Safeguarding and Child Protection

If you're worried about online abuse or the way someone has been communicating online, please click on this link.

With the Online Safety Act now being law, we are also directing parents to the NSPCC website for reporting online safety concerns on this link.

Safeguarding the welfare of the children at Hayfield is always a top priority for us and we recognise that it is everyone's responsibility in school to protect children and keep them safe from harm.  We do this in a number of ways:

• The school follows all statutory requirements with respect to safeguarding and child protection.
• We have policies and procedures in place, in line with statutory laws and guidance, that are adopted by all staff and governors and regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure that we are following latest guidance and meeting the needs of all of our children. Please see our safeguarding policy and all related policies, on this website.
• We carry out an annual Derbyshire County Council S175 audit of safeguarding, including online-safety, and report to governors and the local authority, who monitor the safeguarding policy and procedures and any incidents that we might have had.  The link governor has regular meetings with the headteacher to discuss progress against actions.
• All staff receive regular training on child protection, first aid, CPR and defibrillator use.  The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is the Headteacher, Mr Papadopoulos, and the Deputy DSL is Mrs Holmes.
•  Our Staff Induction Handbook contains all relevant information with regards to staff roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe at Hayfield.  All student teachers, supply teachers and adult helpers in school are also equipped with the information they need to comply with our safeguarding policy.
• We adopt a zero tolerance towards bullying, since we are very aware of the damage that bullying can do to children's mental health, well-being and general progress.  Keeping children safe from bullying is a topic visited on a regular basis with the children through our PSHE curriculum, questionnaires, assemblies and when situations arise.  We take part in the annual National Anti-Bullying Week and we also provide training and information for parents about keeping children safe online.
• Questionnaires show that the vast majority of parents agree that their child is safe and feels safe in school. Children feel able to approach the staff about their worries or concerns because they know that they will be listened to and supported.  Our most recent Ofsted report (January 2022) states that safeguarding is effective and notes that 'pupils feel very safe in school'.
• We have an open door policy and encourage any parent who has a question or concern about their child's safety to come and see us promptly to discuss the matter and find a resolution together.
• We have a very knowledgeable and active safeguarding governor, who supports the school in keeping up-to-date with new initiatives, developments and changes in relation to safeguarding. 
• The school ensures that our curriculum covers all aspects of safeguarding, e.g. personal safety, British Values, character development, cyber-bullying, extremism and radicalisation, child exploitation etc - all at an appropriate level for the age and ability of the children.
• Parents are kept informed through our newsletter about safeguarding initiatives and new resources, especially in relation to online-safety.

As a school all our staff team have annual training utilising the document Keeping Children Safe in Education (link here). It has important information and links that support us all, ensuring we work together to keep all children safe from abuse and harm.

Please see the following link for support within Derbyshire for emotional health, wellbeing and safeguarding Derby & Derbyshire - Emotional Health & Wellbeing (derbyandderbyshireemotionalhealthandwellbeing.uk)

Digital Parenting

We frequently visit the topic of online safety - through our PSHE curriculum, assemblies and as and when issues arise. We provide information for parents through newsletters, leaflets and information sessions.

Please may I remind parents that your primary aged children should not have social media accounts on sites that require them to be 13 or over. This applies to You Tube too. We teach children all the time about keeping themselves on line. If they do have an account on any social media or gaming sites, please remind them NOT to disclose any personal information about themselves, where they live or where they go to school.

This site is very useful for app information that adults need to know!  https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ and for reporting inappropriate content and other information https://www.iwf.org.uk/

Please do not hesitate to contact school should you have any queries, questions or concerns around safeguarding and online safety.

Please click on the link to see "The Ultimate Parent Guide for Protecting Your Child on the Internet" 

Domestic Abuse

Stopping Domestic Abuse Together is an initiative led by Derbyshire Police in conjunction with Social Services, Health Services, schools and other agencies, who work together to safeguard children and adults.

Domestic Abuse can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:

• Psychological
• Physical
• Sexual
• Financial
• Emotional

Children and young people witnessing domestic abuse

Witnessing domestic abuse is really distressing and scary and it causes serious harm to children. 

Children who witness domestic abuse can experience a wide range effects. They may:

• Become anxious and depressed
• Have difficulty sleeping or have nightmares
• Be easily startled, flinch or react disproportionately to loud noises
• Complain of physical symptoms such as tummy ache
• Start wetting the bed
• Have temper tantrums and display challenging behaviour at school
• Behave younger than they are
• Not want to go to school 
• Become aggressive towards others
• Have poor self-worth
• Self-harm
• Have difficulty forming positive relationships

They may feel:

• Guilty - because they think they have done something wrong
• Powerless - because they can't stop the violence
• Confused - because it doesn't make sense
• Angry - because it shouldn't be happening
• Sad - because it's a loss
• Afraid - because they may be hurt, they may lose someone they love, others may find out
• Alone - because they think it is only happening to them

What is SDAT?

SDAT is an early notification system to schools to quickly notify them of any incidents of domestic abuse where the Police have attended a household where children live.

This enables schools to understand changes in a child's behaviour, attitude or general presentation and to support children if needed.

The Hideout is an organisation that offers support and advice to children and families affected by Domestic Abuse.