Safeguarding

At Booker Hill, Mr Stuart Ball (Deputy Headteacher) is the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead. Mr Ball is supported in this role by the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Clare Dimishky (Headteacher), Mrs Claire Andrews (SENDCO), Ms Karim (Assistant Headteacher) and Ms Elmarie Marx (EYFS Lead) -  all of whom have also completed Designated Safeguarding Lead training. Our Safeguarding Governor is Mr Matt McCormack.

At Booker Hill, the happiness, health, safety and well-being of every child is our paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is for all children to enjoy every moment of their time as pupils at our school. We work in partnership with parents, carers and families to help the children achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.

During our most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2018 (click here to read the report) the school was praised for its effective approach to safeguarding. The inspector found that, "Staff are well trained and knowledgeable about how to keep pupils safe.....Leaders know pupils well and keep up to date about potential risk to individuals in their community. Timely and appropriate referrals are made to external agencies and tenaciously followed up when needed....Pupils said they feel safe and secure. All parents who responded to Ofsted's online survey said that their children feel safe at school."

To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes checks on the suitability of staff and regular volunteers, as recommended by Buckinghamshire County Council and in line with current legislation.

In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2023), our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mr Stuart Ball, is a member of the Senior Management Team, and has received appropriate training for this role. It is his responsibility to ensure that all staff in contact with children, receive Child Protection Awareness training on a regular basis. 

Occasions do arise when our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. Whilst we always aim to work in partnership with parents, there may be exceptions to this when significant concerns are raised regarding the protection of a child.

On very rare occasions, Social Care, while undertaking an investigation under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to talk to a child without parents' knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies. This course of action would only be considered where a child was at immediate risk and / or gaining consent at this point may increase the level of risk to a child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by Local Children's Safeguarding Board, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this, for the safety of all. The policy can be found by clicking here.

The school's escalation process for safeguarding can be found by clicking here.

We are keen for children to have an age appropriate understanding of Safeguarding at Booker Hill. You can read the Child Friendly Safeguarding Policy by clicking here.

Useful Links

Bucks Safeguarding Children's Board

If you have a concern about a child you can find guidance from the Bucks Safeguarding Children's Board by clicking here.

Better Internet for Kids

Find out about how to use create a better and safer internet for your child at Better Internet for Kids

Buckinghamshire Family Support Service

The Family Support Service offers support to children, young people and families with children and young people aged 0 to 19 or up to 25 years with a special education need or disability. Click here to visit their site.

CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection)

CEOP Protects children from harm online and offline with a focus on child exploitation and online protection issues. Click here to visit their site.

Cruse

Cruse offer support to those suffering from grief or bereavement. Click here to visit their site.