Information Sharing about Safeguarding Concerns – a note for parents.

As a school we have statutory guidance from the government that we must follow in order to play our part in keeping children safe.  Two of these documents are Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2016) and Working Together to Safeguard Children.  An example of what these documents tell us is:

“Everyone who works with children – including teachers, GPs, nurses, midwives, health visitors, early years professionals, youth workers, police, Accident and Emergency staff, paediatricians, voluntary and community workers and social workers – has a responsibility for keeping them safe."

No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.” (Working Together to Safeguard Children)

This means that we are required to share certain information about your child, or your family with other agencies, including Social Care.  It is natural for parents/carers to feel anxious if they are told that information is being shared with Social Care; you might have had a negative experience in the past, heard bad things from others, or just be afraid that this means your child will be removed from you.  If we do contact you to tell you that we are sharing information with others please try not to panic – this is done partly because we have to, and mainly because we share information to keep all children safe.  It does not mean that we believe that you are abusing your child.

If you have any worries or concerns about information being shared then please speak to our staff about it, we might be able to reassure you and explain the process to help you feel more comfortable.

Thank you for working with us to keep all of the children that attend our school safe.