Safeguarding
Safeguarding Statement
At St Joseph's, the safety and well-being of our pupils are our highest priority. We are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment where all children can thrive, learn, and feel secure. This page outlines our commitment to safeguarding and our procedures for protecting children from harm. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Yvonne Wilkins. You can contact Mrs Wilkins by email head@stjosdevizes.wilts.sch.uk or by calling the school.
Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:
Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Child Protection: is part of safeguarding and promoting student welfare. It involves measures and structures designed to prevent and respond to significant harm, abuse, exploitation and neglect.
Safeguarding includes: Child Protection, Health Care Plans, Health and Safety, Site Security, Safety on school trips and visits, Safer recruitment – School Central Record & DBS checks, online safety and associated issues, anti-bullying work, children’s & learner’s health, mental health and emotional well-being and so much more.
We believe that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. All staff, volunteers, and governors at St Joseph's are trained to recognise the signs of abuse and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child. We work in partnership with parents, carers, and external agencies to ensure that children are protected and supported. Our key commitments are: Creating a Safe Environment: We maintain a secure and positive school culture where children feel comfortable and confident to talk to a trusted adult if they have a worry or concern. Preventing Harm: We have robust policies and procedures in place to prevent harm to children, including a rigorous recruitment process for all staff and volunteers. Responding to Concerns: We have clear and well-practised procedures for responding to any concerns about a child's welfare. Promoting Wellbeing: We actively promote the mental health and emotional well-being of our pupils through our curriculum and pastoral support.
All children currently attending St Joseph's do so safe in the knowledge that their wellbeing is our number one priority. Whether our unique curriculum, our rigorous training of staff, or simply the culture we have created at St Joseph's, each and every child has the right to be protected from harm.
Curriculum: Our curriculum is bespoke. It has been carefully constructed over the years to be challenging, aspirational and contextualised for our pupils and our locality. In our curriculum, we embed many opportunities for children to learn about what keeps them safe, and how to share concerns as and when they arise.
Culture: Safeguarding is not just a 'process', it's an integral part of everyday life at St Joseph's. Our children are regularly involved in events and opportunities which contribute to the development of a strong safeguarding culture. These range from Bikeability courses, swimming safety lessons, aid road safety and much, much more!
Conduct: We have strict processes and procedures that focus on high-quality training for staff, early intervention and support for pupils and families, tight monitoring and record keeping, and a joined-up approach with local agencies. Regular safeguarding updates are embedded to our training schedule to ensure our processes and procedures are always closely followed.
Designated / Deputy Safeguarding Leads (DSL/DDSLs)
Our Designated and Deputy Safeguarding Lead (DSL/DDSLs) are the key contacts for all safeguarding matters. They have received additional, specialist training and are responsible for overseeing all safeguarding procedures within the school.
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Yvonne Wilkins (Headteacher) DSL Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Miss Gemma Payne (Assistant Headteacher) and DDSL Mrs Elizabeth Dale (RE Lead)
If you have any concerns about a child's safety or well-being, you can speak to our DSL confidentially. The contact details are: head@stjosdevizes.wilts.sch.uk.
What to do if you have a concern
If you are a parent, carer, or a member of the public and you have a concern about a child's welfare, you should: Speak to one of our safeguarding team immediately. We will listen to your concerns and take appropriate action. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.
If you think a child or young person is at risk of significant harm, or is injured, contact: 0300 456 0108 Integratedfrontdoor@wiltshire.gov.uk - Integrated Front Door (IFD).
Photographs and Videos
Whilst lots of parents and carers really enjoy seeing photos and videos of their children’s school life we are very mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images.
Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. This is emphasised before concerts and shows etc and where practical a record of parents and relatives taking photographs or videos is made.
We understand that in exceptional circumstances a parent or carer may not wish their child to be photographed or videoed in this way. If this is the case then please contact the headteacher to discuss how this can be best achieved.
Occasionally, the local press will be invited to take photographs of school events and special achievements. We like to use photographs of our children on our website, in school documents, for parent information meetings, newsletters and on our display screens around the school. If you do not wish photographs of your child to be used for these purposes, then please contact the Headteacher.
