Marden Vale C of E Academy  takes seriously its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people in its care.

“The welfare of the child is paramount” (the Children Act 1989).

Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (Section 157 for Independent schools) places a statutory responsibility on the governing body to have policies and procedures in place that safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are pupils in the school.

Our first and foremost priority is to keep your child safe and healthy; there are safeguarding notices around our school to remind staff and visitors of our policies and practices with the key message that: “Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, every day”. Under the Ofsted framework, safeguarding is a key indicator of what constitutes a good school.

REPORTING CONCERNS

Worried about a child? If you have concerns about a child please contact:

School - Any member of staff can help but Mrs Scrivens is our Safeguarding Lead and Mrs Mabon and Miss Hagley are our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads.  They can be contacted on  01249 813505.

Integrated Front Door (IFD) 0300 4560108.

Out of hours Emergency Duty Service 0300 4560100 (5pm to midnight Mondays to Thursdays, 4pm to midnight Fridays, 9am to midnight weekends and bank holidays).

If a child is in immediate danger or left alone, you should contact the police or call an ambulance immediately on 999.

Marden Vale CE Academy is supporting the national campaign organised by the Department for Education to encourage people to report any concern, no matter how small, of child abuse and neglect. If you're worried about a child please contact  the Wiltshire Council Safeguarding Team on 0300 4560108 to report your concern.

PREVENT DUTY

Building resilience in young people and the promotion of fundamental British values is at the heart of preventing radicalisation. We do this by providing a safe place in which children can discuss concerns.

We aim to give children the knowledge and confidence to challenge extremist beliefs and ideologies.

The Prevent duty is carried out under the Counterterrorism and Security Act 2015, which legally requires schools to take steps to prevent pupils from being drawn into terrorism. We take this duty seriously and carry out the four main actions responsibly: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and policies.

If we assess a child as being at risk, we refer to the Channel Programme, which focusses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

Staff are trained to familiarise themselves with the Prevent Duty. We recognise that we play a vital role in keeping children safe from harm, including from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, and in promoting the welfare of children in our care.