At Halton Community Combined School, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is for children to enjoy their time as pupils at Halton. We want to work in partnership with you to help your child achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.

To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Criminal Records Bureau checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire County Council in accordance with current legislation.

In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002, we have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Child Protection, Mr Colin Horsfield, who is the Headteacher, and has received appropriate training for this role.  It is his responsibility to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis. Mrs Caroline Allen, the Family Support Coordinator, is the additional Designated Safeguarding Lead. If neither Mr Horsfield nor Mrs Allen are in school then Mrs Jen Dawkins, the Deputy Headteacher, is the point of contact for Safeguarding concerns, or Mrs Laura Rawlins, the SENDCO. 

There are occasions that our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies.  Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.

On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under s47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without parents’ knowledge.   This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk.  To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to the Headteacher, Mrs Dawkins, Mrs Allen or your child’s class teacher: the Policy can be found in the policies section of the website.

NSPCC Listen UP, Speak Up campaign:

To start the year the NSPCC has unveiled their new ‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ campaign, aimed at giving adults practical advice, about how to address concerns about a child.

From April 2021 to March 2022 the NSPCC Helpline spoke 8,347 times with adults, compared to 7,338 in the same period for the previous year. 

The new NSPCC campaign, is explained clearly on their website. Please follow the link below to find out more:

NSPCC Listen Up, Speak UP campaign

Operation Encompass:

Please see the poster below; Halton is an Operation Encompass school.
 
Operation Encompass is the early reporting on to schools that a child or young person has been exposed to domestic abuse
 
For further information, please come in and see us.