Safeguarding

Our safeguarding leader is Mrs K Hurford

‘Keeping children safe is everybody’s responsibility’

Lovelace Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils. We expect all staff and volunteers to share in our commitment to keeping children safe and observe the wide range of safeguarding measures we have in place. Through robust training and induction, all staff and regular visitors will know how to recognise indicators of concern, how to respond to a disclosure from a child and how to record and report this information.

In order to keep our children safe at Lovelace, we:

ensure that all our staff – through their induction and on-going training – have a clear understanding of their responsibilities towards our children’s safeguarding.
make sure that we have a range of clear and up to date policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and protection of our pupils in all aspects of school life.
ensure that we teach our pupils how to keep themselves healthy and safe – in and out of school including keeping safe on-line
ensure that we audit our safeguarding practices regularly so we remain vigilant.
carry out rigorous checks during the recruitment process where application forms are carefully scrutinised and any education or employment gaps are queried references and all necessary DBS checks are undertaken as a matter of course and we keep an up to date single central record on all of our employees. The Headteacher and some members of the Governing Body are trained in ‘Safer Recruitment’.
have an effective induction process, which includes safeguard training, for our volunteers. Volunteers and visitors are not left unsupervised with any children at any time unless they are regular volunteers who have completed a DBS check.
remind parents our parents and carers about our policies and procedures to keep children safe and to remind parents about their responsibilities when that is required
have a designated safeguarding governor monitors the rigour and effectiveness of our safeguarding policies and procedures termly.
have safe computer access, with secure filtering and we train children and staff when working on line or using digital devices at school

We recognise that staff at our school play a particularly important role as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children to prevent concerns from escalating. It is vital that all staff are vigilant at all times.

Pupils feel secure, are encouraged to talk, are listened to and are safe. Children are able to talk freely to any member of staff at our school if they are worried or concerned about something.

Parents and children are welcome and encouraged to talk to Mrs Hurford (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or any other Designated Safeguarding Staff (contact via Office) if they are worried about an issue.

Lovelace Primary School is part of Operation Encompass; a project run jointly between the police and school to support children exposed to domestic abuse incidents. For more information – Operation Encompass

What to do if you are worried about a child

‘Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility’

Call 999 if you think a child or young person is in immediate danger

If you are worried about a child, please contact Children Single Point of Access

For a child living within Kingston Upon Thames: 020 8547 5008 from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or 020 8770 5000 out of hours.

Please click here for a Single Point of Access (SPA) referral form

For a child living within Surrey County Council area: 0300 470 9100 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, or 01483 517898 out of hours.

Please click here to Report a concern about a child or young person – Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)

The DFE has launched a new campaign for everyday people in the community called TackleChildAbuse and it focuses on three simple ways to spot the signs: Appearance, Behaviour and Communication and what to do if you are worried.

The NSPCC also has information on How to Report Child Abuse Without Any Worries | NSPCC

For latest updated Safeguarding, Whistle Blowing Policy, E-Safety, Looked After Children, Health and Safety and Attendance Policies – visit our Policies page

Some additional information can be found at:

Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2024

NSPCC information on Female Genital Mutilation NSPCC FGM Information

Advice on what to do if you’re worried about someone close who is expressing extreme views

Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition

Young Carers Support

At Lovelace Primary School we are aware that some of our pupils are young carers. A young carer is someone aged 5-18 who is caring unpaid for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. We are proud of our Young Carers in School Award which helps us to ensure we are identifying and offering the support that our young carers need. If you think your child is a young carer and would like any other information or support, please contact the Office.