Safeguarding

Safeguarding

At St John’s we take your child’s safety very seriously. Our aim is to establish a safe environment in which children can learn and develop in a confident and independent way. School staff are responsible for carrying out Child Protection procedures and if there are any concerns regarding your child’s welfare these will be referred to the Child Protection Offices – the Executive Headteacher and Head of School. These officers have a duty of care and may need to notify the Local Authority. There are strict procedures that the school has to follow and so we may have to notify Children’s Social care without your knowledge. In such circumstances our role is not to make a judgement or assessment but just to pass on information. Once we have followed the procedures Social Services may decide to take no further action or they may decide to do an initial assessment. Staff also have a duty to monitor children thought or known to be at risk of harm. For more information please see our safeguarding policy.

We also ensure we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children (criminal conviction checks). If you have any concerns regarding a member of staff please speak to the Head of School or the Chair of Governors.

Children

We actively encourage older pupils to work alongside younger children in developing skills. Older pupils make books for the library, read stories to pupils, help younger children find their way around the library, share computer skills, and generally support the learning and whole school experience of younger children. Both the younger children and the older children get value from these experiences. We also have a long-standing link with Greenvale Special School. Our Year

6 children have partners at Greenvale and meet on Friday afternoons. Year 5 children carry out a project in the summer term with St Christopher’s Hospice.

Inclusion

We at St John's believe all children have the right to a broad and balanced education, and aim to meet the needs of individual children to ensure they receive the help they need. Most children make satisfactory progress without the need for special provision; however, from time to time children need additional support:

• for a short period;

• periodically;

• throughout their school careers.

At St John's we have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) who works closely with class teachers, pupils and parents in identifying, assessing and making provision for the special needs of pupils needing additional support. This work, and the provision made for these pupils, is monitored by the Governors. Staff attend in-service training related to the provision of special educational needs, and where appropriate, call on the services of external agencies in meeting the needs of pupils (Educational Psychologists/Speech Therapists/Emotional Behavioural Support Services etc.)

 

We aim, at all times, to ensure that every child is included in every activity. If any barriers to taking part exist, it is our mission to remove those barriers by taking any action necessary. When a particular group of children is identified as not achieving as well as other groups, extra provision is made whenever possible.

Accessibility

The Governors welcome pupils with disabilities; however the school does not have any specific units or facilities for pupils with physical disabilities. Though the school has ramps to the main office entrance and the entrances to reception class and Year 1, all the other classrooms have steps or stairs to their entrances. As far as possible the school will ensure that pupils with disabilities have access to the same opportunities as other pupils. See our equalities policy for more information.