Our Safeguarding Team

What to do if you are concerned about a child - ‘The welfare of the child is paramount’

At Kew Riverside School, keeping pupils safe and ensuring that every child reaches their potential underpins everything we do. Occasionally, things go wrong for our children and their families, and we take our responsibility for the children in our care very seriously, and we are here to help, support and guide as best we can. 
You can read our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, our E-Safety Policy and our most recent Safeguarding Audit (see below).

You can tell us about a child, young person or parent/carer that needs support in some way by contacting our Designated Safeguarding Leads, Liz Strong or Nell Webb, via the School Office or alternatively speaking to Rachel Roberts, the Deputy Safeguarding Lead. You may be concerned about the child's developmental needs, issues that the parent or carer is experiencing, or you may suspect a child is being neglected or subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

Our duty is outlined in detail within the Government document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, 2018. In essence, we have a duty to record and report concerns and work alongside local agencies to ensure children are adequately safeguarded from harm.

All details are treated confidentially and will only be shared with SPA (see below) if there are concerns that a child is at risk or when a child has made an allegation. It is always our aim to share our concerns transparently with the child’s parents or guardians before making a referral. However, we reserve our right to refer without consent if we are sufficiently concerned about a child’s safety, or we are unable to contact the parent/guardian after reasonable attempts have been made.

Single Point of Access (SPA)

You can also tell Richmond and Kingston Children’s Services, managed by Achieving for Children, about a child, young person or parent/carer that needs support in some way by contacting their Single Point of Access Team (SPA).

Richmond and Kingston SPA (Single Point of Access)

• Call 020 88547 5008 during office hours.
• Call the out of hours Duty Team (evenings and weekends) on 020 8770 5000.
• Report your concerns online
• In an emergency, if you think a child is in immediate danger, you should call 999.
• If you need to speak to someone urgently outside office hours, please call the Duty Social Worker 020 8744 2442.

Useful links for Parents and Carers:

• Guidance for Parents using Private Tutors
• Facebook Parents Guide
• Fortnite Parents Guide
• Instagram Parents Guide
• Snapchat Parents Guide
• WhatsApp Parents Guide
• YouTube Parents Guide

 

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.

• This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from any other harm.
• Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, at an appropriate level so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice at Kew Riverside Primary School?

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

• Focusing on our core school values.
• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity.
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

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 also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. This is what we will focus on at Whitehouse Primary School.

The school 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 extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others.

We will endeavour to give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

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 contact the school.

See our Prevent Risk Assessment below.

 

 

Further information: Mental Health

If you or someone you know is suffering with mental health problems, there are many professionals who will be able to help you. You are very welcome to come in to school to speak to Ardeep who is our Mental Health Lead .  We may encourage you to seek support from your GP.  Alternatively, you may find these links helpful:

• Mind, Mental Health Charity
• Richmond Wellbeing Service
• NHS

Further information: Domestic Abuse

If you or someone you know would like help with issues related to abuse, again you are welcome to seek support through school, your GP or the Police. You may also find these links helpful:

Royal Mail Safer Space (scroll to the bottom of the site and click on 'safer space') 

• Richmond Refuge Service  
• Domestic Violence Helpline
• CAFCASS

Government help pages

• Information on local support services for sufferers of domestic abuse
• Richmond LEAFLET FOR PUBLIC FINAL (Richmond)
• Richmond LEAFLET FINAL FOR PROFESSIONALS FINAL