Pauntley C of E Primary School

Pauntley C of E Primary School

GPP Federation

Designated Safeguarding Lead Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION: DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD (and DDSL in the absence of DSL)

Responsible to: Executive Head Teacher

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is a senior member of the schools leadership team, with a legal responsibility for dealing with safeguarding issues, providing advice and support to staff, liaising with the Local Authority and working with a range of other agencies. The DSL does have the status and authority within the management structure to carry out the duties of the post. Whilst deputies can carry out delegated activities, the ultimate lead responsibility remains with the designated safeguarding lead. The lead responsibilities cannot be delegated.

 

Manage referrals

The designated safeguarding lead is expected to:

  • Refer cases of suspected abuse to the local authority children’s social care as required;
  • Support staff who make referrals to local authority children’s social care;
  • Refer cases to the Channel programme where there is a radicalisation concern as required;
  • Support staff who make referrals to the Channel programme;
  • Refer cases where a person is dismissed or left due to risk/harm to a child to the Disclosure and Barring Service as required; and
  • Refer cases where a crime may have been committed to the Police as required.

Work with others

The designated safeguarding lead is expected to:

  • Act as a source of support, advice and expertise for all staff
  • Act as a point of contact with the three safeguarding partners
  • Liaise with the head teacher to inform them of issues especially ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and police investigations;
  • Work closely with relevant staff to ensure all processes and procedures with regard to safeguarding and safer recruitment are in place and adhered to;
  • As required, liaise with the “case manager” (as per Part 4 KCSiE) and the designated officer(s) at the local authority for child protection concerns in cases which concern a staff member;
  • Liaise with staff (especially teachers, pastoral support staff, school nurses, IT Technicians, Senior Mental Health Leads and SENDCo) on matters of safety and safeguarding (including online and digital safety) and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically;
  • Liaise with the Mental Health Team where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health;
  • Promote supportive engagement with parents and/or carers in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances;
  • Take lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes by knowing the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and identifying the impact that these issues might be having on children’s attendance, engagement and achievement at school. This includes: Ensuring that school knows who has a social worker; Understanding their academic progress and attainment and Maintaining a culture of high aspirations;
  • Support teaching staff to provide additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to help children who have a social worker, reach their potential, recognising that even when statutory social care interventions have ended, there is still a lasting impact on children’s educational outcomes.

 

Training

The designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) should undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. This training should be updated at least every two years. The designated safeguarding lead should undertake Prevent awareness training.

 In addition to the formal training set out above, their knowledge and skills should be refreshed (this might be via e-bulletins, meeting other designated safeguarding leads, or simply taking time to read and digest safeguarding developments) at regular intervals, as required, and at least annually, to allow them to understand and keep up with any developments relevant to their role. Training should provide designated safeguarding leads with a good understanding of their own role, how to identify, understand and respond to specific needs that can increase the vulnerability of children, as well as specific harms that can put children at risk, and the processes, procedures and responsibilities of other agencies, particulary children’s social care, so they:

  • Understand the assessment process for providing early help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action and local authority children’s social care referral arrangements.
  • Have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference and be able to attend and contribute to these effectively when required to do so;
  • Understand the importance of the role the designated safeguarding lead has in providing information and support to children’s social care in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
  • Understand the lasting impact that adversity and trauma can have, including on children’s behaviour, mental health and wellbeing, and what is needed in responding to this in promoting educational outcomes;
  • Are alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs, relevant health conditions and young carers;
  • Understand and support the school with regards to the requirements of the Prevent duty and are able to provide advice and support to staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation;
  • Are able to understand the unique risks associated with online safety and be confident that they have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep children safe whilst they are online at school;
  • Can recognise the additional risks that children with SEN and disabilities (SEND) face online, for example, from online bullying, grooming and radicalisation and are confident they have the capability to support SEND children to stay safe online; • Obtain access to resources and attend any relevant or refresher training courses;

Providing Support to Staff

Training should support the designated safeguarding lead in developing expertise, so they can support and advise staff and help them feel confident on welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters. This includes specifically to:

  • Ensure that staff are supported during referral processes; and
  • Support staff to consider how safeguarding, welfare and educational outcomes are linked, including to inform the provision of academic and pastoral support.

Raise Awareness

 The designated safeguarding lead should:

  • Ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands the schools safeguarding policy and procedures, especially new and part-time staff;
  • Ensure the school’s safeguarding policy is reviewed annually (as a minimum) and the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly, in conjunction with other polices and work with governing bodies or proprietors regarding this;
  • Ensure the safeguarding policy is available publicly and parents are aware of the fact that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made and the role of the school in this; and
  • Link with the safeguarding partner arrangements to make sure staff are aware of any training opportunities and the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements;
  • Help promote educational outcomes by sharing the information about welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children, including children with a social worker, are experiencing or have experienced, with teachers and school leadership staff. The role could include ensuring that the school, and their staff, know who these children are, understand their academic progress and attainment and maintain a culture of high aspirations for this cohort;
  • Supporting teaching staff to identify the challenges that children in this group might face and the additional academic support and adjustments that they could make to best support these children.

 

Information Sharing and Managing Child Protection Files

 Holding and Sharing Information

The critical importance of recording, holding, using and sharing information effectively is set out in Parts 1, 2 and 5 of KCSiE, and therefore the designated safeguarding lead should be equipped to:

  • Understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school, and with other schools on transfer including in-year and between primary and secondary education, and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners;
  • Understand relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR); and
  • To be able to keep detailed, accurate, secure written records of concerns and referrals and understand the purpose of this record-keeping.
  • The designated safeguarding lead is responsible for ensuring that child protection files are kept up to date Information should be kept confidential and stored securely. It is good practise to keep concerns and referrals in a separate file for each child.

Records should include:

  • A clear and comprehensive summary of the concern;
  • Details of how the concern was followed up and resolved;
  • A note of action taken, decisions reached and the outcome.

They should ensure the file is only accessed by those who need to see it and where the file or content within it is shared, this happens in line with information sharing advice as set out in Part 1 and Part 2 of KCSiE.

Where children leave the school the designated safeguarding lead should ensure their child protection file is transferred to the new school as soon as possible and within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within the first 5 days of the start of the new term. This should be transferred separately from the main pupil file, ensuring secure transit, and confirmation of receipt should be obtained. Receiving schools should ensure key staff such as designated safeguarding leads and SENCOs or the named person with oversight for SEN are aware as required.

Lack of information about their circumstances can impact on the child’s safety, welfare and educational outcomes. In additional to the child protection file, the designated safeguarding lead should also consider if it would be appropriate to share any additional information with the new school in advance of a child leaving to help them put in place the right support to safeguard this child and to help the child thrive in the school. For example, information to allow the school to continue supporting children who have asocial worker and been victims of abuse and have that support in place for when the child arrives.

Understanding the views of the child

 It is important that children feel heard and understood. Therefore, the designated safeguarding lead should support in developing knowledge and skills to:

  • Encourage a culture of listening to the child and taking into account of their wishes and feelings, among all staff, and in any measures the school may put in place to protect them; and
  • Understand the difficulties that children may have in approaching staff about their circumstances and consider how to build trusted relationships which facilitate communication.

Availability

During term time the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will always be available (during school hours) for staff in the school to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Whilst generally speaking the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) would be expected to be available in person, in exceptional circumstances availability via phone and or Skype or other such media will be used.

If you need to contact the DSL out of school hours please email kselwyn@newentfed.org or telephone 07807159980

Designated Safeguarding Lead Kay Selwyn

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead Ollie Tuck.

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