How we make sure everyone is safe

St Mark’s CE  Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you're worried about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person who lives in Dorset and this is outside of school hours then you can call Children's Advice and Duty Service (ChAD) - 

We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, children and staff at school. 

We always:

• Ensure we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children.
• Raise awareness of child protection issues and equip children with the skills needed to keep them safe.
• Develop and implement procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse.
• Support pupils who have been abused in accordance with the agreed child protection plan
• Establish a safe environment in which children can learn and develop.
• Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel secure and are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
• Ensure that children know that there are adults in the school who they can approach if they are worried or are in difficulty.
• Plan activities and opportunities which equip children with the skills they need to stay safe from abuse
• Include in the curriculum material which will help children develop realistic attitudes to the responsibilities of adult life – where appropriate for the age of the child.
• Ensure that wherever possible every effort will be made to establish effective working relationships with parents and colleagues from other agencies.
• We are compliant with 'sharing of information' guidance.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is: Ms Al Stephens

The Deputy Safeguarding Leads are: Mrs R. Martin, Mrs S. Burton and Mrs Brierley  

If you have any concerns about the welfare of any pupil at St Mark’s C.E. Primary School please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Safeguarding team.

Our DSLs are trained in line with guidance from KCSIE September 2023. They also receive termly professional supervision and attend local working groups regarding contextual safeguarding in our community. 

Parents and carers are welcome to read the Policy on request; a copy of the policy can be found below along with other useful links.

Operation Encompass - Dorset Police

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information safeguarding partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse.

Operation Encompass ensures that there is a notification to a school’s trained Designated Safeguarding Lead /Officer prior to the start of the next school day after an incident of police attended domestic abuse where there are children related to either of the adult parties involved.

This sharing of information enables appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs of the child. 

In creating this partnership with Operation Encompass, St Mark's CE Primary School’s safeguarding staff, also offer a non-judgemental listening ear, in a safe space, to any adult victim of Domestic Abuse and their families. They can provide guidance and advice with respect to next steps of support.

Safeguarding Policies

For our Safeguarding Policies please visit our policy page by clicking here

We work closely with many agencies including Children's Social Care, The Police, The Fire Service, NSPCC and Escapeline to safeguard our pupils. 

The links below may be helpful and informative for parents: