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Safeguarding and Well-Being

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility…..ACT. 

Advice for Children

Every child has a right to be safe. Safeguarding means keeping you safe from any type of harm. All adults have a responsibility to protect you and it is the job of your parents or carers and adults such as teachers, learning mentors, doctors, nurses, social workers, police officers, faith leaders and sports coaches to ensure that you are safe.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, whether you are at home, school or are chatting online, you have the right to grow up safe from people hurting you or failing to ensure that you are cared for.

If you are worried about something that is happening to you or someone you know, you don’t have to deal with it on your own – visit the Childline website for advice: www.childline.org.uk 

You can also find other information here:

Safer Bradford - Young people

Advice for Parents

At Bowling Park Primary School we consider the safeguarding of children to be our most important priority. Children need to feel safe, cared for and valued in order to learn and thrive. In our school we follow the guidance set out in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ which states that schools must ensure they:

  • Protect children from maltreatment
  • Prevent the impairment of children’s health or development
  • Ensure children grow up in safe and effective care
  • Take action to ensure children achieve the best outcomes

To ensure the above guidelines are followed, we act to enable all children to have the best outcomes through our safeguarding measures regardless of their age, culture, physical needs, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and sexual identity. In order to do this, we have clear procedures in place to ensure that disclosures or allegations are taken seriously, recorded correctly and investigated.

Bowling Park Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection Policy which can be viewed on our Policies page.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

Worried about a child? 

If you’re worried that a child or young person is at risk or is being abused contact the Bradford Children’s Social Care Team on:

01274 433999 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm)

01274 431010 (Out of hours)

You’ll be asked for your details, but you can choose not to share them.

Call 999 if the child is at immediate risk, or call the police on 101 if you think a crime has been committed.

Talk to us about a child or young person – public | Bradford Children and Families Trust

The Safer Bradford website provides additional information on what to do if you are worried about a child. It also has information on Domestic Abuse and how to report a hate crime. 

Safer Bradford - Home

Key Staff in School

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mr Phillips

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Rahman, Mr Crowther, Mrs Singh, Miss Breslin, Miss McLindon, Miss Fowley

In addition, we have a Safeguarding Governor, who ensures school policies and practice are robustly implemented, this is Mrs Eileen Thompson

The main work of the Safeguarding Team

  1. Make sure all staff are aware how to raise safeguarding concern
  2. Ensure all staff understand the symptoms of child abuse and neglect
  3. Refer any concerns to social care
  4. Monitor children who are the subject of child protection plans
  5. Maintain accurate and secure child protection records

We also do lots of work with children to ensure they understand how to keep safe, from visits from the Fire Service and Water Safety Team - to weekly PSHE lessons (Personal, Social, Health Education). 

Working together to keep children safe

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

What if I need someone else to collect my child?

You can let the office know a password which only school and you know. Please give this password to the person who will be collecting your child. You do not need to let us know unless someone is collecting your child who has never done so before.

Further Advice

The link below is to impartial service offering advice, information and signposting to children, young people and families within the Bradford district. Here you can find information and advice pages for all aspects of family life, a service directory and a guide to local activities and events. If you can't find what you are looking for, we are here to help!

Home | Bradford Families and Young Persons

The Bradford Council Living Well website is a source of information for lots of health related subjects. There is a quiz section which covers a range of health topics which can help you to see areas where you might want to make changes. You can create an account to save your quiz results and also set personal goals with actions along the way.

You can access Bradford Council Living Well Services: Living Well Advisers, BEEP Exercise referral, help to quit smoking, weight management support and the Children and Families Adviser service. There’s also lots of information about local community groups, services and activities in the resources section.

Home • Living Well • Bradford District

We all know how hard it is being a parent. The NSPCC has a wide range of support - their parenting guides could be of interest:

Support & advice for parents | NSPCC

Positive parenting

Domestic Violence

West Yorkshire Police have created a simple online form to enable people to report domestic abuse directly to them and as an alternative to speaking on the phone.

The information people provide on the form will be dealt with in the same way as any other report of domestic abuse.

Link: Report Domestic Abuse

'Bradford District domestic abuse and sexual violence' support group work with victims of and survivors of domestic violence.

Home - Bradford DASV

Operation Encompass

We work closely with West Yorkshire Police and Victim Support Services so we are aware of any of our pupils who have been exposed to Domestic Violence. We offer support to victims of domestic violence. 

Parental Separation

The 'Separating Better' APP (link below) is designed to offer self-guided support for parents who are considering separation or are in the early stages of separation. The APP app offers emotional support and practical guidance. 

Separating better | OnePlusOne

Finances

The rising cost of everything is making it difficult to make ends meet. In this booklet from Bradford Council you can learn about some of the help there is in the district, some handy hints and tips to help you.

Cost of Living Bradford - Helping Bradford District residents get through the Cost of Living Crisis.

Family Hubs

A family hub is a place, or a group of places across the district, where local families along with their children and young people can go and receive the help and support they may need, as well as enjoying the facilities and activities we have on offer.

The Bradford Council Family Hubs are designed to bring lots of services together, to work with families from conception, through childhood into young people. Family hubs aim to make a positive difference for families by offering a wide range of services close to where you live.

Family Hubs | Bradford Council

Early Help

What is Early Help?

Early Help is the support provided for children, young people and their families to respond when difficulties emerge or to stop problems developing in the future. This support can be provided at any point in a child’s life to stop small problems getting bigger.

Early Help support is a partnership approach. All agencies that work with children, young people and families are responsible for listening to your concerns and worries. They will work closely with you to make sure that you and your family get the right support at the right time.

Why Would I want Early Help?

  • You are worried about your or your child or family member’s health, development, behaviour or how things are going at school
  • You are worried about money or housing and how it is affecting your family
  • You or your child or family is affected by domestic abuse, drugs, alcohol or crime
  • You have had bereavement in the family that has made life challenging
  • You are caring for a disabled child or you are a young person caring for other people

Find out more: Early Help | Bradford Children and Families Trust

Medicines in School

At Bowling Park Primary School we are an inclusive community that aims to support and welcome pupils with medical conditions.

We aim to provide all pupils with all medical conditions the same opportunities as others at school. We will help to ensure they can through the following:

  • The school ensures all staff understand their duty of care to children and young people in the event of an emergency.
  • All staff feel confident in knowing what to do in an emergency.
  • The school understands that certain medical conditions are serious and can be potentially life threatening, particularly if ill managed or misunderstood.
  • The school understands the importance of medication being taken as prescribed.
  • All staff understand the common medical conditions that affect children/young people at this school. This school allows adequate time for staff to receive training on the impact medical conditions can have on pupils.
  • Staff receive additional training about any children/young people they may be working with who have complex medical needs supported by an Individual Health Plan (IHP).

If your child requires medication during the school day, please contact the school office who will advise you on what you need to do. Please note, if your child requires medication administered 1-3 times per day we ask this is carried out at home.

Use of your child's photo

Whilst lots of parents and carers really enjoy seeing photos and videos of their children’s school life we are very mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images.

Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. This is emphasised before concerts and shows etc and where practical a record of parents and relatives taking photographs or videos is made.

We understand that in exceptional circumstances a parent or carer may not wish their child to be photographed or videoed in this way. If this is the case then please ensure the school office are informed of your wishes.

Occasionally, the local press will be invited to take photographs of school events and special achievements. We like to use photographs of our children on our website, in school documents, for parent information meetings, newsletters and on our display screens around the school. If you do not wish photographs of your child to be used for these purposes, then again, please ensure the school office are clear on your wishes.

Supporting Positive Mental Health

At Bowling Park, our work on supporting pupil's mental health has been recognised through achieving the: 'School's Mental Health Award: Silver'.

NGHS Accolades - Newport Girls' High School

We don't wait until our children's teeth are falling out to educate them on how to look after their dental health, and, at Bowling Park, we believe we should be just as proactive with our school curriculum in order to learn about mental health and wellbeing from a young age. This is done in a well-sequenced and age-appropriate way.

Our unique and diverse curriculum supports all children to understand that wellbeing is key to living a happy and successful life. Our aim is to give pupils the information they need to make good decisions about their mental health. Both our whole school offer more individualised support, enable children to recognise what is normal and what is an issue in both themselves and others. In addition, they know how to seek support if and when issues arise.

Our curriculum: My Happy Mind

A key part of our curriculum is promoting pupils’ self-control and ability to self-regulate using a range of strategies, thus enabling them to become confident in their ability to achieve well and persevere even when they encounter setbacks. In addition, stigma is reduced through the normalisation of discussions surrounding mental health and an atmosphere of open communication and honesty is fostered through the development of trusting and supportive relationships. This integrated, whole-school approach to the teaching of good mental health also has a positive impact on behaviour and attainment.

As per the DfE guidelines, by the end of their time at Bowling Park, pupils know:

  • that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health
  • that there is a normal range of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) and scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations
  • how to recognise and talk about their emotions, including having a varied vocabulary of words to use when talking about their own and others’ feelings
  • how to judge whether what they are feeling and how they are behaving is appropriate and proportionate
  • the benefits of physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation, voluntary and service-based activity on mental wellbeing and happiness
  • simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests
  • isolation and loneliness can affect children and that it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support
  • that bullying (including cyberbullying) has a negative and often lasting impact on mental wellbeing
  • where and how to seek support (including recognising the triggers for seeking support), including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions (including issues arising online)
  • it is common for people to experience mental ill health. For many people who do, the problems can be resolved if the right support is made available, especially if accessed early enough

Further Mental Health & Wellbeing Support 

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