Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.
What is safeguarding?
We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.
The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Safeguarding Children Board procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Records of safeguarding concerns may be kept about a child. School staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with parents, including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.
In accordance with legislation and local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service. In all circumstances, the safety of the child will be the paramount concern.
Where there is a need to share special category personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 contains ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing condition that allows professionals to share information. This includes allowing them to share information without consent, if it is not possible to gain consent, it cannot be reasonably expected that a professional gains consent, or if to gain consent would place a child at risk
Safeguarding staff at Cambourne Village College will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Designated Person) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.
What do we do at CamVC to safeguard your child?
At Cambourne Village College we work hard to make sure that we build up positive relationships with the students in our care and we hope that we can support families in safeguarding your children
How can we help you?
If you have any concerns about your child or you would like any support please contact us via cam-safeguarding@cambournevc.org
All of our policies can be found here.
During the holidays
Please be aware that over holiday periods the cam-safeguarding inbox is not monitored.
If you live in Cambridgeshire and have a safeguarding concern for yourself or a young person who lives in Cambridgeshire, you can contact children’s social care on 0345 045 5203 (during office hours) or 01733 234 724 (out of hours).
If you have a safeguarding concern for yourself or a young person who lives outside of Cambridgeshire, please contact their local MASH (the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub). Information on this can be found online.
If you believe that you or a young person is at risk of immediate harm, please call 999.
If you are a professional seeking information or wishing to share information, we will respond to your email as soon as possible on our return to school.