Safeguarding

This Safeguarding information is for all staff and volunteers who work at Tottington Primary School. Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone who comes onto the school premises, in either a paid or a voluntary role.

If you have any safeguarding concerns, relating to children at Tottington Primary School, the Safeguarding Designated person is:

Mrs Deborah Taylor - Head of School & Designated Safeguarding lead

In case of absence, the next person to contact regarding safeguarding is:

Mr Steven Groutage - Deputy safeguarding lead

Mrs Emily Berry - Deputy safeguarding lead

Mrs Sharon Dymond Muller - Nursery Manager

The Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding is:

Mrs Verity Hall

The health, safety and well-being of all the children at Tottington Primary School are of paramount importance to all the adults who work in our school. Our children have the right to protection, regardless of age, gender, race, culture or disability. In our school we respect our children. The atmosphere within our school is one that encourages all children to do their best. We provide opportunities that enable our children to take and make decisions for themselves. We work to create a culture of security to enable them to feel valued, listened to and to know that their wishes and feelings are respected.

We recognise that abuse and neglect can result in underachievement. We strive to ensure that all our children make good educational progress.

Teaching personal, social and health education and citizenship, as part of the National Curriculum helps to develop appropriate attitudes in our children, and makes them aware of the impact of their decisions on others. We also teach them how to recognise different risks in different situations, and how to behave in response to them.

Our school policies have been developed to ensure the school fulfils the principles, requirements and any statutory duties established by:

Education Act 2002
Children Act 2004
Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2011
Working together to safeguard children 2023
Safer Working Guidance DfE 2022
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024
The Prevent Duty Advice June 2023
Children missing in Education Nov 2013
The school will also follow the procedures set out by Bury Safeguarding Partnership (BSP).

Click here to view our Safeguarding & Child Protection policy.

Safeguarding Reporting Flowchart

Our school participates in a Police Initiative that is supported by Bury Safeguarding Partnership.

The project, Operation Encompass, has been designed to provide early reporting to schools of any domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of school but which might have an impact on a child attending school the following day. This information will be shared on school days during the school term. When incidents occur on a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday, the police will contact the relevant school the following Monday.

A nominated member of school staff, known as a Key Adult, will be trained to liaise with the police. At Tottington Primary School, our Key Adult is Mrs Taylor. We will use information that has been shared with us, in confidence, to ensure that the school is able to support children and their families. Information will be shared where it is identified that a child or young person was present, witnessed or was involved in a domestic abuse incident.

We always endeavour to offer the best support possible to our pupils and believe that Operation Encompass is beneficial and supportive for all concerned, children and families

Full information about Encompass you can contact our Key Adult at school.

TPS Encompass Commitment

Encompass Handbook

Bury Encompass Protocol

Prevent Strategy

Tottington Primary School is committed to providing a secure environment for pupils, where children feel safe and are kept safe. All adults at Tottington Primary School recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility irrespective of the role they undertake or whether their role has direct or responsibility for children or not.

Every member of staff recognises that safeguarding against radicalisation and extremism is no different to safeguarding against any other vulnerability in the current society. This policy sets out our beliefs, strategies and procedures to protect vulnerable individuals from being radicalised or exposed to extremist views, by identifying who they are and promptly providing them with support.

When operating this policy, Tottington Primary School uses the following accepted Governmental definition of extremism which is:

‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British Values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance or different faiths and beliefs; and / or calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas.’

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.
The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.
This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from any other harm.
Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, at an appropriate level so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice at Tottington Primary School?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

Having a strong Aims and Ethos which pervades our school.
Focusing on core values.
Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity.
Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. This is what we will focus on at Whitehouse Primary School.

The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism.

We will endeavour to give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

Further information

Contact the school - If you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent Strategy and what it means for your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

See our policies - You will find more details about radicalisation in our safeguarding policy, available on our website. We also have information about spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British values.

External sources - The following sources may also be useful for further information

What is Prevent? Let’s Talk About It

Extremism Policy

TPS Prevent Statement

TPS Prevent Risk Assessment