At St. Luke's C of E Primary School, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment.

Safeguarding Responsibilities and Duties

At St. Luke's C of E Primary School, we adhere to the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance from the Department of Education. All staff and volunteers have read and understood this guidance.

The ways in which we need to safeguarding and support our children is changing every day and it is vital that Parents and the School work together to do this. While a significant part of our safeguarding responsibility, as a school, is covered in our Child Protection Policy which can be found by following the link below. There are a great many other things to consider with education and information sharing being key to ongoing, effective support and protection.

Safer Recruitment

Everyone at St. Luke's C of E Primary School, including the governors, third party staff ad volunteers undergo appropriate safer recruitment checks, including a DBS. All of these checks are recorded on the school's Single Central Record (SCR). When appointing new members of staff, at least one member of the panel has Safer Recruitment training.

Specific Safeguarding Documentation

The documents linked below form the basis of the safeguarding procedures at St. Luke's C of E Primary School.

Sort Your Settings - Essex Police

 

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Keeping your child safe online is not always an easy task. New technology, regular updates or upgrades can change how things work, sometimes making it difficult to keep up. So, to help, Essex Police have put together some simple things you can do to make your child’s online devices safer...

 

Covers: general tips, parental controls, gaming, game age ratings, chat and message functions, in game purchasing and loot boxes, mobile phones and social media.

What Parents Need to Know about... series from National Online Safety

 

  

Use the pdf links below to see these guides in more detail.

Top Tips for Managing Screen Time

From using them for communication, work, shopping and entertainment, devices such as smartphones, laptops and the rest are now deeply ingrained into modern society. Small wonder, then, that young people – who’ve grown up surrounded by such gadgets – can sometimes struggle to put them down, switch them off or keep themselves occupied without them.

 

While limiting our screen time may require a great deal of restraint, the effort can be rewarded with significant benefits to our physical and mental health. This guide has simple tips for helping to manage the amount of screen time in your household – encouraging the whole family to spend more quality time together and live in the moment.

Top Tips for Setting Boundaries Around Gaming

Behind video-sharing platforms (like YouTube) and streaming TV shows and movies, gaming is the third most popular online activity for children in the UK. In fact, according to recent data from Ofcom, an overwhelming 89% of children aged 3 to 17 play video games. Of those, more than one in five (22%) talk to other players online who they don’t know outside the game.

 

The risk of contact from strangers is just one of the reasons that many parents are concerned about their child’s gaming: increased screen time, inappropriate content and in-game spending also figure among the most frequent fears. Agreeing on some rules around your child’s gaming activities can certainly help, and our guide has some useful tips for establishing these boundaries.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging platform on the planet, with over two billion users (forecast to become three billion by 2025), across more than 180 countries. The majority of those people (70%) open the app at least once a day – but what exactly are they seeing? Contact from strangers, fake news and convincing scams are all among the service’s well-documented hazards.

 

According to Ofcom, WhatsApp is used by more than half of 3- to 17-year-olds in the UK (including one in three from the 8–11 bracket), despite its 16+ age restriction. If your child hops onto WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends or family, our updated guide to the service contains the key details you’ll need to support them in doing it safely.

Sharing Photos Online

One of the more heartwarming, life-affirming aspects of social media is being able to share special moments in our children’s lives with family and friends: from the first day at school or blowing out birthday cake candles to smiling holiday selfies and cute Hallowe’en costumes. Is there, however, such a thing as too much sharing – and can it actually put children in danger?

 

With potential risks such as accidentally displaying identifying details (images showing where a child lives or what school they go to, for example) and photos being seen and saved by strangers, perhaps we need to take a little more caution over what we post and where we post it. #WakeUpWednesday guide runs through some safety considerations when sharing images.

Other Guides

Wise up to Water Safety - Essex Safeguarding Children Board

 

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Drowning happens silently. A drowning child can’t speak or control their arms. It’s only in the movies they splash about and cry for help. As children become older and possibly stronger swimmers, it’s important to educate  them about water safety. They may still lack the strength and skills to get themselves out of trouble if they find themselves in strong currents or deep water, or discover too late dangerous objects lurking in the water... 

Online Safety - Essex Safeguarding Children Board

 

Young people do not differentiate the real world from the virtual world in the way that adults do. The resources and information on this page will provide information around staying safe online. If a child has been a victim of online exploitation - remember they are NEVER to blame. Make sure to comfort them, be supportive and help them address the issues they have encountered. 

 

Adults can help children and young people to stay safe by creating an environment in which they feel able to speak openly about things they have seen online and about concerns they may have. This can be done by:

 

• creating good internet habits
• limiting screen time
• avoiding devices at dinnertime/bedtime
• talking and showing an active interest in what children are doing online - let them share what they’re playing or looking at with you.

 

More helpful links:

Apps, games and social media

Harmful content and bullying

Settings and parental controls

Campaign materials

Resources for working with families

Resources for parents/carers

I'm a young person

Reporting concerns

Learning and Development