Child Protection Procedures at Judgemeadow

Judgemeadow operates a Child Protection Policy in line with legal requirements. As parents / carers you need to know that the Children Act 1989 requires all College staff to pass on information which raises concerns that a child may be at risk from non-accidental injury, neglect, emotional or sexual abuse.

Keeping Children Safe in Education Information for Parents/Carers leaflet

This procedure is intended to protect children and schools are encouraged to take the attitude that where there are grounds for concern it is better to be over-cautious than risk a child’s safety. They therefore have an unavoidable duty to contact the Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Occasionally, this duty on the Principal and other Designated Senior Persons means that they must risk upsetting some parents by reporting a concern that, upon investigation, proves to be unfounded. In these circumstances, it is hoped that parents / carers will appreciate how difficult it is for schools to carry out this delicate responsibility and accept that they are acting in good faith and have to take these steps in the best interest of children.

The Governing Body is responsible for ensuring that the College follows the procedures set out by the Local Safeguarding Children Board in the ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ guidance. This guidance is underpinned by the 2004 Children Act. Detailed information is available on the website www.lscb-llr.org.uk.

The H.M. Government publication: ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ provides the guidance for child protection procedures at Judgemeadow.

In most cases of child protection the Governing Body will delegate responsibility to the Principal.

Child Protection & Safeguarding Document

operation encompass

All Leicester City and Leicestershire County schools are part of Operation Encompass which is a safeguarding initiative aimed at improving outcomes for children and families affected by domestic violence and abuse.

Operation Encompass is a protocol whereby schools are formally notified of any reported incident of domestic violence at an address at which children are present or normally resident. It is run in partnership with Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council and with Leicestershire Police.

All public agencies currently share information where there are safeguarding concerns or risk of harm to children and the Police now share information about all incidents of domestic abuse through Operation Encompass.

To further support the welfare of children, when any domestic abuse incident has been reported to the Police during the school term and one of our pupils was in the household, the information is shared with the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

This system has been introduced because domestic abuse in a household can have a huge impact on children, even if they do not see what is happening.

This information will be used to ensure the school is able to provide appropriate support to pupils. The information will remain confidential and will only be shared on a strictly need-to-know basis. For example, with the class teacher. It will not be shared with children.

Child Protection

Child Protection Procedures at Judgemeadow

operation encompass

If you would like to speak to someone in confidence about domestic abuse, call the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Domestic Abuse Helpline on

0800 802 0028