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

At The Lancaster School, we regard the safeguarding of children as our main priority. We believe that we all have the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn. We all have the responsibility to make this happen.

We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy which can be viewed in the policies section on our website.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child's welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child's welfare.

Members of Staff Responsible
We are all responsible for ensuring that each child remains safe. Miss Haughton is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) at The Lancaster School with Mrs Bell and Miss Page as deputies. The Governor with responsibility for safeguarding in our school are Mr Brian Main and Ms Heather Saunders. All have received DSL training from Lincolnshire County Council and attend refresher training. 

The Lincoln Safeguarding Children Partnership can be contacted on 01522 782111 or email LSCP@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

What does a DSL do?

The role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead was specified in the Children Act and ensured the every organisation had a “named person” for safeguarding children and young people. Prior to that, the role had frequently been known as the Child Protection Officer. The Designated Safeguarding Lead has a responsibility at both a strategic level within the organisation and on a day to day basis.

Key Aspects of the Designated Lead role includes:

• Making sure all staff are aware how to raise safeguarding concerns
• Ensuring all staff understand the symptoms of child abuse and neglect
• Referring any concerns to social care
• Monitoring children who are the subject of child protection plans
• Maintaining accurate and secure child protection records

Staff Training

Staff are trained in child protection issues and they are aware of the procedures to follow. Staff training is delivered via a variety of means: face to face in and out of school training, online refreshers and information raising, document sharing and on-going professional dialogues during staff meetings. Staff are encouraged to be vigilant in order to maintain the safety of our children and their concerns are discussed and handled appropriately.

Safer Recruitment

We follow strict procedures to ensure that everyone who works with our children is vetted, keeping our children as safe as possible. At least one senior member of staff is qualified in Safer Recruitment Procedures and governors are responsible for recruitment.

​E-Safety

E-Safety is a key aspect of our duty to keep children safe – both inside and outside of school. Take a look at our e-safety policy within our ‘Policies’ section for further detail, but for parents and carers there is a wealth of online information which can be accessed in order to help to keep children safe online.

Below are some useful links which can provide useful and impartial information.

NSPCC online safety
ThinkuKnow

​If you have any concerns outside of school hours, or feel it more appropriate to make a referral to Social Services directly, please contact Lincolnshire Children’s Services 01522 782111

Operation Encompass

In December 2019, all schools in Lincolnshire became an Operation Encompass School, becoming part of a national scheme which runs jointly between all schools and the police.

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced, any domestic abuse.

Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school’s staff – the Designated Safeguarding Lead, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have recently experienced a domestic abuse incident.

We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.