Safeguarding Information

Safeguarding at our School

At Westover Green Community School and Autism Centre, we are fully committed to keeping every child safe, happy, and able to thrive. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and we work together with pupils, parents, staff, governors, and external agencies to ensure that our school remains a safe and nurturing environment.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We work in line with statutory guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Our safeguarding procedures ensure that:

Children feel safe, supported, and listened to
Concerns are identified early and responded to quickly
Staff are trained to recognise signs of harm and know how to report concerns
We work closely with families and safeguarding partners when support is needed

Safeguarding includes child protection, online safety, behaviour and anti‑bullying, health and safety, attendance, and the emotional wellbeing of all pupils. We use a system called cpoms to record safeguarding concerns. We are also a Mental Health Support Team School and our Senior mental Health Lead is: Mrs Rachel Elliott (Deputy Headteacher). Please see links below for relevant policies.

We also recognise that education is paramount keeping children safe. We deliver safeguarding information at a child appropriate level during PSHE lessons and by sourcing external visitors to extend the curriculum and deliver important aspects of the curriculum such as the Police, ambulance, RLNI, SARI (stand against racism and inequality) to name a few.

Please see below for our overview of safeguarding within our curriculum at Westover.

'coming soon'

Key Safeguarding Roles

If you ever have a concern about a child’s safety or wellbeing, please contact a member of our safeguarding team:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs Rachel Elliott (Deputy Headteacher)
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead(s): Miss Jo Hale (Headteacher), Mrs Emma Keitch (family liaison worker), Mrs Rose Webb (SENCo), Mrs Tracy Pople (ASC)
Safeguarding Governor: Sarah Chen
Designated Teacher for Looked after children: Mrs Rose Webb (SENCo)

You can contact the safeguarding team via the school office or by email: safeguarding@westovergreenschool.org.uk

All staff members at Westover Green Community School have an important role to play in helping to identify welfare concerns and possible indicators of abuse or neglect at an early stage.

The Role of the Family Liaison Worker

Emma Keitch, our Family Liaison Worker, is an integral member of our safeguarding team. She is often the first point of contact for early intervention and support. With her extensive knowledge and experience, she is able to offer practical advice, signpost families to appropriate services, and provide guidance tailored to individual needs. Emma works closely with parents, carers, and staff to help children feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

Safeguarding Policies

We have a range of policies in place to ensure the safety of all children. These include:

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Online Safety Policy
Behaviour and Anti‑Bullying Policy
Safer Recruitment Policy
Health & Safety Policy

All policies are available on our website or from the school office.

Safeguarding - child protection policy 2025 - 2026

Safeguarding - child on child abuse policy

Online Safety

We teach children how to stay safe online and use technology responsibly. Our filtering and monitoring systems protect pupils when using school devices, and we regularly share advice with parents about supporting online safety at home.

Visitors and Volunteers

All visitors must:

Sign in at reception
Wear their visitor badge at all times
Follow safeguarding procedures
Report any concerns immediately

All staff, governors, and regular volunteers receive safeguarding training and are checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Working Together With Families

We believe children thrive when school and home work in partnership. If you ever need support—whether related to wellbeing, attendance, or family circumstances—please talk to us. We are here to help.

What To Do If You Have a Concern

We encourage parents, carers, and visitors to speak up if they are worried about a child. You can:

Speak to a member of the safeguarding team
Contact the school office
Speak to any member of staff—your concern will always be passed on

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, contact 999.

You can also contact your local authority children’s services directly if you have a concern or the DSL's are not available:

Somerset Children’s Social Care – 0300 123 2224

Mobile phone usage

As part of our commitment to keeping children safe at Westover we have implemented a keen 'phones should not be seen' approach in school. Please see our website for our mobile phone usage guidance regarding staff, pupils and parents. We provide safe adult only areas for staff and insist on clear guidance followed by pupils which includes as signed pupil/parental agreement, insist on the phone being turned off, handed in and locked away on entry and explicitly no use of the mobile phone on site. We advise only older pupils who may travel independently to and/or from school to bring a mobile phone, for safety. We provide lockers for staff and visitor valuables/personal belongings including a mobile phone.

Mobile Phone Usage Guidance and Agreement

The following websites provided useful information relating to safeguarding children: