Parkside Community Foundation Primary School recognise our statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everybody’s responsibility and everyone has a role to play. All members of our community (staff, volunteers, governors, leaders, parents/carers, wider family networks, and pupils) have an important role in safeguarding children and all have an essential role to play in making our community safe and secure.
Parkside Community Foundation Primary School recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within school that will help children to be safe and to feel safe. In our school children are respected and are encouraged to talk openly. We will ensure children’s wishes and feelings are taken into account when determining what safeguarding action to take and what services to provide.
Our core safeguarding principles are:
Parkside Community Foundation Primary School is committed to ensure that all steps are taken to recruit staff and volunteers who are safe to work with our pupils and have their welfare and protection as the highest priority.
The Governing Body and Senior Leadership Team are responsible for ensuring that the school follows safe recruitment processes outlined within county guidance, including accurate maintenance of the Single Central Record; and an application, vetting and recruitment process which places safeguarding at its centre, regardless of employee or voluntary role.
Prevent is a government-led initiative that aims to reduce the risk of people becoming involved in terrorism or being influenced by extremist ideologies. It applies to all forms of extremism, including those linked to political, religious or ideological beliefs.
The focus of Prevent is early support and education, helping individuals to build resilience and make informed, safe choices.
Schools, alongside other organisations, have a legal duty to safeguard children from the risk of radicalisation. This responsibility sits alongside our wider safeguarding role and is treated in the same way as other risks to children’s safety, such as substance misuse or criminal exploitation.
Schools also play an important role in providing a safe and supportive environment where pupils can ask questions, share concerns and develop the understanding they need to protect themselves.
Since 2014, schools have been required to actively promote British values. This continues to be a key part of the Prevent duty.
British values include:
Extremism – Holding or expressing views that strongly oppose fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, and respect for different beliefs.
Ideology – A set of ideas or beliefs that shape how people see the world.
Terrorism – Actions intended to cause serious harm to people or property, or to seriously disrupt systems, in order to promote a political, religious or ideological cause.
Radicalisation – The process by which someone comes to accept or support extremist views or actions.
Further Information and Support
If you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent strategy or how it is implemented in school, please contact the school directly. We are always happy to discuss this further.
For additional information, the following resources may be helpful:
All staff have a responsibility for maintaining awareness of buildings and grounds security and for reporting concerns that may come to light. We operate within a whole-school community ethos and welcome comments from pupils, parents and others about areas that may need improvement, as well as what we are doing well.
Appropriate checks will be undertaken in respect of visitors and volunteers coming into school as outlined within guidance. Visitors will be expected to sign in and out via the office visitors log and to display a visitor's badge whilst on school site. Any individual who is not known or identifiable should be challenged for clarification and reassurance.
The school will not accept the behaviour of any individual (parent or other) that threatens school security or leads others (child or adult) to feel unsafe. Such behaviour will be treated as a serious concern and may result in a decision to refuse access for that individual to the school site.
Please see our Child Protection Policy for more information.
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