Millstead School is committed to safeguarding & protecting the welfare of children as its number one priority.

The school has produced a  Child Protection Policy based on the  latest guidelines and advice from the Department for Education .

Our staff are trained to recognise the of symptoms of abuse and to be vigilant for any safeguarding concerns, including emotional abuse, physical abuse, neglect, bullying or extremist behaviour, including the PREVENT duty.

We have clear procedures for the recording and reporting of incidents where any potential safeguarding concerns are identified and appropriate action is taken.

Michelle Beard, Headteacher, is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). She is responsible for the implementation of our Safeguarding & Child Protection policy and procedures.

Assistant Headteachers, Julia Roberts, Zoey Doyle and Emma Cummerson, are also trained to be DSL if required.

The Governor designated for Child Protection is Jan Potter.

Should a concern be raised relating to an adult in our school, we will work with the Local Authority Designated Officers for Safeguarding (LADO) - Ray Said and Pauline Trubshaw. Their advice and support ensures that we follow the correct procedures and investigated all concerns appropriately.

To ensure that we prevent unsuitable people from working in our school, all adults who regularly work with the children (including students and volunteers) are required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

All visitors to school must sign in at reception. They are issued with an identify badge and lanyard, which must be worn and visible during their visit. We use coloured lanyards to identify people around school:

• Blue lanyards - members of our school staff team
• Red lanyards - visitors who must be under close supervision and escorted by a member of staff
• Purple lanyards - students and visitors who are known to our school and for whom we have DBS clearance, who can be in school without close supervision.

Visitors are also given a safeguarding pamphlet which informs them of our safeguarding arrangements, DSL staff and visitor code of conduct.

Operation Encompass is an early intervention partnership programme between the Police and Education. The Police ensure that school are informed if there has been an incident of Domestic Abuse. This enables us to support the child if they have been affected by the events at home.

IF YOU HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT THE HEALTH & SAFETY OF A CHILD AT MILLSTEAD SCHOOL YOU SHOULD REPORT THIS TO A MEMBER OF STAFF IMMEDIATELY.