Our Safeguarding Team

Please email office@winns.waltham.sch.uk to contact any of these staff.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

The Winns Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection Policy which can be viewed in the policies section on our website. The government publishes safeguarding guidance to schools every year in the form of Keeping Children Safe In Education.

The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the London Safeguarding Team and we take guidance issued by the DfE (Department for Education). The school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this, for the safety of all. On rare occasions our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parent/carers first, before any referrals are made, unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.

The Local Authority requires all schools to report any obvious or suspected cases of child abuse. Schools are encouraged to take the attitude that where there are grounds for suspicion it is better to be safe than sorry. The procedure is intended to protect children who may be at risk. This does mean that Headteachers or designated safeguarding leads risk upsetting some parents by reporting a case that, on investigation, proves unfounded. We trust that parents will appreciate the sensitive nature of our role in protecting children, and are assured that we always aim to act in the best interest of the child.

Worried or concerned about a young person or child?

If you are worried that a child has suffered harm, neglect or abuse or, you are worried that a child may be at risk if suffering harm you should contact Ms Fiona Judge (Head Teacher), Mrs Allison Tokeley (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or Mr Brennan Millen (Designated Safeguarding Lead).

Alternatively, you can contact the MASH team (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) Call 020 8436 2310 or email MASHrequests@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you think a child is in immediate danger call for police assistance.

Useful Links

• Action for Children
  Action for Children supports and speaks for the UK’s most vulnerable and neglected children and young people.
• Parent Centre
  Lots of information about parenting.
• Department for Education
  Articles and advice for children and young people.

Online Safety

• Parent Zone
  A useful site for parents covering a range of issues involving children.
• CEOP
  The National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection site. This site covers all aspects of on-line safety including how to report on-line abuse.
• Think U Know
  Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command.
• Childnet Hot Topics
  Childnet’s mission is to work in partnership with others around the world to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.