Everybody who works at Foster’s has a duty to help protect children from abuse.

All staff know how to recognise possible abuse both within school and externally. All staff at Foster’s have read and understand the school’s Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy and receive regular training.

What do we do to promote safeguarding?

• Anyone with a concern reports this promptly to Mr Hemley (the school's Designated Safeguarding Officer). In Mr Hemley’s absence, concerns must be reported to Mr Elliott.
• We have strong links with Children’s Social Services forming part of a co-ordinated approach to Safeguarding in Bexley.
• All adults in school wear identity/visitor badges so that they can be quickly identified.
• Our school site is kept safe and secure. Only authorised visitors will be allowed into school.
• All staff have read and understand the Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy and are trained annually to identify signs of abuse and understand what they need to do.
• We operate safer recruitment processes aimed to deter and and prevent abusers from making contact with the pupils at Foster's.
• We have a clear ‘Whistle Blowing Policy’ to ensure that all concerns are reported and can be acted upon.
• Children trust the staff at Foster’s and know that they can speak to any adult if they have a concern.

What to do if you have unconfirmed worries

You may have unconfirmed worries about pupils, but little real evidence, and so feel unsure about how to proceed. Many cases have shown that these unconfirmed worries are in fact the tip of the iceberg; that if your information were placed alongside that of other school colleagues it could all added up to a serious cause for concern. It is vital, therefore, that “worries” are passed on at the earliest stage to Mr Hemley, who is in a position to collate information, involve other agencies and make decisions about further referral.

Indicators of abuse

Child Abuse can present in many different ways including physical evidence such as marks or bruises, or in a child’s presentation or appearance, behavioural evidence such as reluctance to change for P.E, becoming aggressive or withdrawn, falling out with friends, or a child may disclose abuse, either directly by telling you what happened, indirectly by telling friends or by asking for advice about a situation. 

The “PREVENT” Duty and Radicalisation

It is essential that staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified. This is part of our wider safeguarding duty and concerns are reported to Mr Hemley. All staff have had ‘Prevent’ training. We aim to build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and encourage our children to debate and challenge extremist views in a safe environment.

Who is the designated Safeguarding officer?

Mr Hemley (Headteacher) is the Designated Safeguarding Officer