The following is a brief guide to what happens when we have a concern. Please see the links at the bottom of the page if you have any questions or would like more information.

Any staff member, visitor, volunteer, parent, or child can raise a concern about a child's safety or welfare.

How?

• Staff have access to a system called CPOMS and must use it to record (write) their concern.
  • Visitors and supply staff have access to a concern form, which they must complete and hand to a member of the safeguarding team.
  • CPOMS automatically alerts our safeguarding team to the concern
  • For serious child protection concerns, everyone is expected to speak in person with a member of the safeguarding team and submit a written report.
• The Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mrs Briggs) or one of the deputies will respond to the concern as soon as possible and immediately if it is potentially very serious; if a child is thought to have been significantly harmed or will be significantly harmed, for example.

What will Mrs Briggs or one of the deputies do?

1. The child will be spoken to. 
   1. This is done very carefully. The safeguarding team is trained to speak to children about what may have happened to them or what they are worried about, compassionately, respectfully, and without leading the conversation or asking leading questions.
   2. Children are not interrogated.
   3. Children are believed.
   4. Secrets are never kept, and promises to keep them are never made
   5. Children are told if further action needs to be taken, what this is and if they are OK with it
2. Parents or Carers will be contacted
   1. ​​​​​​​In most cases, parents/ carers will be asked to come to school to speak to two safeguarding team members.
   2. A record will be made of the conversation. One team member will lead, and the other will take notes, which will be added to the CPOMS record.
   3. We will explain our duty of care and possible next steps.
   4. Parents/ Carers will be listened to and treated respectfully. But it is not our job to decide what happened or investigate beyond listening to and accurately reporting what a child has said or how they presented.
   5. Parents/ Carers will be challenged appropriately.

What are the possible next steps?

1. Advice and offer of support.​​​​​​​
   1. The safeguarding team may agree that contact with the Safeguarding Hub is unnecessary and will advise families and offer support.
   2. The school could offer support, refer to a Family Intervention Service (FIS) advice session, or make an early help referral.
2. Contacting the Safeguarding Hub
   1. The safeguarding team may decide to refer via the Safeguarding Hub.​​​​​​​
   2. The Safeguarding Hub is staffed by Social Care Workers
   3. A social worker will listen to the concern and a joint decision about what needs to happen next will be agreed.

Why do you believe very young children?

• We do not choose between the child and the parents/ carers when there is a disagreement about what has happened.
• We record what both parties say and refer to statutory agencies that can investigate and make such decisions.
• All the staff at Phillimore would rather be wrong 100 times so as not to miss the 1 child that really needs our help.