Safeguarding in the Curriculum

Our Commitment to Safeguarding: Empowering Every Child

While our staff are rigorously trained to identify and respond to concerns, we believe the most powerful tool for protection is education. We weave safeguarding themes throughout our curriculum—primarily through PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education), Computing, and specialised workshops—to ensure children gain the knowledge and vocabulary to recognise risks and seek help.

How We Teach Children to Stay Safe

We focus on building "Life Skills for Safety," ensuring children understand how to navigate the world both inside the school gates and in the wider community.

1. Inside School: A Culture of Trust

Sun heart

Children are taught from their first day that they have a right to feel safe.

  • The "Hand of Five": Every child identifies five trusted adults (at school and home) they can talk to if they feel worried or "wobbly."

  • Body Autonomy: Through age-appropriate lessons, we teach the "Pantosaurus" rule (Privates are Private), helping children understand boundaries and the right to say no.

 

2. Outside School: Navigating the Real World

We prepare children for the independence they will face as they grow.

  • Road and Community Safety: School assemblies on crossing roads safely, recognising "stranger danger" without inducing fear, and understanding what to do if they get lost or doing something new like walking to secondary school for the first time.

  • Water and Fire Safety: Seasonal assemblies focus on specific risks, such as the dangers of open water in summer or firework safety in autumn.

3. In the Digital World: Online Safety

The internet is a brilliant resource, but it requires a "digital seatbelt."

  • SMART Rules: We teach children to be Safe, Meeting-aware, Accepting-cautious, Reliable, and Tell-focused.

  • Digital Footprints: Older students explore the long-term impact of what they post and how to identify "phishing" or grooming behaviors

Safeguarding opportunities are planned into the curriculum, for example:

  • Safeguarding Assemblies
  • SA@S Ambassadors
  • Road and beach safety (including school visits, bikeability, work with police officers in the community)
  • Poolside and water safety through swimming lessons with the local leisure centre
  • Fire awareness (including visits to and from the local fire service)
  • Visits to school from medical staff and the NHS such as NELFT
  • Visitors from charities such as NSPCC
  • Work from local voluntary sector services particularly around safe transition to Secondary school
  • Online safety and the use of social media