Our school is committed to safeguarding children and promoting children’s welfare and expects all staff, governors, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment and maintain a vigilant and safe environment. Everyone has a responsibility to act, without delay, to protect children by reporting anything that might suggest a child is being abused, neglected or exploited. It is our willingness to work safely and challenge inappropriate behaviours that underpins this commitment. The school seeks to work in partnership with families and other agencies to improve the outcomes for children who are vulnerable or in need.
The Headteacher is: Mrs Evans
The Chair of Governors is: Miss S Pennington
The Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection is: Mrs Evans
Those trained to provide cover for the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead are: Mrs Pender
The nominated Link Safeguarding / Child Protection Governor is: Ms McGee
The nominated governor for dealing with allegations against the Head Teacher is: Miss S Pennington
Mental Health Lead is : Miss Bauress
Below are some of the school's safeguarding policies (not exhaustive)
At Matthew Arnold we strive to provide a caring ethos where everyone in the school community feels safe, confident, valued and respected. We participate in a police led initiative called Operation Encompass. This is a partnership between schools and the police that helps schools to better support any child where a domestic incident has been reported to police from their home.
Following a domestic incident, the police will make contact with the child’s school via a secure email (usually the next day) and will communicate relevant information to a nominated, fully-trained member of our safeguarding team. This will ensure that as a school, we are made aware early enough, to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe, supported and listened to. It will also provide an opportunity for school to offer support to the whole family.
The initiative was launched force-wide at the beginning of 2015. It is active in all Merseyside schools. You can find out more about Operation Encompass via the following site: OperationEncompass.org
If you would like to speak to someone further about the initiative, or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our safeguarding team.