Safeguarding at Breightmet School is taken very seriously and we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our children. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment.

Keeping pupils safe is the primary responsibility that runs through every element of the schools work and staff are empowered to report concerns.

Whether you are a parent, carer, family, friend or neighbour we can all play our part in keeping children safe, happy and well.

Breightmet School has robust procedures in place in relation to the protection of those in our care. Our procedures work in line with Stockport Safeguarding policies and current legislation. These procedures are embedded with our staff through our ongoing training programmes.

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.

To promote a safe environment Breightmet School employs a strict selection and recruitment policy which includes all statutory checks on staff and regular volunteers including Enhanced DBS (disclosure and barring service) checks.

At Breightmet School we operate a whistleblowing policy for staff and students to ensure that staff should have no fear about reporting any such concerns and work closely with other agencies to ensure that pupils’ and families’ needs are met.

NOTICE

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 (KCSIE)

The Department for Education (DfE) has published an updated version of the statutory Safeguarding and Child Protection guidance for schools in England, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) (DfE, 2025).

This guidance will replace KCSIE 2024 when it comes into force on 1 September 2025.

• We aim to protect and safeguard your children from the potential risk of harm and that the safety and wellbeing of the children are of the highest priority in all aspects of our school’s work.
• Like all school we must have a safeguarding and child protection policy, the policy in place ensures that all members of your school community:
• Re aware of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection.
• Know the procedures that should be followed if they have a cause for concern.
• Know where to go to find additional information regarding safeguarding.
• Are aware of the key indicators relating to child abuse.

 As a school we work from the government document ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ this document underpins our policies and our everyday work to ensure your child is safe at all times from any harm or potential risk of harm including all types of abuse.

Safeguarding also means we work to protect your child from issues such as radicalisation, online safety, and child sexual exploitation.

If you require more information please contact:

School Senior Leadership Team:

The Headteacher – Mrs Carol Nolan is the Designated Safeguard Lead

Miss Kia Needham – Senior Leader – Pastoral who is our  Deputy  Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)