Safeguarding at Hethersett Woodside Primary and Nursery School.
Please read our policy below:
Hethersett Woodside Primary and Nursery School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children at all times. We expect all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment, and training, monitoring and reporting procedures are in place to ensure this commitment is realised.
We aim to provide a safe environment that is conducive to learning. We also aim to identify children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and take appropriate action to keep them safe in school and at home when required.
We have safer recruitment procedures in place, as well as a range of policies and procedures to ensure that your child is safe while at school.
We have 4 Designated Safeguarding Leads:
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| Sam Carter – Deputy Headteacher Designated Safeguarding Lead | Louise Mainwaring – Headteacher Deputy Safeguarding Lead |
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| Nicola Ingham – Assistant Headteacher Deputy Safeguarding Leader | Kevin McCabe – Pastoral Lead Deputy Safeguarding Lead |
We also have a designated Safeguarding Governor who monitors our safeguarding and child protection processes and reports back to the Governing Board.
If you have any questions regarding the safety of a child during term time please contact one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads via the School Office.
You can also call Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS) as a member of the public. 0344 800 8020.
If you need assistance outside of school hours, at a weekend or during a school holiday you can contact the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) 24 hours a day. You can do this via their website at: www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/ by telephone: 0808 800 5000, by text: 88858 or by email: help@nspcc.org.uk
If you think a child is in immediate danger do not delay: CALL 999 straight away.
Operation Encompass
Some Background:
- Developed in Plymouth in February 2011 by a Police Sergeant and his wife, a Head-teacher
- Launched in Norfolk in 2016
- It provides a notification to Identified Adults in school by 9am the following day after a domestic incident
- This allows schools to provide overt or silent support to the child/children and family
Hethersett Woodside Specifics
At Hethersett Woodside, each of our DSL’s is also a Key Adult. When we receive a notification from Operation Encompass, this allows us to know what has happened so we can put the correct support in place. We understand that sometimes, children are completely unaware that an incident has taken place. However, support still could be appropriate to help support that child. Usually, we will undertake Wishes and Feelings with a supported, known adult and will make contact with the family. With some cases, we might feel that no intervention or support is needed but with other cases we might need to put considerable support in place.
Each year, the school sends out a letter to parents/carers reminding them that the we are signed up to Operation Encompass.
Please find this year’s letter below.
Talk PANTS
NSPCC produce excellent resources to help keep children safe from sexual abuse under the name of Talk PANTS.
The overarching PANTS rules are:
- Privates are private
- Always remember your body belongs to you
- No means no
- Talk about secrets that upset you
- Speak up, someone can help
There are lots of guides for parents/carers and children with different needs.
In school, we use these resources to talk to whole classes, different groups and with individual children. They allow us to provide support and guidance for children in the correct way. These resources are perfect for use at home too.
If you have any questions about Talk Pants, please get in contact with school.
Domestic Abuse
What is domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence. For the first time, a legal definition of domestic abuse was introduced as part of the Domestic Abuse Act, which became law in 2021.
What is coercive control?
Coercive Control is a form of domestic abuse that became a criminal offence in 2015. It is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used by perpetrators to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. These behaviours are designed to make the victim dependent on the perpetrator, removing their independence, isolating them from support networks, and controlling their everyday behaviour and activity.
What is stalking and harassment?
Stalking and harassment is “a pattern of unwanted, fixated and obsessive behaviour which is intrusive and causes fear of violence or serious alarm or distress.” This could be physical and in-person, or through communications such a social media, texts, phone calls, or emails. Perpetrators of domestic abuse often use stalking and harassment to monitor their partner or ex-partner’s movements, as well as using these tactics to threaten their partner to comply with their wishes. National stalking charity Paladin found that in 96% of stalking cases, the victim knew their stalker. It is a tactic increasingly used by perpetrators to maintain power and control.
Signs of Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse can be any form of physical, sexual, psychological, coercive control, or financial abuse carried out by a partner, ex-partner, or family member. This includes honour-based violence and forced marriage, as well as stalking and harassment. It doesn’t matter what your age, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, wealth, or lifestyle – domestic abuse can occur in any relationship. In the year ending March 2020, 2.3 million adults aged between 16-74 experienced domestic abuse in England and Wales. Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on the lives of so many people.
Domestic abuse is not solely physical, and perpetrators will often try to control someone in several different ways. This is commonly recognised as coercive control and may include monitoring who you are contacting, who you see, and what you wear, or they may criticise, humiliate, belittle, or embarrass you in front of friends or family. You may have also felt that you have had to change your behaviour because of fears of how your partner may react. In the year ending March 2019, there were 17,616 offences of coercive control recorded by the police, nearly double the total of the previous year. This is a common form of domestic abuse and, thankfully, awareness is increasingly improving.
Help and Support
Norfolk Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (NIDAS) is a support service for those people assessed at medium or high risk of harm. They also offer dedicated support for children and young people, recovery programmes, coordinated multi-agency support, court support, a Domestic Abuse Champion network and training for professionals, across Norfolk.
Leeway Norfolk was established in 1974 and is an independent charity providing support to adults, young people and children who are experiencing domestic abuse in Norfolk and Suffolk. We operate eight safe houses and people experiencing domestic abuse and their children are welcome to stay as long as necessary to secure a future free from a dangerous partner
FGM
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) according to the World Health Organisation (2024) comprises of all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
It’s also known as female circumcision or cutting, and by other terms, such as Sunna, gudniin, halalays, tahur, megrez and khitan, among others.
FGM is usually carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, most commonly before puberty starts.
It’s illegal in the UK and is child abuse. It’s very painful and can seriously harm the health of women and girls.
Getting Help and Support
All women and girls have the right to control what happens to their bodies and the right to say no to FGM.
Help is available if you have had FGM or you’re worried that you or someone you know is at risk.
- If someone is in immediate danger, contact the police immediately by dialling 999.
- If you’re concerned that someone may be at risk, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk.
- If you’re under pressure to have FGM performed on your daughter, ask a GP, your health visitor or another healthcare professional for help, or contact the NSPCC helpline.
- If you have had FGM, you can get help from a specialist NHS gynaecologist or FGM service – ask a GP, your midwife or any other healthcare professional about services in your area.
Useful Links
Keep Safe on the Internet
Useful websites for parents:
 | www.thinkuknow.co.uk/PARENTS/ |
 | www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-technologyLots of ‘how to guides’ highlighting the safety tools available and empowering parents with the knowledge they need to support their children to use these technologies safely and responsibly. |
 | www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety |
 | www.internetmatters.org |
 | www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers |
 | vodafonedigitalparenting.co.uk |
Supporting young people online (available in 12 different languages)
www.childnet.com/resources/supporting-young-people-online
Support in Norfolk
Norfolk Early Help Family Focus
www.Norfolk.gov.uk or 01603 223161
Ormiston Families
www.Ormiston.org
Victim Support (Norfolk)
www.victimsupport.org.uk or 0300 3030 165