body or
- the majority of the governing body
Stage 1 will be considered by an independent investigator appointed by the governing body.
Stage 2
If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome at Stage 1 and wishes to take the matter further, they can escalate the complaint to Stage 2 – a meeting with members of the governing body’s complaints committee, which will be formed of the first three, impartial, governors available. This is the final stage of the complaints procedure.
A request to escalate to Stage 2 must be made to the Clerk, via the school office, within 10 school days of receipt of the Stage 1 response. The Clerk will record the date the complaint is received and acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing (either by letter or email) within 5 school days.
Requests received outside of this time frame will only be considered if exceptional circumstances apply.
The Clerk will write to the complainant to inform them of the date of the meeting. They will aim to convene a meeting within 25 school days of receipt of the Stage 2 request. If this is not possible, the Clerk will provide an anticipated date and keep the complainant informed.
If the complainant rejects the offer of three proposed dates, without good reason, the Clerk will decide when to hold the meeting. It will then proceed in the complainant’s absence on the basis of written submissions from both parties.
The complaints committee will consist of at least three governors with no prior involvement or knowledge of the complaint. Prior to the meeting, they will decide amongst themselves who will act as the Chair of the Complaints Committee. If there are fewer than three governors from Frenchwood Community Primary School available, the Clerk will source any additional, independent governors through another local school or through their LA’s Governor Services team, in order to make up the committee. Alternatively, an entirely independent committee may be convened to hear the complaint at Stage 2.
The committee will decide whether to deal with the complaint by inviting parties to a meeting or through written representations, but in making their decision they will be sensitive to the complainant’s needs.
If the complainant is invited to attend the meeting, they may bring someone along to provide support. This can be a relative or friend. Generally, we do not encourage either party to bring legal representatives to the committee meeting. However, there may be occasions when legal representation is appropriate.
For instance, if a school employee is called as a witness in a complaint meeting, they may wish to be supported by union and/or legal representation.
Note: Complaints about staff conduct will not generally be handled under this complaints procedure. Complainants will be advised that any staff conduct complaints will be considered under staff disciplinary procedures, if appropriate, but outcomes will not be shared with them.
Representatives from the media are not permitted to attend.
At least 10 school days before the meeting, the Clerk will:
- confirm and notify the complainant of the date, time and venue of the meeting, ensuring that, if the complainant is invited, the dates are convenient to all parties and that the venue and proceedings are accessible
- request copies of any further written material to be submitted to the committee at least 7 school days before the meeting.
Any written material will be circulated to all parties at least 5 school days before the date of the meeting. The committee will not normally accept, as evidence, recordings of conversations that were obtained covertly and without the informed consent of all parties being recorded.
The committee will also not review any new complaints at this stage or consider evidence unrelated to the initial complaint to be included. New complaints must be dealt with from Stage 1 of the procedure.
The meeting will be held in private. Electronic recordings of meetings or conversations are not normally permitted unless a complainant’s own disability or special needs require it. Prior knowledge and consent of all parties attending must be sought before meetings or conversations take place. Consent will be recorded in any minutes taken.
The committee will consider the complaint and all the evidence presented. The committee can:
- uphold the complaint in whole or in part
- dismiss the complaint in whole or in part.
If the complaint is upheld in whole or in part, the committee will:
- decide on the appropriate action to be taken to resolve the complaint
- where appropriate, recommend changes to the school’s systems or procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.
The Chair of the Committee will aim to provide the complainant and Frenchwood Community Primary School with a full explanation of their decision and the reason(s) for it, in writing, within 15 school days.
The letter to the complainant will include details of how to contact the Department for Education if they are dissatisfied with the way their complaint has been handled by Frenchwood Community Primary School.
If the complaint is:
- jointly about the Chair and Vice Chair or
- the entire governing body or
- the majority of the governing body
Stage 2 will be heard by a committee of independent governors.
The response will detail any actions taken to investigate the complaint and provide a full explanation of the decision made and the reason(s) for it. Where appropriate, it will include details of actions Frenchwood Community Primary School will take to resolve the complaint.
The response will also advise the complainant of how to escalate their complaint should they remain dissatisfied.
Next Steps
If the complainant believes the school did not handle their complaint in accordance with the published complaints procedure or they acted unlawfully or unreasonably in the exercise of their duties under education law, they can contact the Department for Education after they have completed Stage 2.
The Department for Education will not normally reinvestigate the substance of complaints or overturn any decisions made by <School Name>. They will consider whether Frenchwood Community Primary School has adhered to education legislation and any statutory policies connected with the complaint.
The complainant can refer their complaint to the Department for Education online at: www.education.gov.uk/contactus, by telephone on: 0370 000 2288 or by writing to:
Department for Education
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD.
Complaint form - print and complete
Next review June 2026
Aims
Our school aims to meet its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) by having due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations across all characteristics – between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
Legislation and guidance
This document meets the requirements under the following legislation:
- The Equality Act 2010, which introduced the Public Sector Equality Duty and protects people from discrimination
- The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which require schools to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty and to publish equality objectives
This document is also based on Department for Education (DfE) guidance: The Equality Act 2010 and schools.
Roles and responsibilities
The governing body will:
- Ensure that the equality information and objectives as set out in this statement are published and communicated throughout the school, including to staff, pupils and parents
- Ensure that the published equality information is updated at least every year, and that the objectives are reviewed and updated at least every 4 years
- Delegate responsibility for monitoring the achievement of the objectives on a daily basis to the headteacher
The equality link governor is Councillor Yakub Patel. He will:
- Meet with the headteacher termly and other relevant staff members, to discuss any issues and how these are being addressed
- Ensure they’re familiar with all relevant legislation and the contents of this document
- Attend appropriate equality and diversity training
- Report back to the full governing body regarding any issues
The headteacher will:
- Promote knowledge and understanding of the equality objectives among staff and pupils
- Monitor success in achieving the objectives and report back to governors
All school staff are expected to have regard to this document and to work to achieve the objectives as set out on page 5.
Eliminating discrimination
The school is aware of its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and complies with non-discrimination provisions.
Where relevant, our policies include reference to the importance of avoiding discrimination and other prohibited conduct.
New staff receive training on the Equality Act as part of their induction, and all staff receive refresher training every two years. Equality issues are reported on in the headteacher’s report to governors each term.
Advancing equality of opportunity
As set out in the DfE guidance on the Equality Act, the school aims to advance equality of opportunity by:
- Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people that are connected to a particular characteristic they have (e.g. pupils with disabilities, or gay pupils who are being subjected to homophobic bullying)
- Taking steps to meet the particular needs of people who have a particular characteristic (e.g. enabling Muslim pupils to pray at prescribed times)
- Encouraging people who have a particular characteristic to participate fully in any activities (e.g. encouraging all pupils to be involved in the full range of school societies)
In fulfilling this aspect of the duty, the school will:
- Publish attainment data each academic year showing how pupils with different characteristics are performing
- Analyse the above data to determine strengths and areas for improvement, implement actions in response and publish this information
- Make evidence available identifying improvements for specific groups (e.g. declines in incidents of homophobic or transphobic bullying)
- Publish further data about any issues associated with particular protected characteristics, identifying any issues which could affect our own pupils
Fostering good relations
The school aims to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not share it by:
- Promoting tolerance, friendship and understanding of a range of religions and cultures through different aspects of our curriculum. This includes teaching in RE, personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, but also activities in other curriculum areas. For example, as part of teaching and learning in English/reading, pupils will be introduced to literature from a range of cultures
- Holding assemblies dealing with relevant issues. Pupils will be encouraged to take a lead in such assemblies and we will also invite external speakers to contribute
- Working with our local community. This includes inviting leaders of local faith groups to speak at assemblies, and organising school trips and activities based around the local community
- Encouraging and implementing initiatives to deal with tensions between different groups of pupils within the school. For example, our school council has representatives from different year groups and is formed of pupils from a range of backgrounds. All pupils are encouraged to participate in the school’s activities, such as sports clubs. We also work with parents to promote knowledge and understanding of different cultures
- We have developed links with people and groups who have specialist knowledge about particular characteristics, which helps inform and develop our approach
Equality considerations in decision-making
The school ensures it has due regard to equality considerations whenever significant decisions are made.
The school always considers the impact of significant decisions on particular groups. For example, when a school trip or activity is being planned, the school considers whether the trip:
- Cuts across any religious holidays
- Is accessible to pupils with disabilities
- Has equivalent facilities for boys and girls
Equality objectives
Objective 1
Aim to increase the representation of teachers from local black and minority ethnic communities over a 4-year period (July 2022 to July 2026).
Why we have chosen this objective:
We would like our staffing profile to better reflect the wider school community.
To achieve this objective we plan to:
Undertake an analysis of recruitment data and trends with regard to race, gender and disability annually, and report at autumn term Resources Committee.
Ensure that all candidates with a protected characteristic that meet the essential criteria are interviewed.
Progress we are making towards this objective:
During 2018-2022 the percentage of White British teachers in our school has reduced from 100% to 82% and the number of male teachers has doubled from 2 to 4.
Objective 2
Have in place a reasonable adjustment agreement for all staff with disabilities by July 2022, to meet their needs better and make sure that any disadvantages they experience are addressed.
Why we have chosen this objective:
We need to ensure that all employees are enabled to be as effective as possible by reducing barriers caused by any disability they may have.
To achieve this objective we plan to:
Ensure that all new employees with disabilities have reasonable adjustment agreement in place as part of their induction.
Progress we are making towards this objective:
Staff wellbeing programme to support all staff.
Objective 3
Increase male representation on the governing body over a 4-year period (from this July 2022 to July 2026).
Why we have chosen this objective:
To increase diversity within our governing body.
To achieve this objective we plan to:
Make explicit our desire to increase diversity to potential governors.
Seek out potential nominees; identify and mitigate possible barriers to participation in election
Progress we are making towards this objective:
We currently have no male parent governors.
Monitoring arrangements
Annually, the headteacher will update the equality information we publish, following the summer term Standards and Curriculum Committee meeting.
This document will be reviewed and approved by the Standards Committee at least every 3 years.
Links with other policies
This document links to the following policies:
- Accessibility plan
Next review September 2026
Frenchwood Community Primary School:
- recognises that asthma is a widespread, serious but controllable condition and the school welcomes all pupils with asthma;
- ensures that pupils with asthma can and do participate fully in all aspects of school life, including art lessons, PE, science, visits, outings or field trips and other out-of-hours school activities;
- recognises that pupils with asthma need immediate access to reliever inhalers at all times;
- keeps a record of all pupils with asthma;
- has an emergency salbutamol inhaler and spacer available for emergency use only in the school office.
We ensure that the emergency inhaler is only used by children with asthma with written parental consent for its use. (The draft letter for consent at Annex A will be used for this), but will be used at the first aider’s discretion if contact is not possible and patient’s health deteriorates. In the event that the school emergency inhaler is used, parents will be contacted immediately and asked to bring medication to school the next day. Please read use of emergency salbutamol inhalers in school at the end of this policy.
Asthma medicines
- Immediate access to reliever medicines is essential. Pupils with asthma are encouraged to carry their reliever inhaler as soon as the parent/carer, doctor or asthma nurse agrees they are mature enough.
- All inhalers must be labelled with the child’s name by the parent/carer.
- School staff are not required to administer asthma medicines to pupils (except in an emergency), however many of the staff at this school are happy to do this. School staff who agree to administer medicines are insured by Zurich Insurance when acting in agreement with this policy. All school staff will let pupils take their own medicines when they need to.
School policy guidelines
Record keeping
- At the beginning of each school year or when a child joins the school, parents/carers are asked if their child has any medical conditions including asthma on their enrolment form. When this has been established an agreement will be sent to the parent/carers regarding the guidelines for asthma pumps in school. Appendix 1 will be used to notify parents.
- This information is then added to the Children’s Health Lists which includes all of the pupils in each class of any Medical conditions or Individual Healthcare Plans that they have. Copies of these are kept in each classroom, staffroom and the main office. The sports coaches also have a copy with them when they are in school.
Exercise and activity – PE and games
- Taking part in sports, games and activities is an essential part of school life for all pupils. All teachers know which children in their class have asthma and all PE teachers at the school are aware of which pupils have asthma from the school’s asthma register.
- Pupils with asthma are encouraged to participate fully in all PE lessons. PE teachers will remind pupils whose asthma is triggered by exercise to take their reliever inhaler before the lesson, and to thoroughly warm up and down before and after the lesson. It is agreed with PE staff that each pupil’s inhaler will be labelled and kept in a box at the site of the lesson. If a pupil needs to use their inhaler during a lesson they will be encouraged to do so.
- Classroom teachers follow the same principles as described above for games and activities involving physical activity.
Out-of-hours sport
- There has been a large emphasis in recent years on increasing the number of children and young people involved in exercise and sport in and outside of school. The health benefits of exercise are well documented and this is also true for children and young people with asthma. It is therefore important that the school involve pupils with asthma as much as possible in after school clubs.
- Classroom teachers and out-of hours school sport coaches are aware of the potential triggers for pupils with asthma when exercising, tips to minimise these triggers and what to do in the event of an asthma attack.
Staff also are aware in particular of the difficulties very young children may have in explaining how they feel.
School environment
The school does all that it can to ensure the school environment is favourable to pupils with asthma. The school has a definitive no smoking policy. As far as possible the school does not use chemicals in science and art lessons that are potential triggers for pupils with asthma. Pupils with asthma are encouraged to leave the room and go and sit in the school office if particular fumes trigger their asthma.
When a pupil is falling behind in lessons
- If a pupil is missing a lot of time at school or is always tired because their asthma is disturbing their sleep at night, the class teacher will initially talk to the parents/carers to work out how to prevent their child from falling behind. If appropriate, the teacher will then talk to the school nurse and special education needs coordinator about the pupil’s needs.
- The school recognises that it is possible for pupils with asthma to have special education needs due to their asthma.
Asthma attacks
- All trained first aid staff who come into contact with pupils with asthma know what to do in the event of an asthma attack.
- There is a copy in each classroom of: - ‘How to recognise an asthma attack’ and ‘What to do in the event of an asthma attack’
- Each classroom has a red card for a child (if there is not another adult in the classroom) to take into the next classroom or the school office to summon first aid help in the case of any emergency.
Also another adult would lead the rest of the class away from the situation.
Next review August 2026
1. Aims
The Aim of this Policy is to set out guidelines for all Staff in school in the administering of First Aid, and to determine whether or not the child is in need of ‘First-Aid’ or merely ‘Pastoral Care’. Having such clarity will help us to ensure we are providing the best possible provision for safeguarding our pupils. This is in line with the DFE document ‘Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults who Work with Children Young People (page 22, DFE, 2007)
2. Legislation and guidance
This policy is based on the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, advice from the Department for Education on first aid in schools and health and safety in schools, and the following legislation:
- The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, which state that employers must provide adequate and appropriate equipment and facilities to enable first aid to be administered to employees, and qualified first aid personnel
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, which require employers to make an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which require employers to carry out risk assessments, make arrangements to implement necessary measures, and arrange for appropriate information and training
- The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013, which state that some accidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and set out the timeframe for this and how long records of such accidents must be kept
- Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, which set out rules on the retention of accident records
- The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012, which require that suitable space is provided to cater for the medical and therapy needs of pupils
3. Roles and responsibilities
Frenchwood Primary School are fortunate to have ten members of Staff with designated responsibility for administering First-Aid in school and at least three Paediatric first aiders. These members of Staff operate on a rota basis which is displayed in the staffroom and First-Aid room (The Hive). If members of staff are not able to cover, it is up to that member of staff to swap or inform a member of SLT.
3.1 Appointed person(s) and first aiders
The school’s appointed persons: - Cathryn Antwis, Steven McLoughlin & Annamarie Tegland. They are responsible for:
- Taking charge when someone is injured or becomes ill
- Ensuring there is an adequate supply of medical materials in first aid kits, and replenishing the contents of these kits
- Ensuring that an ambulance or other professional medical help is summoned when appropriate
First aiders are trained and qualified to carry out the role (see section 7) and are responsible for:
- Acting as first responders to any incidents; they will assess the situation where there is an injured or ill person, and provide immediate and appropriate treatment
- Sending pupils home to recover, where necessary
- Filling in an accident report on the same day, or as soon as is reasonably practicable, after an incident (see the template in appendix 2)
- Keeping their contact details up to date
Our school’s first aiders will be displayed prominently around the school.
3.2 The local authority and governing board
Lancashire County Council has ultimate responsibility for health and safety matters in the school, but delegates’ responsibility for the strategic management of such matters to the school’s governing board.
The governing board delegates operational matters and day-to-day tasks to the headteacher and staff members.
3.3 The governing board
The governing board has ultimate responsibility for health and safety matters in the school, but
delegates’ operational matters and day-to-day tasks to the headteacher and staff members.
3.4 The headteacher
The headteacher is responsible for the implementation of this policy, including:
- Ensuring that an appropriate number of appointed persons and/or trained first aid personnel are present in the school at all times
- Ensuring that first aiders have an appropriate qualification, keep training up to date and remain competent to perform their role
- Ensuring all staff are aware of first aid procedures
- Ensuring appropriate risk assessments are completed and appropriate measures are put in place
- Undertaking, or ensuring that managers undertake, risk assessments, as appropriate, and that appropriate measures are put in place
- Ensuring that adequate space is available for catering to the medical needs of pupils
- Reporting specified incidents to the HSE when necessary (see section 6)
3.5 Staff
School staff are responsible for:
- Ensuring they follow first aid procedures
- Ensuring they know who the first aiders in school are
- Completing accident reports (see appendix 2) for all incidents they attend
- Informing the headteacher or their manager of any specific health conditions or first aid needs
4. First aid procedures and equipment
4.1 In-school procedures
In the event of major injury, a designated member of First-Aid staff should be sent for immediately. An informed assessment will be carried out and the appropriate treatment given.
Should the injury require medical assistance (i.e. Parent called into school/hospital visit/ambulance/), a member of the office staff should be contacted immediately to seek urgent authorisation from the Head/Deputy Head Teacher (injury type permitting) and the relevant action taken.
In the event of minor injury, once treated, the class teacher or teaching assistant must be informed so that they can liaise with Parents/Guardians/Out-of-school club/Carer at the end of the school day.
Should the child be feeling unwell or have been sick in school, the class teacher must be notified so that an informed decision may be made.
Should the decision be that Parents be notified/the child needs to go home, the office should be contacted to confirm authorisation with the Head/Deputy Head Teacher, and Parents contacted.
EPIPENS:
There are a number of pupils in school requiring ‘Epipens’. The administering of epipens must be carried out by the nearest member of staff in the event of an emergency and/or when anaphylactic shock is apparent irrespective of whether Piriton has been administered first. Please ensure you are familiar with the use of epipens and/or symptoms of anaphylactic shock.
PUPILS WITH SPECIFIC NEED:
Details of Pupils with specific need i.e. diabetic/severe allergies/epipens etc may be found at the front of each register, staff room wall and 1st Aid room ( The Hive)(Please also see Appendix D). Please take time to familiarise yourself with the pupils concerned and their individual potential need.
INCIDENT REPORTING:
All incidents requiring first-aid (whether minor or major) must be recorded in the school First-Aid book. This is situated in the First Aid room (The Hive).
TREATMENT:
School has a ready supply of minor first aid equipment. These may be found in the First Aid room.
The administering of items such as antiseptic creams etc are not permitted in case of allergic reaction. Cuts and grazes should be treated with gauze and clean water and Elastoplast/Micropore applied where applicable.
There are buckets in the First Aid room (The Hive) for pupils who feel sick. Please place a vomit bag inside the bucket before use. Sawdust, mops and buckets may all be found in the Cleaner’s store.
4.2 Off-site procedures
When taking pupils off the school premises, staff will ensure they always have the following:
- A school mobile phone
- A portable first aid kit
- Information about the specific medical needs of pupils
- Parents’ contact details
Risk assessments will be completed by the teacher leading the visit and approved by the EVC (John Moore) prior to any educational visit that necessitates taking pupils off school premises.
There will always be at least one first aider with a current paediatric first aid certificate on school trips and visits, as required by the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
There will always be at least one first aider on school trips and visits.
5. Record-keeping and reporting
5.1 First aid and accident record book
- An accident form will be completed by the first aider/relevant member of staff on the same day or as soon as possible after an incident resulting in an injury
- As much detail as possible should be supplied when reporting an accident, including all of the information included in the accident form at appendix 2
- A copy of the accident report form will also sent home to parents/carers
- Records held in the first aid and accident book will be retained by the school for a minimum of 3 years, in accordance with regulation 25 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, and then securely disposed of
5.2 Reporting to the HSE
Records will be kept of any accident which results in a reportable injury, disease, or dangerous occurrence as defined in the RIDDOR 2013 legislation (regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7).
The Head will report these to the Health and Safety Executive as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within 10 days of the incident.
Reportable injuries, diseases or dangerous occurrences include:
- Death
- Specified injuries, which are:
- Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
- Amputations
- Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
- Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- Serious burns (including scalding)
- Any scalping requiring hospital treatment
- Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
- Injuries where an employee is away from work or unable to perform their normal work duties for more than 7 consecutive days (not including the day of the incident)
- Where an accident leads to someone being taken to hospital
- Near-miss events that do not result in an injury, but could have done. Examples of near-miss events relevant to schools include, but are not limited to:
- The collapse or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
- The accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness
- The accidental release or escape of any substance that may cause a serious injury or damage to health
- An electrical short circuit or overload causing a fire or explosion
Information on how to make a RIDDOR report is available here:
How to make a RIDDOR report, HSE
http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm
5.3 Notifying parents
The first aider will inform parents of any accident or injury sustained by a pupil, and any first aid treatment given, on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
5.4 Reporting to Ofsted and child protection agencies
The Head will notify Ofsted of any serious accident, illness or injury to, or death of, a pupil while in the school’s care. This will happen as soon as is reasonably practicable, and no later than 14 days after the incident.
The Head will also notify LA of any serious accident or injury to, or the death of, a pupil while in the school’s care.
6. Training
All school staff are able to undertake first aid training if they would like to.
All first aiders must have completed a training course, and must hold a valid certificate of competence to show this. The school will keep a register of all trained first aiders, what training they have received and when this is valid until (see appendix 3).
Staff are encouraged to renew their first aid training when it is no longer valid.
At all times, at least 1 staff member will have a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate which meets the requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and is updated at least every 3 years.
7. Links with other policies
This first aid policy is linked to the
- Health and safety policy
- Risk assessment policy
8. Information
- List of appointed persons is displayed in the medical room/Hive
- Accident books are kept in the medical room/Hive and EYFS
- First Aid training log is kept in the medical room.
Next review August 2026
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. The Role of Parents/Carers
3. Prescription Medication
4. Long Term Medical Needs
5. Controlled Drugs
6. Non Prescription Medication
7. Administering Medicines
8. Emergency Inhalers
9. Self Management
10. Refusing medication
11. Offsite visits
12. Disposal of Medicines
1. Introduction
Most pupils will at some time have a medical condition that may affect their participation in school activities and for many this will be short-term. Other pupils have medical conditions that, if not properly managed, could limit their access to education. Most children with medical needs are able to attend school regularly and, with some support from the school, can take part in most normal school activities. Arboretum Primary School is committed to ensuring that children with medical needs have the same right of access as other children.
There is no legal duty that requires schools and staff to administer medication, this is a voluntary role. The ‘duty of care’ extends to administering medication in exceptional circumstances, and therefore it is for schools to decide their local policy for the administration of medication.
2. The Role of Parents/Carers
Parents/carers should, wherever possible, administer or supervise the self-administration of medication to their children. This may be by spacing the doses so that they are not required within school hours, or by the parent/carer coming in to school at lunch time to administer the medication. However, this might not be practicable and in such a case parents/carer may make a request for medication to be administered to the child at school.
If medicine needs to be administered during school time, then a parent or carer must bring it to the school office and fill in the Administration of Medication Permission and Record form (Appendix 1). Medication must not be given to the class teacher, or brought into school by the child themselves. If medication is for a short term condition, any remaining medication must be collected from the office by a parent or carer at the end of the school day.
3. Prescription Medication
Prescription medicines should be administered at home wherever possible, for example medicines that need to be taken 3 times a day can usually be taken before school, after school and at bed time. Parents are encouraged to ask the GP to whether this is possible. Prescription medicines will only be administered by the school where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if it were not done.
Medicines should always be provided in the original container as dispensed by a pharmacist and include the prescriber’s instructions for administration. The exception to this is insulin which must still be in date, but will generally be available to school inside an insulin pen or a pump, rather than in its original container. Schools should never accept medicines that have been taken out of the container nor make changes to dosages on parental instruction.
In all cases it is necessary to check:
• Name of child
• Name of medicine
• Dosage
• Written instructions provided by prescriber
• Expiry date
An Administration of Medicine Permission & Record form (Appendix 1) must be completed and signed by the parent / carer. No medication will be given without the parent’s written consent.
Prescribed medication, other than emergency medication, will be kept in the Medical Room, either in the cupboard or the refrigerator as appropriate. All emergency medicines (asthma inhalers, epi-pens etc.) should be kept in the child’s classroom and be readily available. A second Epi-pen for each child who requires one will be kept in the Medical Room, in a box clearly labelled with the child’s name and photograph.
4. Long Term Medical Needs
It is important for the school to have sufficient information regarding the medical condition of any pupil with long term medical needs. The school will draw up a health care plan for such pupils, involving the parents and the relevant health professionals. Refer to the “Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions Policy” for more information.
Appropriate training will be arranged for the administration of any specialist medication (e.g. adrenaline via an epipen, buccal midazolam, insulin etc.) Staff should not administer such medicines until they have been trained to do so.
5. Controlled Drugs
Controlled drugs, such as Ritalin, are controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act. Therefore it is imperative that controlled drugs are strictly managed between the school and parents. Ideally controlled drugs are only brought in on a daily basis by parents, but certainly no more than a week’s supply and the amount of medication handed over to the school should always be recorded.
Controlled drugs should be stored in a locked non portable container, such as a safe, and only specific named staff allowed access to it. Each time the drug is administered it must be recorded, including if the child refused to take it. If pupils refuse to take medication, school staff should not force them to do so. The school should inform the child’s parents as a matter of urgency. If necessary, the school should call the emergency services. The person administering the controlled drug should monitor that the drug has been taken. Passing a controlled drug to another child is an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
As with all medicines any unused medication should be recorded as being returned back to the parent when no longer required. If this is not possible it should be returned to the dispensing pharmacist. It should not be thrown away.
6. Non Prescription Medication
Where possible, the school will avoid administering non-prescription medicine. However, we may do so, if requested by the parent, if it will facilitate the child attending school and continuing their learning. This will usually be for a short period only, perhaps to finish a course of antibiotics, to apply a lotion or the administration of paracetamol for toothache or other pain. However, such medicines will only be administered in school where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if it were not administered during the day, and must be reviewed no more than 5 days after the initial authorisation.
A child under 16 should never be given aspirin-containing medicine, unless prescribed by a doctor.
If non-prescription medication is to be administered, then the parent/carer must complete an Administration of Medicine Consent form (Appendix 1), and the same procedure will be followed as for prescription medication. The medicine must be provided in its original container, with dosage information on it. The parent’s instructions will be checked against the dosage information, and this will not be exceeded.
7. Administering Medicines
Medicines will only be administered by members of staff who have been trained in the safe administration of medicines. This will usually be the first aider or member of the office staff, but in their absence another appropriately trained member of staff may carry it out. Appropriate training will be arranged for the administration of any specialist medication (e.g. adrenaline via an epipen, Buccal midazolam, insulin etc.) Staff should not administer such medicines until they have been trained to do so. A list of all staff trained in administration of medicines will be maintained by the Welfare Assistant. The SENCo will maintain a record of staff trained in specialist medication for children with Health Care Plans.
When a member of staff administers medicine, they will check the child’s Administration of Medication Permission and Record form against the medication, to ensure that the dose and timing are correct. They will then administer the medicine as required, and record this on the form. For long-term medication, an Administration of Medication Continuation Sheet (Appendix 2) will be used as necessary.
8. Emergency Inhalers
In line with “Guidance on the use of emergency salbutamol inhalers in schools” March 2015, the school will keep emergency reliever (blue) inhalers for the emergency use of children whose own inhaler is not available for any reason. They will be stored in the Medical Room, along with appropriate spacers. Parents must sign a “Consent form: use of emergency salbutamol inhaler” (Appendix 4) to consent to their child being allowed to use the emergency inhaler. These will be kept in the Asthma file in the Medical Room.
9. Self Management
It is important that as children get older they should be encouraged to take responsibility and manage their own medication. This should be clearly set out in the child’s health care plan in agreement with the parents, bearing in mind the safety of other pupils.
Staff should be aware of the need for asthmatics to carry medication with them (or for staff to take appropriate action). Children should know where their medicines are stored.
10. Refusing medication
If a child refuses to take medication staff should not force them to do so, but note this in the records and inform parents of the refusal. If the refusal leads to a medical emergency, the school will call the emergency services and inform the parents.
11. Offsite visits
It is good practice for schools to encourage pupils with medical needs to participate in offsite visits. All staff supervising visits should be aware of any medical needs and relevant emergency procedures. Where necessary, individual risk assessments will be completed. A member of staff who is trained to administer any specific medication will accompany the pupil and ensure that the appropriate medication is taken on the visit. Inhalers must be taken for all children who suffer from asthma.
Travel Sickness - Tablets can be given with written consent from a parent but the child’s name, dosage, time of dose and any possible side effects (the child must have had the travel sickness preventative at home before the trip in case of side effects) should be clearly marked on the container, which must be the original packaging. Parents will need to complete an Administration of Medication Permission and Record form.
Residential visits – All medicines which a child needs to take should be handed to the teacher in charge of the visit. The only exception are asthma inhalers, which should be kept by the child themselves. The parents will sign a consent form for any medicines which they need to take during the visit, plus consent of emergency treatment to be administered – see example form in Appendix 3.
12. Disposal of Medicines
The Welfare Assistant will check all medicines kept in school each term to ensure that they have not exceeded their expiry date. Parents/carers will be notified of any that need to be replaced. Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring that date-expired medicines are returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal. If parents do not collect all medicines, they should be taken to a local pharmacy for safe disposal.
Sharps boxes should always be used for the disposal of needles. There is a sharps box in the Medical Room. If any child requires regular injections (eg. Insulin), they will have their own sharps box which can be taken offsite with them on trips etc. The parents will be notified when the box is almost full so that they can bring in a new box and take the full box for disposal.
Next review August 2026
Policy statement
No child is excluded from participating in our setting who may, for any reason, not yet be toilet trained and who may still be wearing nappies or equivalent. We work with parents towards toilet training, unless there are medical or other developmental reasons why this may not be appropriate at the time. We provide nappy changing facilities and exercise good hygiene practices in order to accommodate children who are not yet toilet trained. We see toilet training as a self-care skill that children have the opportunity to learn with the full support and non-judgemental concern of adults.
Procedures
- Key persons are aware of the young children in their care who are in nappies or ‘pull-ups’ and those children who have occasional accidents.
- We have a changing station in our EYFS unit which may be used to lay young children down on if they need to be changed. Our changing area is away from the main classroom area and is in a well ventilated. Older children are supported in a separate area to respect privacy.
- Each child’s bag is collected before changing so their nappies, pull ups and changing wipes are to hand.
- Staff and children are to wash hands thoroughly before changing.
- Our staff put on gloves, aprons and facemasks before changing starts and the areas are cleaned before and after use. New protective equipment are used each time a new child is changed.
- Staff and children are to wash hands thoroughly after changing process.
- All our staff are familiar with our hygiene procedures and carry these out when changing nappies.
- Our staff never turn their back on a child or leave them unattended whilst they are on the changing mat.
- We are gentle when changing; we are positive with children while changing.
- In addition, we ensure that nappy changing is relaxed and a time to promote independence in young children.
- We encourage children to take an interest in using the toilet.
- Children access the toilet when they have the need to and are encouraged to be independent.
- We dispose of nappies and pull ups hygienically in a sealed bag. Other items of clothing are bagged for parents to take home.
Next review August 2026
Aims
This policy aims to ensure that:
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Pupils, staff and parents understand how our school will support pupils with medical conditions
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Pupils with medical conditions are properly supported to allow them to access the same education as other pupils, including school trips and sporting activities
The governing board will implement this policy by:
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Making sure sufficient staff are suitably trained
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Making staff aware of pupils’ conditions, where appropriate
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Making sure there are cover arrangements to ensure someone is always available to support pupils with medical conditions
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Providing supply teachers with appropriate information about the policy and relevant pupils
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Developing and monitoring individual healthcare plans (IHPs)
Roles and responsibilities
The governing board
The governing board has ultimate responsibility to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. The governing board will ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they are responsible for supporting children with medical conditions.
The headteacher
The headteacher will:
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Make sure all staff are aware of this policy and understand their role in its implementation
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Ensure that there is a sufficient number of trained staff available to implement this policy and deliver against all individual healthcare plans (IHPs), including in contingency and emergency situations
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Ensure that all staff who need to know are aware of a child’s condition
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Take overall responsibility for the development of IHPs
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Make sure that school staff are appropriately insured and aware that they are insured to support pupils in this way
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Contact the school nursing service in the case of any pupil who has a medical condition that may require support at school, but who has not yet been brought to the attention of the school nurse
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Ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a child’s medical needs and that this information is kept up to date
Staff
Supporting pupils with medical conditions during school hours is not the sole responsibility of one person. Any member of staff may be asked to provide support to pupils with medical conditions, although they will not be required to do so. This includes the administration of medicines.
Those staff who take on the responsibility to support pupils with medical conditions will receive sufficient and suitable training, and will achieve the necessary level of competency before doing so.
Teachers will take into account the needs of pupils with medical conditions that they teach. All staff will know what to do and respond accordingly when they become aware that a pupil with a medical condition needs help.
Parents
Parents will:
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Provide the school with sufficient and up-to-date information about their child’s medical needs
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Be involved in the development and review of their child’s IHP and may be involved in its drafting
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Carry out any action they have agreed to as part of the implementation of the IHP, e.g. provide medicines and equipment, and ensure they or another nominated adult are contactable at all times
Pupils
Pupils with medical conditions will often be best placed to provide information about how their condition affects them. Pupils should be fully involved in discussions about their medical support needs and contribute as much as possible to the development of their IHPs. They are also expected to comply with their IHPs.
School nurses and other healthcare professionals
Our school nursing service (Virgincare) will notify the school when a pupil has been identified as having a medical condition that will require support in school. This will be before the pupil starts school, wherever possible. They may also support staff to implement a child’s IHP.
Healthcare professionals, such as GPs and paediatricians, will liaise with the school’s nurses and notify them of any pupils identified as having a medical condition. They may also provide advice on developing IHPs.
Equal opportunities
Our school is clear about the need to actively support pupils with medical conditions to participate in school trips and visits, or in sporting activities, and not prevent them from doing so.
The school will consider what reasonable adjustments need to be made to enable these pupils to participate fully and safely on school trips, visits and sporting activities.
Risk assessments will be carried out so that planning arrangements take account of any steps needed to ensure that pupils with medical conditions are included. In doing so, pupils, their parents and any relevant healthcare professionals will be consulted.
Being notified that a child has a medical condition
When the school is notified that a pupil has a medical condition, the process outlined below will be followed to decide whether the pupil requires an IHP.
The school will make every effort to ensure that arrangements are put into place within 2 weeks, or by the beginning of the relevant term for pupils who are new to our school.
See Appendix 1.
Individual healthcare plans
The headteacher has overall responsibility for the development of IHPs for pupils with medical conditions. This has been delegated to Steven McLoughlin, DHT.
Plans will be reviewed at least annually, or earlier if there is evidence that the pupil’s needs have changed.
Plans will be developed with the pupil’s best interests in mind and will set out:
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What needs to be done
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When
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By whom
Not all pupils with a medical condition will require an IHP. It will be agreed with a healthcare professional and the parents when an IHP would be inappropriate or disproportionate. This will be based on evidence. If there is no consensus, the headteacher will make the final decision.
Plans will be drawn up in partnership with the school, parents and a relevant healthcare professional, such as the school nurse, specialist or paediatrician, who can best advise on the pupil’s specific needs. The pupil will be involved wherever appropriate.
IHPs will be linked to, or become part of, any education, health and care (EHC) plan. If a pupil has SEN but does not have an EHC plan, the SEN will be mentioned in the IHP.
The level of detail in the plan will depend on the complexity of the child’s condition and how much support is needed.
Considerations when deciding what information to record on IHPs:
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The medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms and treatments
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The pupil’s resulting needs, including medication (dose, side effects and storage) and other treatments, time, facilities, equipment, testing, access to food and drink where this is used to manage their condition, dietary requirements and environmental issues, e.g. crowded corridors, travel time between lessons
-
Specific support for the pupil’s educational, social and emotional needs. For example, how absences will be managed, requirements for extra time to complete exams, use of rest periods or additional support in catching up with lessons, counselling sessions
-
The level of support needed, including in emergencies. If a pupil is self-managing their medication, this will be clearly stated with appropriate arrangements for monitoring
-
Who will provide this support, their training needs, expectations of their role and confirmation of proficiency to provide support for the pupil’s medical condition from a healthcare professional, and cover arrangements for when they are unavailable
-
Who in the school needs to be aware of the pupil’s condition and the support required
-
Arrangements for written permission from parents and the headteacher for medication to be administered by a member of staff, or self-administered by the pupil during school hours
-
Separate arrangements or procedures required for school trips or other school activities outside of the normal school timetable that will ensure the pupil can participate, e.g. risk assessments
-
Where confidentiality issues are raised by the parent/pupil, the designated individuals to be entrusted with information about the pupil’s condition
-
What to do in an emergency, including who to contact, and contingency arrangements
Managing medicines
Prescription and non-prescription medicines will only be administered at school when it would be detrimental to the pupil’s health or school attendance not to do so and where we have parents’ written consent
-
Pupils will not be given medicine containing aspirin unless prescribed by a doctor.
-
Anyone giving a pupil any medication (for example, for pain relief) will first check maximum dosages and when the previous dosage was taken. Parents will always be informed.
-
The school will only accept prescribed medicines that are:
-
In-date
-
Labelled
-
Provided in the original container, as dispensed by the pharmacist, and include instructions for administration, dosage and storage
-
The school will accept insulin that is inside an insulin pen or pump rather than its original container, but it must be in date.
-
All medicines will be stored safely. Pupils will be informed about where their medicines are at all times and be able to access them immediately. Medicines and devices such as asthma inhalers, blood glucose testing meters and adrenaline pens will always be readily available to pupils and not locked away.
-
Medicines will be returned to parents to arrange for safe disposal when no longer required.
Controlled drugs
Controlled drugs are prescription medicines that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and subsequent amendments, such as morphine or methadone.
All controlled drugs are kept in a secure cupboard in the school office and only named staff have access.
Controlled drugs will be easily accessible in an emergency and a record of any doses used and the amount held will be kept.
Pupils managing their own needs
Pupils who are competent will be encouraged to take responsibility for managing their own medicines and procedures. This will be discussed with parents and it will be reflected in their IHPs.
Pupils will be allowed to carry their own medicines and relevant devices wherever possible. Staff will not force a pupil to take a medicine or carry out a necessary procedure if they refuse, but will follow the procedure agreed in the IHP and inform parents so that an alternative option can be considered, if necessary.
Unacceptable practice
School staff should use their discretion and judge each case individually with reference to the pupil’s IHP, but it is generally not acceptable to:
-
Prevent pupils from easily accessing their inhalers and medication, and administering their medication when and where necessary
-
Assume that every pupil with the same condition requires the same treatment
-
Ignore the views of the pupil or their parents
-
Ignore medical evidence or opinion (although this may be challenged)
-
Send children with medical conditions home frequently for reasons associated with their medical condition or prevent them from staying for normal school activities, including lunch, unless this is specified in their IHPs
-
If the pupil becomes ill, send them to the school office or medical room unaccompanied or with someone unsuitable
-
Penalise pupils for their attendance record if their absences are related to their medical condition, e.g. hospital appointments
-
Prevent pupils from drinking, eating or taking toilet or other breaks whenever they need to in order to manage their medical condition effectively
-
Require parents, or otherwise make them feel obliged, to attend school to administer medication or provide medical support to their pupil, including with toileting issues. No parent should have to give up working because the school is failing to support their child’s medical needs
-
Prevent pupils from participating, or create unnecessary barriers to pupils participating in any aspect of school life, including school trips, e.g. by requiring parents to accompany their child
-
Administer, or ask pupils to administer, medicine in school toilets
Emergency procedures
Staff will follow the school’s normal emergency procedures (for example, calling 999). All pupils’ IHPs will clearly set out what constitutes an emergency and will explain what to do.
If a pupil needs to be taken to hospital, staff will stay with the pupil until the parent arrives, or accompany the pupil to hospital by ambulance.
Training
Staff who are responsible for supporting pupils with medical needs will receive suitable and sufficient training to do so.
The training will be identified during the development or review of IHPs. Staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions will be included in meetings where this is discussed.
The relevant healthcare professionals will lead on identifying the type and level of training required and will agree this with Mr McLoughlin. Training will be kept up to date.
Training will:
-
Be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support the pupils
-
Fulfil the requirements in the IHPs
-
Help staff to have an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and preventative measures
Healthcare professionals will provide confirmation of the proficiency of staff in a medical procedure, or in providing medication.
All staff will receive training so that they are aware of this policy and understand their role in implementing it, for example, with preventative and emergency measures so they can recognise and act quickly when a problem occurs. This will be provided for new staff during their induction.
Record keeping
The governing board will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to pupils for as long as these pupils are at the school. Parents will be informed if their pupil has been unwell at school.
IHPs are kept in a readily accessible place which all staff are aware of.
Liability and indemnity
The governing board will ensure that the appropriate level of insurance is in place and appropriately reflects the school’s level of risk.
The details of the school’s insurance policy are:
Lancashire CC - all inclusive, Property Insurance and Employers Liability/Public Liability (EL/PL) and miscellaneous other Insurance
This is renewed annually
Complaints
Parents with a complaint about their child’s medical condition should discuss these directly with the deputy headteacher in the first instance. If the deputy Headteacher cannot resolve the matter, they will direct parents to the school’s complaints procedure.
Monitoring arrangements
This policy will be reviewed and approved by the governing board annually.
Links to other policies
This policy links to the following policies:
-
Accessibility plan
-
Complaints
-
Equality information and objectives
-
First aid
-
Health and safety
-
Safeguarding
-
Special educational needs information report and policy
Appendix 1: Being notified a child has a medical condition
Next review January 2026
1. Policy statement
At Frenchwood Community Primary School, we are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff. We have a supportive and caring ethos and our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and contribution is valued.
We know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.
At Frenchwood, we:
- help children to understand their emotions and feelings better;
- help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries;
- help children socially to form and maintain relationships;
- promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they are valued;
- encourage children to be confident and believe in themselves;
- help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks.
We promote a mentally healthy environment through:
- promoting our school values and encouraging a sense of belonging;
- promoting pupil voice and opportunities to participate in decision-making;
- celebrating academic and non-academic achievements;
- providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others;
- access to appropriate support that meets their needs;
We pursue our aims through:
- universal, whole school approaches;
- support for pupils going through recent difficulties including bereavement;
- specialised, targeted approaches aimed at pupils with more complex or long term difficulties including attachment disorder.
2. Scope
This policy is intended to:
Provide guidance to school staff on our school’s approach to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across the school
Inform pupils and parents about the support that they can expect from the school in respect of supporting mental health and wellbeing
Read this policy in conjunction with:
- SEND policy
- Behaviour policy
- Anti-bullying policy
- Safeguarding policy
3. Legal basis
This policy was written with regard to:
Articles 3 and 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
4. Roles and responsibilities
Whilst we all have a responsibility to promote positive mental health, staff with a specific, relevant remit include:
- Cathryn Antwis - Designated Safeguarding Lead/ Designated Mental Health Lead/ Adult Mental Health First Aid Trained
- Steve McLoughlin - DSL Deputy/Prevent
- Tom O’Beirne - DSL Deputy/Lead for Children Looked After and Post-Looked After, Youth Mental Health First Aider, StaffWell Being Lead
- Sue Watson - DSL Deputy/Child Protection/ELSA/Youth Mental Health First Aider
- Jacqui Hobson - DSL Deputy/Attendance
- Susan Wilkinson- SENDCo/Youth Mental Health First Aider
- John Moore- Health and Safety Lead
- Lisa Robinson and Laila Ali – Lead First Aiders
- Alia Hamid - Wellbeing Governor
5. Teaching about Mental Health
The skills, knowledge and understanding needed by our pupils to keep themselves mentally healthy and safe are included as part of our developmental PSHE curriculum - Jigsaw. We also use the NHS promoted scheme, My Happy Mind, which has resources for pupils, staff and parents.
We have a relational approach to behaviour management through our use of Emotion Coaching throughout school.
6. Identifying needs and Warning signs
All staff will complete termly Barriers to Learning trackers on their pupils aimed at identifying a range of possible difficulties including:
- Attendance
- Punctuality
- Relationships
- Approach to learning
- Physical indicators
- Negative behaviour patterns
- Family circumstances
- Recent bereavement
- Health indicators
7. Supporting pupils
Universal support for all pupils
As part of our school’s commitment to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing for all pupils, we support by:
- raising awareness of mental health during assemblies, PSHE and awareness weeks;
- having weekly ‘My Happy Minds’ sessions;
- signposting all pupils to sources of online support on the school website;
- undertaking termly wellbeing survey for all pupils Year 3 – 6;
- making classrooms a safe space to discuss mental health and wellbeing through interventions such as:
- Regulation Station – pupils have a space to reflect on their feelings and use strategies to self-regulate when required;
- Worry boxes – sharing concerns.
Targeted Support
We offer support through targeted approaches for individual pupils or groups of pupils which may include:
- Targeted use of ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) resources.
- Managing emotions resources at the Regulation Station
- Socially Speaking groups
- ELSA support groups.
- Therapeutic activities including music, lego and relaxation and mindfulness techniques.
At Frenchwood we make use of resources to assess and track wellbeing as appropriate including:
- Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire
- The Boxall Profile
- Emotional literacy scales
- Other tools on ‘Bounce Together’ website
Internal mental health interventions
Where appropriate, a pupil will be offered support that is tailored to their needs as part of the graduated approach detailed above. The support offered at our school includes:
- nurture time (toast time);
- personalised timetable;
- sensory activities
- sensory pod time
- weekly session with specialist trauma counsellor/play therapist.
Making external referrals
If a pupil’s needs cannot be met by the internal offer the school provides, the school will make, or encourage parents to make, a referral for external support.
A pupil could be referred to:
- GP or paediatrician
- CAMHS
- Mental health charities (e.g. Action North West, Kooth, Barnardos
- Foxton Centre
8. Signposting
We ensure that staff, pupils and parents are aware of what support is available within
our school and how to access further support.
9. Working with Parents
In order to support parents we will:
- highlight sources of information and support about mental health and emotional wellbeing on our school website
- ensure that all parents are aware of who to talk to, and how to get about this, if they have concerns about their child.
- share ideas about how parents can support positive mental health in their children.
- keep parents informed about the mental health topics their children are learning about in PSHE and share ideas for extending and exploring this learning at home.
- share links to access to ‘My Happy Minds’ for parent/carers;
- Emotion Coaching sessions for parents.
10. Working with other agencies and partners
As part of our targeted provision the school will work with other agencies to support
children’s emotional health and wellbeing including:
- The school nurse
- Educational psychology services
- Behaviour support through Goldenhill pupil referral unit
- Paediatricians
- CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service)
- Family support workers
- Therapists
11. Training
All staff receive regular training about recognising and responding to mental health issues as part of their regular child protection training in order to enable them to keep students safe. We have regular Emotion Coaching training and are a Trauma Informed school.
The Educare learning portal provides online training suitable for staff wishing to know
more about a specific issue.
Training opportunities for staff who require more in depth knowledge will be considered as
part of our appraisal process and additional CPD will be supported throughout the year where it becomes appropriate due to developing situations with one or
more pupils.
12. Support for staff
We recognise that supporting a pupil experiencing poor mental health can be distressing for staff. To combat this we:
- treat mental health concerns seriously;
- provide external supervision sessions for mental health team;
- support staff experiencing poor mental health themselves
- provide external wellbeing support for all staff;
- create a pleasant and supportive work environment.
Thanks to those parents who completed our baseline Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey in September 2022, we can create a plan to make improvements to our school offer.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Parent Survey September 2022 (only in PDF - sorry!)
Next review October 2026
1. Aims and scope
- The Governing Body actively encourages community use of the school buildings. However, it reserves the right to refuse any lettings it may choose.
- The hirer must be willing to meet with school officials and provide details of their aims and objectives.
- The Governing Body will ensure that the school budget does not subsidise non-school activities and that all costs are recovered.
- Charges will be reviewed annually by the Governing Body.
- Each hirer using the school will be required to nominate a contact person. Such a person is deemed to be in charge and able to investigate any difficulties which may arise.
- The Governing Body will determine if a nominated person from school is required on site when the premises are being used. If not, a responsible person must be on call.
- A Letting Application / Indemnity Form must be completed by all applicants. A signed copy of the application form, if approved by the school, will be returned to the hirer. For long term lettings application forms will be reviewed on an annual basis.
- Any hirer that uses the school must be adequately insured (with a minimum of £5m public liability insurance) and insurance documents must be attached to the application.
- All hirers must comply with health and safety legislation.
- The hirer is responsible for ensuring that DBS checks have been undertaken where appropriate.
- Arrangements for the payment of each letting will be made in advance with the hirer concerned.
- Smoking is not allowed on the premises in line with school policy.
Alcoholic Drinks
- No alcohol is to be consumed on the premises at any time.
2. Areas available for hire
2.1 Available areas
The school will permit the hire of the following areas:
- Sports hall
- Library
- Classrooms
- Playing fields
2.2 Capacity and charging rates
The maximum capacity and rates for hiring each area are as follows:
|
Area |
capacity |
cost |
|
Sports hall |
100 |
£20 per hour |
|
Family Hub |
35 |
£15 |
|
Classrooms |
35 |
£10 per classroom per hour |
|
Canteen |
100 |
£20 per hour |
3. Charging rates and principles
3.1 Rates
The rates for hiring out different areas are listed in the table in the section above. We may decide that certain organisations or activities can use the premises for a reduced rate, or free of charge, if it supports the core aims of the school. This decision has been delegated to the headteacher, who will report to governors.
We may decide to impose an additional cleaning fee on top of the hiring rates.
3.2 Cancellations
We reserve the right to cancel any agreed hiring with a minimum of 7 days. A full refund will be issued if we do cancel a hire. The school shall not be liable for any indirect or consequential losses, including (without limitation) any loss of profits, loss of business or the loss of any revenue arising out of the cancellation of any hire.
The hirer of the premises can cancel any hire with a minimum of 7days notice. If less notice than this is given, the hirer shall not be entitled to a refund.
3.3 Review
The revenue raised from hiring out will be reviewed by the school office manager and will be fed into the school’s financial reporting, to ensure best value is being achieved.
4. Application process
Those wishing to hire the premises should fill out the hire request form, which you can find in appendix 1 of this policy, and read the terms and conditions of hire set out in section 5.
The hirer should fill out and sign the hire request form and submit it to the school office. Approval of the request will be determined by Mrs Hamida Patel.
If the request is approved, we will contact the hirer with details of how to submit payment and make arrangements for the date and time in question. We will also send on details of the emergency evacuation procedures and other relevant health and safety documents. The hirer will also need to provide proof of its public liability insurance.
We reserve the right to decline any applications at our absolute discretion, in particular where the organisation does not uphold the values of the school, reputational damage may occur, or the activity does not adhere to the latest government safety advice.
5. Terms and conditions of hire
The following terms and conditions must be adhered to in the hiring of the school premises. Any breach of these terms will result in cancellation of future hires without refund.
- “Hirer” means the person or entity identified in the relevant hire request form.
- The hirer shall pay the full amount as stipulated by the school, and shall not be entitled to set off any amount owing to the school against any liability, whether past or future, of the school to the licensee.
- The hirer shall occupy the part(s) of the premises agreed upon as a non-exclusive licensee and no relationship of landlord and tenant is created between the hirer and the school by this licence.
- The hirer shall not sub-licence any of the premises under the licence.
- The hirer shall not use the premises for any purpose other than that agreed upon in the licence, as set out in the hire request form.
- Any additional uses of the premises not agreed in writing by the school will result in the immediate termination of the licence.
- The school shall retain control, possession and management of the premises and the hirer has no right to exclude the school from the premises.
- The hirer shall be responsible for all matters relating to health and safety and shall be responsible for those in attendance during the specified time.
- The hirer must take out its own public liability insurance with a reputable insurer approved by the school and, where requested by the school, shall provide a copy of the relevant insurance certificate no less than 10 days before the start date of the licence.
- The hirer shall not conduct, nor permit or suffer any other person to conduct, any illegal or immoral act on the premises, nor any act that may invalidate any insurance policy taken out by the school in relation to the premises.
- The hirer shall indemnify and keep indemnified the school from and against:
a. Any damage to the premises or school equipment;
b. Any claim by any third party against the school; and
c. All losses, claims, demands, fines, expenses, costs (including legal costs) and liabilities, arising directly or indirectly out of any breach by the hirer of the licence or any act or omission of the hirer or any person allowed by the hirer to enter the premises
- Save that nothing in the licence shall exclude or limit either party’s liability for personal injury or death arising from the negligence of either party or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law, the school shall not be responsible for any losses of a direct or indirect nature, and its maximum liability to the hirer shall not exceed the total fees paid or to be paid to the school by the hirer under the licence.
- The hirer will read the emergency evacuation procedures and be ready to follow them in the event of a fire or other similar emergency.
- The hirer will leave the premises in the condition it was found in, leaving the area clean and tidy and not leaving any of their own equipment behind.
- The hirer will clean their own equipment brought into the premises, and clean the premises after use.
- The hirer shall not display any advertisement, signage, banners, posters or other such notices on the premises without prior written agreement from the school
- If the hirer breaches any of the terms and conditions the school reserves the right to terminate the licence and retain any fees already paid to the school, without affecting any other right or remedy available to the school under the licence or otherwise.
- The hirer shall observe the maximum capacity rules of the part(s) of the premises being hired and not allow this to be breached.
- The hirer will acquire all appropriate additional licences for any activities they are running, including those required for use of any third party intellectual property.
- The hirer is responsible for carrying out any risk assessments of the premises relating to the activities it is running.
- The hirer shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to its use of the premises.
- The school’s premises hire policy, the relevant hire request form submitted by the hirer and the relevant hire confirmation letter issued by the school shall apply to and are incorporated in the licence.
- This licence shall be governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
- The school and the hirer irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising from this licence.
6. Safeguarding
The school is dedicated to ensuring the safeguarding of its pupils at all times. It is a requirement of hire that hirers abide by the schools’ requirements in respect of safeguarding. Any failure from the hirer in this respect will result in the hire being terminated.
It is the responsibility of the hirers to ensure that safeguarding measures are in place while hiring out the space.
If there is a chance that those hiring the premises will come into contact with pupils, for example if the hire occurs during school hours, or when pupils may be present in the school (during after school clubs or extra-curricular activities), we will ask for confirmation that the hirers have had the appropriate level of DBS check.
The hirer will be required to have appropriate safeguarding policies in place, including safeguarding and child protection, and shall provide copies of these policies on request to the school.
The hirer confirms that, should any safeguarding concerns present themselves during the hire of the school premises, they shall contact the headteacher as soon as reasonably practicable.
7. Monitoring arrangements
We will review and update this policy when the guidance on which it is based changes or when this version of the policy otherwise stops being applicable, such as where COVID-19 is no longer a risk.
Any updates to this policy will be shared with the full governing board.
Appendix 1: Hire request form
Before filling out a request form, please familiarise yourself with our terms and conditions for the hire of our premises and our rates of hire, which you can find in sections 2 and 5 of this policy. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Hamida Patel.
|
Name of applicant/organisation and company number (where applicable) |
|
|
Applicant contact details |
Address:
Phone no: Email address: |
|
Preferred method of contact |
|
|
Purpose/activity of organisation |
|
|
How is the event to be funded? (personal/ business/charity/grant/other) |
|
|
Registered charity number (if relevant) |
|
|
Part of the premises requesting to be hired |
|
|
Date and time of first hire |
|
|
Is this a recurring request, or one off? If recurring, indicate the frequency and number of occurrences (e.g. weekly, 10 weeks) |
|
|
Number of expected participants in the activity (Adults/children) |
|
|
Additional equipment you will require from the school (please note we may not always be able to provide this but will inform you where this is/is not possible) |
|
|
Additional equipment you will be providing yourself |
|
|
Confirmation and details of the safeguarding and child protection arrangements you have |
|
By signing below, I agree to the terms and conditions set out in the school’s premises hire policy.
Name _____________________________________________________________ Date _______________
Signature ______________________________________________________________________________
Please return this form via email to bursar@frenchwood.lancs.sch.uk or to the school office. We will be in touch to inform you if your application is successful, and if so details of the full cost and documents that will need to be shared.
Next review September 2026
Aims
Our school aims to:
Have robust processes in place to ensure the online safety of pupils, staff, volunteers and governors
Deliver an effective approach to online safety, which empowers us to protect and educate the whole school community in its use of technology, including mobile and smart technology (which we refer to as ‘mobile phones’)
Establish clear mechanisms to identify, intervene and escalate an incident, where appropriate
The 4 key categories of risk
Our approach to online safety is based on addressing the following categories of risk:
- Content – being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content, such as pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism
- Contact – being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users, such as peer-to-peer pressure, commercial advertising and adults posing as children or young adults with the intention to groom or exploit them for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes
- Conduct – personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm, such as making, sending and receiving explicit images (e.g. consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes and/or pornography), sharing other explicit images and online bullying; and
- Commerce – risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and/or financial scam
Legislation and guidance
This policy is based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, and its advice for schools on:
Teaching online safety in schools
Preventing and tackling bullying and cyber-bullying: advice for headteachers and school staff
Searching, screening and confiscation
It also refers to the DfE’s guidance on protecting children from radicalisation.
It reflects existing legislation, including but not limited to the Education Act 1996 (as amended), the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Equality Act 2010. In addition, it reflects the Education Act 2011, which has given teachers stronger powers to tackle cyber-bullying by, if necessary, searching for and deleting inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices where they believe there is a ‘good reason’ to do so.
The policy also takes into account the National Curriculum computing programmes of study.
Roles and responsibilities
The governing board
The governing board has overall responsibility for monitoring this policy and holding the headteacher to account for its implementation.
The governing board will co-ordinate regular meetings with appropriate staff to discuss online safety, and monitor online safety logs as provided by the designated safeguarding lead (DSL).
The governor who oversees online safety is Mrs Sazida Desai as part of her role as safeguarding Governor.
All governors will:
- Ensure that they have read and understand this policy
- Agree and adhere to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and the internet (appendix 3)
- Ensure that, where necessary, teaching about safeguarding, including online safety, is adapted for vulnerable children, victims of abuse and some pupils with SEND because of the importance of recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach may not be appropriate for all children in all situations, and a more personalised or contextualised approach may often be more suitable
The headteacher
The headteacher is responsible for ensuring that staff understand this policy, and that it is being implemented consistently throughout the school.
The designated safeguarding lead
Details of the school’s DSL and deputies are set out in our child protection and safeguarding policy as well as relevant job descriptions.
The DSL takes lead responsibility for online safety in school, in particular:
- Ensuring that staff understand this policy and that it is being implemented consistently throughout the school
- Working with the ICT manager and other staff, as necessary, to address any online safety issues or incidents
- Managing all online safety issues and incidents in line with the school child protection policy
- Ensuring that any online safety incidents are logged (see appendix 5) and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
- Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are logged and dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy
- Updating and delivering staff training on online safety (appendix 4 contains a self-audit for staff on online safety training needs)
- Liaising with other agencies and/or external services if necessary
- Providing regular reports on online safety in school to the governing board
The ICT manager
Our ICT manager is Mr Lee Timoroska.
The ICT manager is responsible for:
- Putting in place an appropriate level of security protection procedures, such as filtering and monitoring systems, which are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to assess effectiveness and ensure pupils are kept safe from potentially harmful and inappropriate content and contact online while at school, including terrorist and extremist material
- Ensuring that the school’s ICT systems are secure and protected against viruses and malware, and that such safety mechanisms are updated regularly
- Conducting a full security check and monitoring the school’s ICT systems on a weekly basis
- Blocking access to potentially dangerous sites and, where possible, preventing the downloading of potentially dangerous files
- Ensuring that any online safety incidents are logged and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
- Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy
All staff and volunteers
All staff, including contractors and agency staff, and volunteers are responsible for:
- Maintaining an understanding of this policy
- Implementing this policy consistently
- Agreeing and adhering to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and the internet (appendix 3), and ensuring that pupils follow the school’s terms on acceptable use (appendices 1 and 2)
- Working with the DSL to ensure that any online safety incidents are logged (see appendix 5) and dealt with appropriately in line with this policy
- Ensuring that any incidents of cyber-bullying are dealt with appropriately in line with the school behaviour policy
- Responding appropriately to all reports and concerns about sexual violence and/or harassment, both online and offline and maintaining an attitude of ‘it could happen here’
Parents
Parents are expected to:
- Notify a member of staff or the headteacher of any concerns or queries regarding this policy
- Ensure their child has read, understood and agreed to the terms on acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and internet (appendices 1 and 2)
Parents can seek further guidance on keeping children safe online from the following organisations and websites:
What are the issues? – UK Safer Internet Centre
Hot topics – Childnet International
Parent resource sheet – Childnet International
Healthy relationships – Disrespect Nobody
Visitors and members of the community
Visitors and members of the community who use the school’s ICT systems or internet will be made aware of this policy, when relevant, and expected to read and follow it. If appropriate, they will be expected to agree to the terms on acceptable use (appendix 3).
Educating pupils about online safety
Pupils will be taught about online safety as part of the curriculum:
In Key Stage 1, pupils will be taught to:
- Use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private
- Identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies
Pupils in Key Stage 2 will be taught to:
- Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly
- Recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour
- Identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact
By the end of primary school, pupils will know:
- That people sometimes behave differently online, including by pretending to be someone they are not
- That the same principles apply to online relationships as to face-to-face relationships, including the importance of respect for others online including when we are anonymous
- The rules and principles for keeping safe online, how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact, and how to report them
- How to critically consider their online friendships and sources of information including awareness of the risks associated with people they have never met
- How information and data is shared and used online
- What sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a digital context)
- How to respond safely and appropriately to adults they may encounter (in all contexts, including online) whom they do not know
The safe use of social media and the internet will also be covered in other subjects where relevant.
Where necessary, teaching about safeguarding, including online safety, will be adapted for vulnerable children, victims of abuse and some pupils with SEND.
Educating parents about online safety
The school will raise parents’ awareness of internet safety in letters or other communications home, and in information via our website. This policy will also be shared with parents.
If parents have any queries or concerns in relation to online safety, these should be raised in the first instance with the headteacher and/or the DSL.
Concerns or queries about this policy can be raised with any member of staff or the headteacher.
Cyber-bullying
Definition
Cyber-bullying takes place online, such as through social networking sites, messaging apps or gaming sites. Like other forms of bullying, it is the repetitive, intentional harming of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. (See also the Anti-bullying policy.)
Preventing and addressing cyber-bullying
To help prevent cyber-bullying, we will ensure that pupils understand what it is and what to do if they become aware of it happening to them or others. We will ensure that pupils know how they can report any incidents and are encouraged to do so, including where they are a witness rather than the victim.
The school will actively discuss cyber-bullying with pupils, explaining the reasons why it occurs, the forms it may take and what the consequences can be.
Pupils are specifically taught about online safety within the Relationships aspect of our whole school PSHE curriculum.
All staff, governors and volunteers (where appropriate) receive training on cyber-bullying, its impact and ways to support pupils, as part of safeguarding training (see section 11 for more detail).
The school also sends information on cyber-bullying to parents so that they are aware of the signs, how to report it and how they can support children who may be affected.
In relation to a specific incident of cyber-bullying, the school will follow the processes set out in the school behaviour policy. Where illegal, inappropriate or harmful material has been spread among pupils, the school will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure the incident is contained.
The DSL will consider whether the incident should be reported to the police if it involves illegal material, and will work with external services if it is deemed necessary to do so.
Examining electronic devices
School staff have the specific power under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (which has been increased by the Education Act 2011) to search for and, if necessary, delete inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices, including mobile phones, iPads and other tablet devices, where they believe there is a ‘good reason’ to do so.
When deciding whether there is a good reason to examine or erase data or files on an electronic device, staff must reasonably suspect that the data or file in question has been, or could be, used to:
- Cause harm, and/or
- Disrupt teaching, and/or
- Break any of the school rules
If inappropriate material is found on the device, it is up to the staff member in conjunction with the DSL or other member of the senior leadership team to decide whether they should:
- Delete that material, or
- Retain it as evidence (of a criminal offence or a breach of school discipline), and/or
- Report it to the police*
* Staff may also confiscate devices for evidence to hand to the police, if a pupil discloses that they are being abused and that this abuse includes an online element.
Any searching of pupils will be carried out in line with:
- The DfE’s latest guidance on screening, searching and confiscation
- UKCIS guidance on sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people
- The school’s COVID-19 risk assessment
Any complaints about searching for or deleting inappropriate images or files on pupils’ electronic devices will be dealt with through the school complaints procedure.
Acceptable use of the internet in school
- All pupils, parents, staff, volunteers and governors agree to follow our acceptable use policy every time they sign into their desktop in school.
- Use of the school’s internet must be for educational purposes only, or for the purpose of fulfilling the duties of an individual’s role.
- We will monitor the websites visited by pupils, staff, volunteers, governors and visitors (where relevant) to ensure they comply with the above.
- More information is set out in the acceptable use agreements in appendices 1, 2 and 3.
Pupils using mobile devices in school
Pupils may bring mobile devices into school, but are not permitted to use them during school time. Devices must be handed in to the school office for safe keeping, and returned at the end of each day.
Any breach of the acceptable use agreement by a pupil may result in the confiscation of their device and subsequent withdrawal of permission to bring device to school..
Staff using work devices outside school
All staff members will take appropriate steps to ensure their devices remain secure. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Keeping the device password-protected – strong passwords are at least 8 characters, with a combination of upper and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters (e.g. asterisk or currency symbol)
- Ensuring their hard drive is encrypted – this means if the device is lost or stolen, no one can access the files stored on the hard drive by attaching it to a new device
- Making sure the device locks if left inactive for a period of time
- Not sharing the device among family or friends
All updates and anti-virus software is installed by our IT Manager.
Staff members must not use the device in any way which would violate the school’s terms of acceptable use, as set out in appendix 3.
Work devices must be used solely for work activities.
If staff have any concerns over the security of their device, they must seek advice from the ICT Manager, Luke Capper.
How the school will respond to issues of misuse
Where a pupil misuses the school’s ICT systems or internet, we will follow the procedures set out in our policies on behaviour and ICT and internet acceptable use. The action taken will depend on the individual circumstances, nature and seriousness of the specific incident, and will be proportionate.
Where a staff member misuses the school’s ICT systems or the internet, or misuses a personal device where the action constitutes misconduct, the matter will be dealt with in accordance with The Code of Conduct for Staff. The action taken will depend on the individual circumstances, nature and seriousness of the specific incident.
The school will consider whether incidents which involve illegal activity or content, or otherwise serious incidents, should be reported to the police.
Training
All new staff members will receive training, as part of their induction, on safe internet use and online safeguarding issues including cyber-bullying and the risks of online radicalisation.
All staff members will receive refresher training at least once each academic year as part of safeguarding training, as well as relevant updates as required (for example through emails, e-bulletins and staff meetings).
By way of this training, all staff will be made aware that:
Technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues, and that children are at risk of online abuse
Children can abuse their peers online through:
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- Abusive, harassing, and misogynistic messages
- Non-consensual sharing of indecent nude and semi-nude images and/or videos, especially around chat groups
- Sharing of abusive images and pornography, to those who don’t want to receive such content
Physical abuse, sexual violence and initiation/hazing type violence can all contain an online element
Training will also help staff:
- develop better awareness to assist in spotting the signs and symptoms of online abuse
- develop the ability to ensure pupils can recognise dangers and risks in online activity and can weigh the risks up
- develop the ability to influence pupils to make the healthiest long-term choices and keep them safe from harm in the short term
The DSLs will undertake child protection and safeguarding training, which will include online safety, at least every 2 years. They will also update their knowledge and skills on the subject of online safety at regular intervals, and at least annually.
Governors will receive training on safe internet use and online safeguarding issues as part of their safeguarding training.
Volunteers will receive appropriate training and updates, if applicable.
More information about safeguarding training is set out in our child protection and safeguarding policy.
Monitoring arrangements
The DSL logs behaviour and safeguarding issues related to online safety. An incident report log can be found in appendix 5.
This policy will be reviewed every year by the Headteacher. At every review, the policy will be shared with the governing board. The review (next to be undertaken in March 2022) will be supported by an annual risk assessment that considers and reflects the risks pupils face online. This is important because technology, and the risks and harms related to it, evolve and change rapidly.
Links with other policies
This online safety policy is linked to our:
Child protection and safeguarding policy
Behaviour policy
Staff disciplinary procedures
Data protection policy and privacy notices
Complaints procedure
Appendix 1: EYFS and KS1 acceptable use agreement (pupils and parents/carers)
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Acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and internet: agreement for pupils and parents/carers |
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Name of pupil: |
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When I use the school’s ICT systems (like computers) and get onto the internet in school I will:
I agree that the school will monitor the websites I visit and that there will be consequences if I don’t follow the rules. |
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Signed (pupil): |
Date: |
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Parent/carer agreement: I agree that my child can use the school’s ICT systems and internet when appropriately supervised by a member of school staff. I agree to the conditions set out above for pupils using the school’s ICT systems and internet, and will make sure my child understands these. |
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Signed (parent/carer): |
Date: |
Appendix 2: KS2 acceptable use agreement (pupils and parents/carers)
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Acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and internet: agreement for pupils and parents/carers |
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Name of pupil: |
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I will read and follow the rules in the acceptable use agreement policy When I use the school’s ICT systems (like computers) and get onto the internet in school I will:
I will not:
If I bring a personal mobile phone or other personal electronic device into school: I will leave it in the school office for collection at the end of the day. I agree that the school will monitor the websites I visit and that there will be consequences if I don’t follow the rules. |
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Signed (pupil): |
Date: |
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Parent/carer’s agreement I agree to the conditions set out above for pupils using the school’s ICT systems and internet, and for using personal electronic devices in school, and will make sure my child understands these. |
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Signed (parent/carer): |
Date: |
Appendix 3: acceptable use agreement (staff, governors, volunteers and visitors)
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Acceptable use of the school’s ICT systems and internet: agreement for staff, governors,volunteers and visitors |
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Name of staff member/governor/volunteer/visitor: |
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When using the school’s ICT systems and accessing the internet in school, or outside school on a work device (if applicable), I will not:
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Signed (staff member/governor/volunteer/visitor):
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Date: |
Appendix 4: online safety training needs – self audit for staff
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Online safety training needs audit |
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Name of staff member/volunteer: |
Date: |
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Question |
Yes/No (add comments if necessary) |
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Do you know the name of the person who has lead responsibility for online safety in school? |
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Are you aware of the ways pupils can abuse their peers online? |
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Do you know what you must do if a pupil approaches you with a concern or issue? |
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Are you familiar with the school’s acceptable use agreement for staff, volunteers, governors and visitors? |
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Are you familiar with the school’s acceptable use agreement for pupils and parents? |
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Do you regularly change your password for accessing the school’s ICT systems? |
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Are you familiar with the school’s approach to tackling cyber-bullying? |
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Are there any areas of online safety in which you would like training/further training? |
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Appendix 5: online safety incident report log
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Online safety incident log |
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Date |
Where the incident took place |
Description of the incident |
Action taken |
Name and signature of staff member recording the incident |
Appendix 6 – Filtering and Monitoring
Introduction
Virtue Technologies is committed to providing a reliable and safe internet service that meets the ongoing needs of schools to provide a safe environment for their students. Our services are fully aligned to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) guidelines and our service partners (Talk Talk Business, Virgin Media, Sophos and Impero) are full IWF members as recommended by the UK Safer Internet Centre and the Department for Education.
Filtering
In line with the Internet Watch Foundation, our Internet service is designed to ensure that our customers are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in school, including by establishing appropriate levels of filtering. Our filtering solution is based on the Sophos Security Gateway and provides a robust Internet filter with automated updates to inappropriate sites, including the IWF blocked sites list.
Illegal online content
We ensure that access to illegal content is blocked in line with:
- the IWF block list
- block access to illegal Child Abuse Images and Content (CAIC) and
- the police assessed list of unlawful terrorist content produced on behalf of the Home Office.
Inappropriate Online Content
We recognise that no filter can guarantee to be 100% effective and we continually work with both our customer schools and industry partners to provide the safest environment possible for our customers.
In addition to the illegally blocked content, we also block content related to:
Discrimination
Drugs and Substance abuse
Malware and hacking Pornography
Piracy and copyright theft
Self-Harm Violence
- Our filtering solution, powered by the Sophos Security Gateway, provides the following features:
- Age appropriate, differentiated filtering: Our filtering solution includes the ability to vary filtering strength appropriate to age and role, e.g. teachers and students are frequently configured to use a different filter.
- Control: Our solution has the ability and ease of use that allows schools to control the filter themselves to permit or deny access to specific content.
- Filtering Policy: We publishes our rationale that details our approach to filtering with classification and categorisation, as well as what is blocked.
- Network level: Filtering
- Reporting: Our solution has the ability to report inappropriate content for access or blocking Reports: Our solution offers clear historical information on the websites visited by users
Monitoring
Virtue Technologies provides full reporting and logfiles that contains information relating to each internet website that is visited (including where sites are blocked) through the installed Sophos Security Gateway. In addition to the logging the date, time and user details, these reports also contain other information, such as search term usage against individuals. Logs are stored locally on the Sophos SG and are retained for at least 6 months.
eMail. These reports contain information that will help the school understand how their internet service is being used, such as:
which users use the internet the most attempts to access blocked websites requests that try to override the content filter
top websites being accessed performance of the internet circuit
Should an item on the report warrant further investigation, additional reports can be created to gather information on or who has accessed a specific website.
Training & Support
To further provide our customers with a safe solution, our Internet, filtering and monitoring solutions are only installed and managed by engineers with a high level of training and certification with Sophos. As a minimum, our Engineers attain the qualification of Sophos Certified Engineers.
We provide training to enable customers to make changes to their own Internet filtering. However, customer access to the solution does not allow them to open sites blocked on the basis of being illegal. This training is completed when we initially install
To help our customers with complex filtering changes, or where the customers does not have the confidence to make changes themselves, our Support Team are on hand to provide assistance and unblock sites for them.
Safeguarding the Internal Network
Our Internet solution is focused on safeguarding our customers and their students on the Internet. Activity within the school may not be identified by our Internet filters or monitors. Many schools use additional products to provide additional safeguarding within the school. We recommend the Impero suite of products for this, which are also fully compliant with the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Further Details
For further details on recommended filtering and monitoring, please see the UK Safer Internet Centre. Additional details of the Sophos UTM Compliance can also be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre website.
For further details on our compliant Internet and Hosting Solutions, please contact: Virtue Technologies Limited, Chadwick House, Maple View, White Moss Business Park, Skelmersdale. WN8 9TD. 01695 731233.
Next review June 2026
Rationale
Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to providing an appropriate and high quality education to all the children living in our local area. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of school life.
We believe that all children should be equally valued in school. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe.
Inclusion Principles
The National Curriculum Statutory Inclusion Statement (2000) states:
"Schools have a responsibility to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils. The National Curriculum is the starting point for planning a school curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of pupils."
The Inclusion Statement sets out three principles that are essential to developing a more inclusive curriculum:
- Setting suitable learning challenges;
- Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs;
- Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.
Frenchwood Community Primary School is committed to inclusion. Part of the schools strategic planning for improvement is to develop cultures, policies and a curriculum that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties.
This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences and needs.
We believe that educational inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:
- girls and boys
- minority ethnic and faith groups, Travellers, asylum seekers and refugees
- learners who need support to learn English as an additional language (EAL)
- learners with special educational needs
- learners who are disabled
- those who are gifted and talented
- those who are looked after by the local authority
This policy describes the way we meet the need of children who experience barriers to their learning, which may relate to sensory or physical impairment, learning difficulties or emotional or social development, or may relate to factors in their environment, including the learning environment they experience in school.
At Frenchwood Community Primary School we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential.
Frenchwood Community Primary School sees the inclusion of children identified as having special educational needs as an equal opportunities issue, and we will also aim to model inclusion in our staffing policies, relationships with parents/carers and the community.
The SEND Coordinator is Mrs Susan Wilkinson. The SEND Governor is Mrs Alia Hamid.
Legal Definition of SEND:
•A child has SEND if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision ‘more than’ or ‘different to’ the majority
•A child has a learning difficulty if he/she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age
Legal requirements of the Equality Act
We must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled children and young people are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers.
This duty is anticipatory: adjustments must be planned and put in place in advance, to prevent that disadvantage.
Objectives of the SEND Policy
- To follow the SEND Code of Practice 2014 and the Equality Act 2010, supporting Pupils at school with Medical conditions 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014
- To ensure equality of opportunity for and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against children with special educational needs.
- To continually monitor the progress of all pupils, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.
- To provide full access to the curriculum through differentiated planning by class teachers, SENCO, and support staff as appropriate.
- To provide specific input, matched to individual needs, in addition to differentiated class room provision, for those pupils who have been identified needing SEND support or on an Educational Health Care Plan.
- To ensure that pupils with SEND are perceived positively by all members of the school community, and that SEND and inclusive provision is positively valued and accessed by staff and parents/carers.
- To enable children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and social independence to meet the demands of secondary school life and learning.
- To purchase appropriate resources where possible to ensure the needs of the pupils are met.
- To involve parents/carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs.
- To involve the children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.
Roles and responsibilities of SEND provision
SENCo:
- Contributing to the strategic development of SEND provision and policy with the Head teacher and governing body
- Taking day to day responsibility for the operation of the SEND policy and provision.
- Supporting the assessment and analysis of pupils’ needs
- Monitoring pupil achievement
- Working with class teachers and teaching assistants to ensure that provision is matched to the needs of the child
- Supporting the establishment of individual targets in line with those identified through outside agency recommendations or pupil progress meetings
- Supporting the delivery of targets on pupils’ Education, Health and Care plans
- Preparing an SEND Register and up-dating it termly
- Developing and maintaining working relationships with parents
- Liaising with outside agencies
- Preparing reports for the governing body
- Maintaining a record of INSET relating to SEND and identifying CPD needs
- Planning CPD as required with the Head teacher
- Keeping up-to-date with developments and attending SEND courses and regular network meetings
- Disseminating information to relevant staff
- Supporting and managing teaching assistants supporting pupils with SEND
- Applying for Statutory Assessment if needed
- Liaising with other nurseries/schools to support SEND pupils during transition times
- Facilitate specialist training for staff as need arises
- Source appropriate specialist support when needed and monitor impact
- Ensure that records are kept up-to-date for pupils with SEND (these records are kept in line with data protection policy)
Governing Body:
- Review the policy every two years and ensure its implementation
- Appoint a governor with responsibility for SEND
- Liaise with the SENCo
Head Teacher:
- Ensure all staff understand the policy
- Ensure all pupils identified as having SEND are treated fairly and equitably in relation to the policy and that reasonable adjustment is made for them.
- Ensure that the SENCo is a member of the Senior Leadership team
- Provide suitable time for the SENCo to undertake their responsibilities
- Support the SENCo in using ICT for SEND management
- Support the SENCo in networking with local SENCos
Class Teachers:
- All teachers have responsibility for teaching and ensuring the progress of pupils with SEND
- Identify pupils who make little or no progress in spite of differentiated learning opportunities being provided for them
- Work with the SENCo and parents to collect and record information about their pupils in order to determine action to be taken
- Hold termly review meetings with the parents of all SEND pupils to ensure collaborative working – eg. IPP review meetings
- Assessing and monitoring progress
- Consider the views of SEND pupils in relation to their provision
- Planning and delivering agreed strategies and targets on an IPP if SEND support and EHCP
- Effectively deploying teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning and targets
- Planning, delivering or facilitating the delivery (through the effective deployment of support staff) of high quality intervention work
Allocation of Resources to and amongst Pupils
Each year a proportion of the budget is allocated to the provision of pupils with SEND. This is for resources including staff. The allocation of resources and staff are allocated on a priority basis informed by needs identified in school as well as professional advice and legal requirements (EHC plans).
Identification and Assessment, Monitoring and Review
This procedure is in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014. Procedures follow a graduated, Assess, Plan, Do and Review response.
Assess
The progress of all pupils is closely and regularly monitored and subsequently any pupils at risk of underachievement or whose progress is concerning will be discussed at pupil progress meetings with the class teacher. The discussion will focus on how to develop strategies to support and improve outcomes for the pupils and we use the following assessment tools:
- Pre-school profiles.
- Baseline assessment results.
- Termly pupil tracking using Target Tracker.
- End of key Stage SAT’s assessment combined with Teacher Assessment.
- Use of NFER tests (at ability level) alongside Teacher Assessments.
- Progress measured against the PIVATs descriptors
- Standardised screening and assessment tools
- Observations of behavioural, emotional and social development
- EHC Plan targets and outcomes
- Assessments by a specialist service, such as educational psychology, identifying additional needs
Based on the schools observations and assessment data and following a discussion between the class teacher, SENCO and parent, information is gathered about the pupil’s needs. This may include learning styles, strengths, medical needs etc. This is then used to plan provision and set some targets. At this stage, identification should be made of the primary area of concern from the four areas of SEND. These are:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social. Mental and emotional health
- Sensory and/or physical
Do
The class teacher remains responsible for working with the child on a daily basis. Alongside ‘Quality First’ teaching approaches, in order to make progress a child may only require differentiation of the plans for the whole class. The differentiation may involve modifying learning objectives, teaching styles and access strategies. Under these circumstances, a child’s needs will be provided for within the whole class planning frameworks and individual target setting. Differentiation will be recorded in the daily planning by the class teacher.
Where intervention is needed this may involve group or one-to-one teaching away from the main class or subject teacher, the class teacher still retain responsibility for the pupil. They work closely with any teaching assistants or specialist staff involved, to plan and assess the impact of support and interventions and how they can be linked to classroom teaching.
A child/children receiving this additional support will have an Individual Pupil Profile Plan, this will outline the barriers/needs of the child, strategies used to overcome these and targets for progress.
A child working below National expectations will be put onto P.I.V.A.T.S. (Performance Indicators with Value Added Target setting) so that the small steps progress achieved by these children can be measured.
Monitoring of progress will be carried out by the class teacher and used to inform future differentiation within whole class planning or intervention.
The child’s progress will be reviewed regularly and a decision made about whether the child is making satisfactory progress at this level of intervention. It may be found that the child requires further assessment.
The SENCO will support the class or subject teacher in the further assessment of the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses, in problem solving and advising on the effective implementation of support.
There are 3 levels or ‘waves’ of support for children with SEND:
- Wave 1 - Quality first teaching:
- Class teachers are responsible for the good progress of all learners in their class, including children who access additional support/intervention from other adults (including support staff/specialist teachers).
- Quality first teaching through carefully planned lesson with clear and focused objectives ensures clear differentiation of activities and teaching styles to meet the needs of groups and individual children. This includes clearly and carefully planned differentiation through task, resources, and adult support.
- Class teaching is regularly and closely monitored through the school’s systems. Planning and children’s work are regularly scrutinised by school leaders and subject leaders. As part of this monitoring process, provision for, and the progress of children with SEND are explicitly observed. This is feedback to class teachers and support given where it is found to be needed.
- If a class teacher is concerned about the progress of a child in a particular subject, they should ask advice from the subject leader, or from the SENCo. This advice will then be acted upon and the impact closely monitored.
- Wave 2 - Intervention:
- In addition to the quality first teaching being provided by the class teacher, a child may need some additional intervention in the form of small group work. The class teacher remains fully involved in the intervention, monitoring and providing instruction and support to the member of staff carrying out the intervention.
- This is to ensure that progress and outcomes are closely monitored throughout the timescale of the intervention programme, thus making any necessary adaptations and ensuring the effectiveness of intervention programmes.
- Intervention groups are closely monitored. The adult facilitating the intervention will plan and assess the group and write a SMART intervention plan. These are moniotored by the SENCo and evidenced at pupil progress meetings and used for the IPP reviews.
- Here are some examples of interventions:
- Catch up phonics programme for reading and spelling –Read Write Inc 1:1 in infants, Freshstart in Y5/6
- Literacy and Numeracy box
- Time to talk – speech and language programme
- Wellcomm
- IDL cloud – spelling intervention
- IDL Maths
- Flash Academy
- Wave 3 - Individual support:
The high quality first teaching within class and group interventions may still not be meeting the child’s needs, and the child may not be making progress at an expected level. The child may need more personalised curriculum and intervention, such as TEACCH approach or Attention Autism.
Review
The impact of planned work and support must be reviewed continuously with formal reviews held at least termly. These reviews will discuss the Individual Pupil Profile Plans, PIVATs progress and other provision. The Class teacher will take the lead in the review process. Parents/carers and wherever possible, their child, will be invited to contribute and will be consulted about any further action. The impact of the planned work, matched to the desired outcomes are then fed back into the assessment cycle. Support and provision is then revised depending on outcomes as well as the views of the parent and, when possible, the child.
This will be done through:
- Evaluation of lessons and intervention SMART plans
- Ongoing assessments
- Outcomes of pupil progress meetings
It could well mean that a decision may be made to consult outside agencies to help contribute to the child’s Individual Pupil Profile Plan. A variety of support can be offered by these services, such as advice to the school about targets and strategies, specialised assessment or some direct work with the child.
If a child has an EHCP, there will be an Annual Review meeting to review the outcomes on the EHCP. The school will arrange the annual review date and co-ordinate all relevant paper work. A review meeting will be held that will include the SENCo, Teachers, Parents, other agencies and if possible the child. Targets, support and provision are reviewed and updated.
When a child moves into Year 6, an additional review will take place in the autumn term to focus on transition issues. We welcome the support of a county representative and the relevant high school representative in conjunction with the Parent Liaison Officer.
SEND Register
There is a single category of support for children who have been identified as having Special Educational Needs - SEND SUPPORT.
Children who are receiving SEND support and are recorded on the school’s Special Educational Needs Register all have individual Pupil Profiles (IPP) and progress additionally monitored using PIVATs.
IPPs are working documents which are used to assess, plan and deliver provision. The Learning Plan gives details of the specific needs of the pupil, and SMART targets which are to be achieved within a given time frame. Parents are invited to come into school to review outcomes termly and to be involved with their child and class teacher in identifying next steps for targets for the next IPP.
Although, IPPs are evaluated every term, they are working documents and targets are added/amended as the children achieve throughout the term.
EHC Plans (Education Healthcare Plans)
An education, health and care (EHC) plan is for children who need more support than is available through special educational needs support. Where, despite the school having taken relevant and purposeful action to identify, assess and meet the SEND of the child or young person, the child or young person has not made expected progress, the school or parents will consider requesting an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. They may go through the process of EHC needs assessment.
At the end of that process, the local authority has to make a decision, either to issue an EHC Plan or not. EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs; they are created by the Local Authority. There may be a personal budget for a child if they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, which gives parents the opportunity to have a say in how to spend the money on support for the child.
Once a child has an EHC Plan, school will ensure that provision is put in place to meet the needs identified in the plan. This will be done through the IPP/targeted learning plan which will reflect the targets of the EHC plan and will take into consideration the views of the parents. IPPs plans will be reviewed termly and parents invited to be part of this process.
The EHC Plan will be formally reviewed once a year with all professionals involved, the parent and the child.
The SENCO is responsible for monitoring provision for children on the SEND register. This monitoring includes:
- Monitoring IPPs and providing advice and support on targets, resources and strategies;
- Recording all additional provision of any Wave 2 or Wave 3 provision on the provision map.
- Being involved in Pupil progress meetings to monitor the effectiveness of provision.
There may be pupils whose needs we feel we cannot meet through ‘in house’ provision, so relevant external expertise will be sought to identify specific needs and strategies to support a child.
The SENCO is responsible for accessing support of external professionals. Following assessments by external professionals, if it is felt that additional support is required, then formal LA procedures will be followed. Any referral documentation needs to be completed in line with LA guidance, and using LA forms and procedures. Pupils and parents will be kept fully involved in this process. Referrals for additional support should be made through The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) which provides a multi-agency approach.
Parents and children are involved in this process at every step from initial concern to formal assessment of need, and parental permission is always sought prior to any involvement of other agencies.
The SENCO liaises frequently with a number of other outside agencies, making use of the range of services available from the LEA and private providers as and when appropriate.
Those included for consideration are:
- Education – SEND (IDSS)
- Educational Psychologists
- School Advisor
- Physiotherapist
- Psychiatrist
- Social Services
- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS)
- Counsellors
- CAMHS
- Speech and Language Therapy
Arrangements for partnership with parents/carers
Staff and parents/carers will work together to support pupils identified as having additional needs.
Parents/carers will be invited to be involved at all stages of the education planning process. An appointment will be made by the class teacher to meet all parents/ carers whose children are being recorded as having additional needs. The SENCO will attend this meeting if the school or the parent thinks this is appropriate. The SENCO will be available if help is required to complete forms or if queries arise. A bi-lingual assistant is always available to support parents who do not have English as their first language.
We make sure that all parents/carers are aware of our local parent partnership organisation, as soon as a child has been identified as experiencing special educational needs.
At review meetings with parents/carers we always make sure that the child’s strengths as well as weaknesses are discussed. Where we make suggestions as to how parents/carers can help at home, these are specific and achievable and that all parents/carers go away from the meeting clear about the action to be taken and the way in which outcomes will be monitored and reviewed.
Parents/carers evenings provide regular opportunities to discuss concerns and progress. Parents/carers are able to make other appointments on request.
Complaints
Regular communication between school and home will ensure that concerns are promptly acted on. Should a parent or career have a concern about the special provision made for their child they should in the first instance discuss this with the class teacher.
If the concern continues then the SENCO and class teacher will arrange a meeting with the parent to discuss the concern raised and provide a plan of action.
If the concern cannot be satisfactorily dealt with at this stage it should be brought to the notice of the Head teacher. If the Head is unable to resolve the difficulty the parents’ concerns should be put in writing to the SEND Governor.
The Chair of Governors, Mrs Sazida Desai will be involved after other avenues to resolve the situation have been exhausted.
Provision will be made to inform parents about SENDIASS and how to make representations to Lancashire County Council
The Schools Arrangements for SEND and Inclusion Training
The SENCO attends regular cluster meetings and Forums to update and revise developments in Special Needs Education and Inclusion.
Meeting additional needs and Inclusion issues are targeted each year through the schools long-term goals and the School Development Plan. In-Service training and individual professional development is arranged and matched to these targets.
In-house additional needs and Inclusion training is provided through staff meetings by the SENCO/Head.
All staff have access to professional development opportunities and are able to apply for additional needs or Inclusion training where a need is identified either at an individual pupil or whole class level.
Support staff are encouraged to extend their own professional development and the management team will ensure tailor-made training where this is appropriate.
Links with other schools/Transfer arrangements
Early Years staff aim to meet with staff from other nursery schools in the area prior to pupils starting school. Concerns about particular needs will be brought to the attention of the SENCO after this meeting. Where necessary the SENCO will arrange a further meeting.
Class teachers of children joining from other schools will receive information from the previous school; if there is an SEND issue the SENCO will telephone to further discuss the child’s needs. When children transfer from Frenchwood to new schools, we will ensure that all relevant information is passed to the new school. The SENCO will discuss these children with other schools. In Year 6, an annual review for children with EHCP will be held and a representative from the high school will be invited to attend.
Access to the Environment (see also School Access Plan)
An access audit of the school has recently been carried out and we will incorporate a number of recommendations into our repairs and maintenance programme. Children requiring equipment due to impairment will be assessed in order to gain the support that they require.
Details of our plans and targets on improving environmental access are contained in the Access Plan.
Disability equality and trips or out of school activities
Frenchwood Primary School tries to make all trips inclusive by planning in advance and using accessible places. Risk assessments will be completed before any trips to ensure safety of all pupils.
All children are welcome at our afterschool activities.
Success Criteria
The SEND policy will be reviewed every two years. To evaluate the policy it must be determined that:
- Everyone knows the policy and is using it
- Pupils with SEND are identified as early as possible and provision is matched to their needs
- Parents are well informed and involved
- There is close support from multi agencies
- Pupils are well informed and involved
Next review June 2026
1. Introduction
At Frenchwood we pride ourselves in being smart, well presented and ready for learning. It is our school policy that all children wear school uniform when attending school, or when participating in school organised events outside normal school hours. We ask children to wear their shirts tucked into their skirts, shorts or trousers and to take a pride in their personal appearance. Some items of uniform can be bought from school, whilst others are easily available, at very competitive prices, at local shops including supermarkets. A complete list of the items needed for school uniform including those for Physical Education, is at the bottom of this policy.
2. Aims
Our policy on school uniform is based on the belief that we are pleased to wear a uniform that:
- Promotes a sense of pride in our school
- Helps to create a sense of community and belonging towards the school
- Identifies pupils with the school
- Supports the school’s commitment to inclusion
- Prevents pupils from wearing ‘fashion clothes’ that could be distracting in class
- Is practical, smart, and designed with health and safety in mind
- Is considered to be good value for money
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Frenchwood School Uniform List |
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Mandatory uniform |
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What colour must this be? |
When is this worn? |
Where can I buy this? |
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Trousers, skirt, culottes or pinafore |
Dark Grey |
All year round |
Most supermarkets and uniform shops |
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Polo shirt |
White |
All year round |
Most supermarkets and uniform shops |
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Sweatshirt or cardigan with school logo |
Royal blue |
All year round |
School office Some school uniform stockists |
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Shoes/Trainers |
Plain black |
All year round |
Supermarkets, shoe shops |
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Socks |
Dark grey |
All year round |
Supermarkets/Clothes shops |
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Optional |
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Gingham dress |
Blue/white |
Summer only |
Most supermarkets and uniform shops |
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Shorts |
Dark grey |
Summer only |
Most supermarkets and uniform shops |
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Leggings |
Black |
Cultural/modesty |
Supermarkets/ Clothes shops |
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Hijab |
Black |
Cultural/modesty |
Clothes shops/Online |
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Topi/prayer hat/ turban |
Black |
Cultural |
Clothes shops/Online |
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Mandatory PE Uniform |
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Shorts or jogging bottoms |
Black |
On PE days |
Supermarkets/ Clothes shops |
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Round neck t-shirt |
Royal blue |
On PE days |
Supermarkets/ Clothes shops |
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Trainers or plimsoles |
Black – no white or coloured trim or logo |
On PE days |
Supermarkets/ Clothes shops/ shoe shops |
3. Jewellery, Make-up and Nail Varnish
For many reasons, including safety, we do not allow children to wear jewellery. The exceptions to this rule are ear-ring studs in pierced ears. Children are required to remove any items during P.E. lessons to prevent them from causing injury.
Please note: Teachers are not permitted to remove earrings.
Hair bands, ribbons/bows or ‘scrunchies’ should be plain black.
3. Cultural adaptations
Only headwear worn for religious or cultural purposes are to be worn indoors, e.g. hijab, topi. These should also be black. Hijab must be pull-on style that requires no pins or clips. Leggings may be worn, but no arm coverings, except for the school sweatshirt or cardigan.
4. Footwear
For health and safety reasons we do not allow children to wear shoes with platform soles or high heels. All children are required to wear plain black shoes without logos as stated in the uniform list. Boots are not to be worn indoors. Pupils wearing boots indoors will be asked to change into trainers or pumps.
5. PE Kit
PE kit should be worn on PE days. This reduces the time spent on changing and maximising the lesson time. Only official school PE kit is to be worn. When attending a sports club after school, pupils should bring PE kit in a bag to change into at the end of the day.
6. The Role of School Staff
All school staff are responsible for ensuring that the school policy on uniform is followed consistently to ensure all pupils are treated fairly. Any breaches of policy will be dealt with in a discreet manner and will be mindful of individual needs. Any learner requiring adjustments due to their additional needs will have this recorded on their Individual Learning Plan which will be monitored by the SENDCo, Mrs Wilkinson.
7. The Role of Parents and Carers
We believe that one of the responsibilities of parents is to ensure that their child has the correct uniform and PE kit, and that it is clean, in good repair and that the child’s name is visibly labelled on all items. If a parent has difficulties for any reason with fulfilling this request they are asked to speak confidentially to a senior member of staff to discuss the issues. Parents should be assured that any non-compliance will be dealt with in a sensitive manner to minimise embarrassment. Children who arrive at school wearing non-school uniform clothing will be loaned an appropriate item to wear for that day if possible. The same system will apply for children who do not have a PE kit. Parents will be contacted to discuss the matter.
If any parent would like to request an exception to the uniform policy they should, in the first instance, contact the headteacher or the Inclusion Lead - Mrs Wilkinson.
8. The Role of Pupils
Our learners are responsible for wearing their uniform correctly. They should wear PE kit only on their PE days. When attending an after school sports club they should bring kit to change into at the end of the day.
9. The Role of Governors
The governing body supports the headteacher in implementing the school uniform policy. It considers all representations from parents regarding the uniform policy and liaises with the headteacher to ensure that the policy is implemented fairly and with sensitivity.
It is the governors’ responsibility to ensure that the school uniform meets all regulations concerning equal opportunities.
Governors ensure that the school uniform policy enables children to dress sensibly, in clothing that is hardwearing, safe and practical.
10. Monitoring and Review
The governing body monitors and reviews the school uniform policy through its committee work and by considering, with the headteacher, any requests from parents for individual children to have special dispensation with regard to school uniform.
