The school has carried out criminal record checks on all staff members and volunteers within our school. From June 2013 the school expects all new staff to complete a Disclosure and Barring service check and bring the relevant paperwork to the Headteacher or office as soon as possible. All contracts are conditional on a clear Disclosure and Barring check.
All staff and volunteers at the school are given an Induction briefing which outlines the school’s safeguarding, health and safety and radicalisation procedures. They are also asked to read and familiarise themselves with school policies. We ask that anyone working in the school turn mobile phones to silent and do not refer to them when working with children.
All staff at the school is up to date with current procedures for keeping children safe in education and everyone is committed to ensuring that this is a high priority for our school. In addition to this all of our staff have recently completed the Prevent training. They have learned how to identify people at risk of radicalisation and how to report any issues to the authorities. If you suspect a person is at risk of radicalisation or displays extremist views you can talk to Mrs Clark about your concerns who will help you decide what to do next.
Mrs Sturgeon and Mrs. Oates are the e-safety leads and have completed the Suffolk County Council e-safety training course. Our school website has links to sites that offer advice and information about on-line safety. We recommend that you visit these sites regularly for the most up to date advice.
If you would like support or advice on any safeguarding issues you can contact any of our staff or our safeguarding leads.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is the headteacher, Mrs Clare Clark and the Alternate Designated Safeguarding Leads are Mrs. Annette Maguire and Mrs Nikki Swinstead, The safeguarding governor is Mrs. Diane Grimes.
Early Help
From time to time, we all go through situations which are difficult to cope with and at Rougham we want to support parents and families when things are tough. Early Help means taking action to support a child, young person or their family early in the life of a problem, as soon as it emerges.
Early Help Offer
We pride ourselves in knowing our children well: we are alert to the welfare of our children, and are vigilant regarding any situation in which we can provide support. We have a number of systems in place to identify unmet needs, and we seek at all times to work in collaboration with families, with openness and understanding. The needs of the child is always at the centre of all we do.
If you are having difficulties, or struggling with anything at home, please come and talk to us. We have what we call an 'offer of early help'. There are many ways in which we can help.
Early Help is everyone’s responsibility. As such, you can speak with any member of the school team who would be happy to work with you, or pass your concerns on to one of the Safeguarding Leads. Usually, class teachers, our Wellbeing, Behaviour and Family Support Practitioner (Mrs. Swinstead) or staff working in the Office are the first contact for the child or the family.
Listed below is our school offer;
• Taking the time to listen to children’s concerns. Each class has a named class teaching assistant, who is available to chat to pupils when they feel they have a problem they would like to share.
• Nurture sessions for individuals or groups
• Mrs. Swinstead is our Wellbeing, Behaviour and Family Support Practitioner. She is on the playground at the start of the day for parents and children to talk to and spends her afternoons working with children and families that need support.
• Taking the time to listen to families. Sometimes, you might need to share information or have a difficult situation you need to make us aware of. We will listen. We have families too!
• We have an effective PSHE curriculum which supports children and develops key skills, not only for school but for life.
• We can signpost families to parenting courses. These aren’t sessions to tell you how to do it, but an opportunity to share what works and sometimes what doesn’t!
• There are a number of support agencies out there who we can access, refer to, or signpost you to e.g. The Parent Hub, Suffolk The Emotional Wellbeing Hub, School Nursing Team, Newmarket Open Door Foodbank, .
There are also agencies which you can contact independently should you wish to do so, who might be able to help and provide the support for your family.