Ashdon Primary School
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Keeping Children Safe
“Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone's responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play.”
Keeping Children Safe in Education, Department for Education
Safeguarding and Child Protection at Ashdon Primary School
At Ashdon, keeping children safe is not a separate piece of work that sits alongside everything else. It is the foundation everything else is built on. We are a small village school and we know our children and their families well — but we never let that knowledge make us complacent. Every adult who works or volunteers here shares responsibility for the safety and welfare of every child.
Safeguarding means more than responding when something has gone wrong. It means:
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protecting children from maltreatment
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preventing the impairment of children's mental and physical health or development
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making sure children grow up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care
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taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Our safeguarding team
These are the people at Ashdon with specific responsibility for safeguarding and child protection. You can speak to any of them, and you do not need to explain why you want to — just ask at the office.
School office: 01799 584219 · admin@ashdon.essex.sch.uk
Our Safeguarding Team poster is displayed in the school foyer and staffroom, and a copy is below. It shows the faces of every adult in school, because we want children to know that they can talk to any of us.
If you are worried about a child
Please tell us. We would far rather hear about something that turns out to be nothing than miss something that mattered. You do not need to be certain, and it is not your job to investigate — that is ours.
During the school day
Call the school on 01799 584219 and ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or a Deputy, or come into the office. If it is urgent, say so and we will find someone straight away.
If a child is in immediate danger
Call 999.
Do not wait to contact the school first.
Outside school hours, or if you would rather not come to us
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Essex Children and Families Hub — 0345 603 7627 (Monday to Thursday 9am–5.30pm, Friday 9am–4.30pm)
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Out of hours and bank holidays — 0345 606 1212
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NSPCC Helpline (for adults) — 0808 800 5000
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Childline (for children) — 0800 1111
What happens if we have a concern about your child
Most safeguarding work in a school like ours is quiet and early. It looks like a conversation, a bit of practical help, or a referral to a service that can support your family before a difficulty grows. Very few concerns become anything more than that.
When a member of staff notices something, they record it on Cura, our secure safeguarding recording system, and pass it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. She decides what needs to happen next.
In almost every case, our first step is to talk to you. We know these conversations can be difficult, and we have them because we are trying to help your child, not because we are judging you. Occasionally we have to seek advice or make a referral without speaking to you first — but only where telling you would put a child at greater risk of harm or interfere with a police investigation. This is set out in our Child Protection Policy and in the national guidance we follow.
How we record and store information
Safeguarding concerns are recorded on Cura, a secure system that only our safeguarding team can access. Records are kept separately from your child's general school file, held in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and passed securely to a new school if your child moves. You can find more about how we handle personal data in our privacy notices.
If your concern is about an adult at the school
Please still tell us. Concerns about the conduct of an adult towards a child are taken as seriously as any other, and there is a clear route for raising them.
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If your concern is about a member of staff or a volunteer, speak directly to Mrs Reynecke-Raybould, the Headteacher — not to the person concerned.
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If your concern is about the Headteacher, ask the school office for the contact details of Rev. Brenda Brundritt, our Chair of Governors, and/or contact the Essex Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) directly on 03330 139 797.
Visitors to our school
Parents sometimes ask how we know who is in the building. Everyone who visits Ashdon — including contractors, sports coaches, visiting speakers and volunteers — is subject to the same expectations, and every visitor reads and signs our Visitor Safeguarding Notice before going beyond the office.
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All visitors must show valid photographic identification on arrival. Anyone who cannot may be refused entry.
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Visitors sign in, wear a visitor badge visibly at all times, and stay in the areas they have been directed to.
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Visitors do not approach pupils unless accompanied by a member of staff, and never share personal contact details with a child.
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Photography and recording of any kind, including on mobile phones, is not permitted without the Headteacher's written permission.
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Any visitor who has a concern, or who is told something by a child, must report it to the DSL or a Deputy before leaving the premises.
DBS checks
All staff and governors hold an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a children's barred list check, and these are recorded on our Single Central Record. We follow the safer recruitment procedures set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education, including checks on identity, right to work, qualifications and references.
Visitors who will have regular or unsupervised contact with children must provide evidence of a current enhanced DBS certificate before that access is granted. Any visitor without one — including a parent helping on a one-off basis — remains supervised by a member of staff at all times. This is not a comment on anyone's character; it is simply how we make sure that supervision, rather than assumption, does the work.
Helping children keep themselves safe
Children who understand their own rights, and who know that adults will listen, are safer children. Through our PSHE and relationships education, our computing and online safety teaching, assemblies and everyday conversations, we teach our pupils to recognise when something is not right, to speak up, and to know that it is never their fault and they will never be in trouble for telling us.
Our children also have a pupil-facing version of the Safeguarding Team poster in school, which tells them in their own words who they can talk to and reminds them that they do not have to keep a worry secret.
Online safety
Online safety is part of our safeguarding provision, not a separate concern. We filter and monitor internet access on all school devices in line with Department for Education standards, and we teach children about content, contact, conduct and commerce risks — including the risks that come with artificial intelligence tools, misinformation and online games. Advice and resources for families are on our Online Safety page.
Our safeguarding policies
These documents set out our approach in full. Paper copies are available free of charge from the school office on request.
Support for families
If your family is going through a difficult time, help is available and asking for it early makes a real difference. We can help you find the right service — please just ask.
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Essex Children and Families Hub — advice and requests for support, 0345 603 7627
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Essex Local Offer — services for children and young people with SEND
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NSPCC — advice for adults worried about a child, 0808 800 5000
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Childline — free, confidential support for children, 0800 1111
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Internet Matters — practical online safety advice for parents
