At Forest View Primary School staff are trained in recognising the signs of Child Abuse and Extremism and are committed to and know the benefit of Early Help as a way of supporting families and young people before their needs become acute and Social Care or other specialist intervention may be necessary.

The school has a range of robust safeguarding procedures in place which puts the safety and protection of children at the heart of any decisions. The school’s safeguarding team is made up of the following school personnel:

• Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) – Mr B Lyons
• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) – Miss J Woskett, Mrs G Lyons, Mr K Law-Eadie, Mrs M Ennis, Mrs S. Anderson
• E-Safety Leader - Miss A. Pickett

The DSL and all DDSLs complete inter-agency safeguarding training on a two yearly programme. All other school staff complete safeguarding training on a three yearly basis and are updated regularly to any changes in legislation.

Operation Encompass

Forest View Primary School is enrolled in Operation Encompass with Gloucestershire Police. Operation Encompass is “the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced, any domestic abuse. Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, (the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads) known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been experienced a domestic abuse incident.”

Operation Encompass say that:

“Domestic Abuse is a ‘cruel and complex crime’ which affects millions of people in our society every year and cuts across all strata of society, across all ages, cultures and races. It is damaging to individuals and to communities, it weakens a country’s economy, reduces productivity and attendance in the workplace, is a public health issue and bleeds into every part of our society. Domestic Abuse diminishes both the perpetrator and the victims. We must all work to achieve the cessation of Domestic Abuse. Children exposed to domestic abuse are victims of child abuse. Operation Encompass was created to support children experiencing Domestic Abuse through timely information sharing between police and schools. One aspect of this work has been, from the inception of Operation Encompass, our desire to achieve the ending of Domestic Abuse. Once a police area and the related schools embed Operation Encompass they will have already begun to work towards this aim as Operation Encompass has so many positive yet varied implications and effects.”

Staff at Forest View are able to support any family suffering from domestic abuse and through signposting to specialist sources of advice. If you are worried about yourself, or anyone else, please get in touch with the sschool and ask to speak to a member of the Safeguarding Team. Alternatively, visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help

Reporting Concerns

If any member of school suspects that a child may be at risk of harm or who has been harmed they will report the incident through the schools email reporting system. The email is received by all members of the safeguarding team. Staff are expected to report a concern as soon as possible through the reporting system. If a member of staff believes that a child is at risk of or has been subjected to significant harm then this must be reported immediately via email and then in person to either the school’s DSL or one of the DDSLs.

It is school policy that at least two members of the safeguarding team will be on site at any one time and that one of these must be the DSL or a DDSL. This enables all concerns to be reviewed by at least two members of the team at any one time and an appropriate course of action decided upon.

The primary aim of the school’s Early Help systems is to try to intervene early with families before it gets to the stage when a child may be at risk of harm.

Involvement of Families

The school will always involve the family in all Early Help strategies and most will only be put in place with their permission. The school will aim to work with families in a supportive, non-judgemental way so that trust is built up and the best possible outcomes achieved.

There are occasions, however, when the school’s safeguarding team or member of school staff may believe that a child may be at immediate risk of significant harm and that by informing the parents/carers of the concern may put the child at further risk. In these cases the school will implement section 47 procedures. This will involve an immediate referral to social care without the parents/carers knowledge.

School Indicators for Children or Families That May Require Early Help

The following list provides examples of areas where, without intervention a family may break down or a child may be put a risk of neglect, emotional, physical or sexual harm. This also includes the risk of extremism. The school has no pre-prescribed criteria for supporting children and families. Each case is assessed according to needs and a bespoke programme put in place for that child and/or family:

• Low parenting skills;
• Poor diet – obesity, malnourished;
• Low income or poverty;
• Transport;
• Limited community integration;
• Young carer;
• Substance/alcohol abuse;
• Breakdown in family relationships;
• Domestic abuse;
• Breakdown in community relationships;
• Special Educational Needs (refer to local and school offer);
• Child mental health;
• Isolation
• Adult mental health;
• Disability of a child;
• Disability of an adult;
• Bereavement;
• Poor attendance and punctuality;
• Changes in behaviour;
• Poor behaviour and risk of exclusion;
• Child unaware of how to keep themselves safe online;
• Child unaware of danger and how to keep themselves safe;
• Child demonstrates sexualised behaviours;
• Frequent house or school moves.
• Extremist views
• Involved in anti-social or criminal activity;
• Is associated with gangs;
• Frequently goes missing from care of from home;
• At risk of modern slavery, trafficking or exploitation;
• Has returned home to their family from care;
• Is privately fostered.

Following the identification of a family who may require Early Help the school will seek to gain consent from the family to engage with the services who may be best placed to support them. This will most likely involve support from the Local Early Help support team who will work with the school to assess the needs of the family and to complete a 'My Assessment' this may also include a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting and the creation of a family My Plan Plus.

The levels of needs for each family is assessed on an individual basis and different levels of services can be accessed as a result. These may include the following:

Universal – All children

• Family
• Friends
• School Staff
• Governors
• Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• Breakfast Club
• After School Clubs
• Community Clubs (i.e. sports, arts etc.)

Community - Child or family need extra support

• Family Support Worker
• Inclusion Manager
• School Safeguarding Team
• School E-Safety Team
• Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)
• Police
• GP
  Health Visitor
• Midwife
• School Nurse
• Street Warden
• District Council
• Change4Life School Clubs
• Candi
• Forest Pulse
• Food Bank
• School Staff
• LA SEN Team
• LA Transport Team
• Churches and Religious Leaders
• Housing Association – 2Rivers
• Landlords
• Young Carers
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Job Centre
• Traveller Support Services
• Army Support Services
• Interpreter
• Education Entitlement and Inclusion Team (EEI)
• Children’s Centre
• ArtSpace
• Communication with Previous Settings

Specific - Child or family need specialist support

• Targeted Support Team (TST)
• School Safeguarding Team
• Social Care (Initial/Core Assessment)
• Parenting Courses – Webster Stratton , Triple P, Families and Schools Together (FAST)
• Paediatrician
• Counselling
• TOUCAN – Play Therapy
• ArtSpace – Art Therapy
• 1:1 Therapy from specialist therapists
• Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS)
• Education Entitlement and Inclusion Team (EEI)
• Physiotherapist
• Green Square
• Family Endowment Fund
• Keep Safe Work
• Occupational Therapist
• Winston’s Wish (SWITCH Programme)
• Education Psychologist
• Cruse Bereavement Care
• The Samaritans
• Compassionate Friends
• Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS)
• Freedom Programme
• Splits
• Independence Trust
• Gloucestershire Drugs and Alcohol Support (GDAS)
• NSPCC
• Child Online Protection and Exploitation Centre (CEOP)
• Channel Programme

Acute - Child or family need a high level of support to prevent harm

• Social Care – Child Protection (CP), Child in Need (CIN)
• School Safeguarding Team
• Social Worker
• Police – Police Protection Order (PPO)
• Courts – Care Proceedings
• Counselling
• Therapy
• Channel Programme