At Cliffe Woods, we are committed to the wellbeing and safety of our children and families. All our staff and volunteers are safeguarding trained and partake in regular refresher courses to ensure their knowledge is up to date.
If you become aware of any signs of abuse or neglect with one of our pupils, please notify the Designated Child Protection Officer or one of the Deputy Designated Child Protection Officers.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
At Cliffe Woods Primary School the health, safety and well-being of every child is our top priority. We expect all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment to safeguarding our pupils. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff are trained in Child Protection, and children are made aware of the adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the Medway Safeguarding Team and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this, for the safety of all. On rare occasions, our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parents/carers first before any referrals are made unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Galea-Baker (SENDCo), The Deputy Safeguarding Leads are Mrs Connolly (Head of School) Mrs Robins (Deputy Head of School), Jayne Tinkler (Pastoral Lead/SEN Team) and Mel Clear (Pastoral Assistant/SEN Team). The Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is available on the policies page.
If you require any further information please contact the above named people via the school office.
If you have an immediate concern about a child’s welfare or safety, you can call 01634 334 466 on Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm or out of hours on 03000 419 191.
Safeguarding Vs Child Protection
When talking about the welfare of children you will often hear the terms safeguarding and child protection being used. It’s easy to believe they are the same thing, but there is a difference.
We have both a legal and moral duty to protect all children from physical and mental harm. Either through policies or procedures, we try to ensure things like providing a safe and friendly environment with well-trained staff or providing lessons that empower them with the knowledge to protect or help themselves, such as online safety.
Child protection is the actions we take when we consider a child to be vulnerable or in danger.
Safeguarding is the term that links everything we do to protect children, and child protection is just one of those links.
Advice for Parents
As parents, we have a duty to provide the best care and support for our children. Their physical and mental welfare, along with education are important factors in their development.
But there are times when we all need advice or support with issues that arise, so below are some links with useful information.
If you have any concerns please ring the school office and a Designated Safeguarding Lead will be happy to speak to you.