Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of any of our pupils, then you have a duty to report it immediately to a member of our Designated Safeguarding Team.

(Mrs Gittins Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), Miss Colledge Deputy DSL, Mrs Lambert Deputy DSL, Ms Turner Deputy DSL)

At Bishop Hooper CE VA Primary School, safeguarding and child protection is paramount and we are fully committed to ensuring the welfare and safety of all our children.

We believe that all pupils have a right to learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment which includes the right to protection from all types of abuse; where staff are vigilant for signs of any pupil in distress and are confident about applying the processes to avert and alleviate any such problems.

Our key aims are to ensure:

• All our pupils are safe and protected from harm
• Other elements of provision and policies are in place to enable pupils to feel safe and adopt safe practices.
• Staff, pupils, governors, visitors, volunteers and family members are aware of the expected behaviours and the school's legal responsibilities in relation to the safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils.

We believe that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and as such, our school aims to create the safest environment within which every pupil will flourish and reach their potential. We recognise the importance of us ensuring our pupils know how to seek support and feel they will be listened to and appropriate action taken. We do this by working in partnership with other agencies and professionals and by seeking to establish effective working relationships between parents, carers, and other colleagues to develop and provide activities and opportunities throughout our curriculum that will help to equip our children with the skills they need. This includes materials and learning experiences that will encourage our children to develop essential life skills and protective behaviours.

At Bishop Hooper School, we work hard to ensure every member of our school family feels safe from bullying, safe from people who could abuse, safe from discrimination, safe from harassment and safe in our environment.

Prevent Strategy

What is the Prevent strategy?

• Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.
• The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups, and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

• From July 2015, all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.
• We have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from other harm.
• We provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, at an appropriate levels so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice at Bishop Hooper School?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children to become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

• Having a strong ethos of mutual love and respect based on our school rule of 'Do to others what you would have them do to you.' (Matthew 7:12)
• Focussing on our 12 core values.
• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
• Developing critical thinking and a strong, positive identity and moral compass.
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
• Promoting, exploring and upholding the core British values.

We also protect children from the risk of radicalisation by having strong security filters on the internet to make sure they can't access extremist or terrorist material and by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Isn't my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. This is what we focus on at Bishop Hooper School. We will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremis. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others.

Further information

Contact the school - if you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent strategy and what it means for your child, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

See our policies - you will find more details in our safeguarding and related policies which can be found in the policies section of our website. We also have information about spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British Values.