Safeguarding and Child Protection

Keeping Children Safe at Weston

At Weston Village Primary School, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

We are committed to providing a safe, caring and inclusive environment in which children are listened to, feel able to speak to trusted adults and receive the right help at the right time.

Our approach is always child-centred. This means that when a concern arises, the welfare and best interests of the child are at the heart of our decisions.

We recognise that safeguarding concerns can arise anywhere and maintain an attitude that “it could happen here”. Staff are expected to notice concerns, be professionally curious, share information appropriately and act promptly.

Our arrangements follow Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and the procedures of the Cheshire East Safeguarding Children's Partnership (CESCP).

Worried About a Child?

If a child is in immediate danger

Call 999 and ask for the police.

If you are worried about a child but it is not an immediate emergency

Please contact school on:

01270 814848

and ask to speak to Mr Cutts, Mrs Loveland or Mrs Grindley.

You do not need to be certain that abuse or neglect has occurred before raising a concern. If something worries you, please tell us.

You can also contact the Cheshire East Consultation Service (ChECS) directly.

ChECS: 0300 123 5012 – option 3

ChECS is Cheshire East's main point of contact for concerns about a child's safety, wellbeing, care, neglect or exploitation. A qualified social worker can discuss your concern and advise what should happen next. Cheshire East specifically advises people to contact the service even if they are unsure whether a concern meets a safeguarding threshold.

Outside normal working hours:
Emergency Duty Team – 0300 123 5022

For safeguarding concerns, Cheshire East advises that concerns should be raised by telephone rather than sent by email or post.

Cheshire East – Worried about a child?

Our Designated Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Mr Thomas Cutts – Headteacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs)
Mrs Emma Loveland – Assistant Headteacher / SENDCo
Mrs Emma Grindley – The Hive Supervisor

Safeguarding Governor
Mrs Rebecca Clifford-Ball

Prevent Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
Mr Thomas Cutts

Mental Health Lead
Mrs Emma Loveland

These responsibilities are set out in our current Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.

Safeguarding is not, however, the responsibility of these people alone. Every adult working or volunteering at Weston has a responsibility to safeguard children.

What Safeguarding Means

Safeguarding is broader than responding to abuse after it has happened.

It includes:

providing help and support as soon as difficulties emerge
protecting children from abuse, neglect and exploitation, including harm online
supporting children's physical and mental health and development
helping children grow up in safe and effective care
acting where necessary to protect children and secure the best possible outcomes.

Safeguarding concerns may relate to physical, emotional or sexual abuse; neglect; domestic abuse; bullying or child-on-child abuse; online harm; criminal or sexual exploitation; harmful sexual behaviour; mental health; persistent absence from education; radicalisation; or other circumstances which place a child at risk.

Children may experience several different difficulties at the same time, and they may not always recognise that what is happening to them is harmful or feel able to tell somebody. This is why staff are trained to notice, listen and act.

How We Keep Children Safe

Safeguarding is embedded in everyday life at Weston.

Our approach includes:

trained staff who understand how to recognise, record and respond to concerns
a clearly identified Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputies
secure safeguarding records through CPOMS
careful safer recruitment and appropriate checks on adults working with children
clear procedures for concerns or allegations about adults, including low-level concerns
regular safeguarding training and updates for all staff
close work with parents, Children's Social Care, health, police and other professionals
early identification of children and families who may need additional help
careful oversight of attendance, including children who are persistently absent or accessing reduced or alternative provision
additional awareness of safeguarding barriers experienced by children with SEND
teaching through PSHE/RSE, computing, assemblies and the wider curriculum so children learn how to recognise risk and seek help
strong pupil voice and regular reminders about the trusted adults children can speak to.

Our policy emphasises that children should be listened to and involved in safeguarding. Pupils have opportunities to discuss safety through lessons, assemblies, pupil voice, surveys and individual conversations, and are regularly reminded that they can talk to adults if something is worrying them.

Early Help and Family Help

Sometimes a family needs support before a situation becomes a safeguarding crisis.

We encourage families to talk to us early. Depending on the circumstances, school may be able to provide support directly or work with other professionals.

Cheshire East is developing its approach through the Families First Partnership, with an increased emphasis on earlier, relationship-based and joined-up support for families. National Working Together guidance was also updated in 2026 to strengthen the move towards Family Help, bringing together targeted early help and support for families more seamlessly.

The Cheshire East Family Help Front Door can also help families access appropriate support.

Family Help: 0300 123 5012 – option 3, then option 1

Cheshire East – Family Help

Our own safeguarding procedures use Cheshire East's Continuum of Need and recognise that early intervention can prevent needs escalating.

Operation Encompass

Weston is an Operation Encompass school.

Operation Encompass enables police to inform a child's school when they have attended a domestic abuse incident connected to the child's home. This allows school to be aware of what a child may have experienced and provide sensitive, timely support.

Since 2025, this information-sharing arrangement has been placed on a statutory footing, requiring police forces to notify educational settings following relevant domestic abuse incidents. Children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right when they see, hear or experience its effects.

Information received through Operation Encompass is treated confidentially and used to support the child's safety and wellbeing.

Domestic abuse support

The Cheshire East Domestic Abuse Hub provides support for individuals and families affected by domestic abuse.

0300 123 5101

Cheshire East – Domestic abuse support

Online Safety

Keeping children safe online is an essential part of safeguarding.

Children are taught about online safety through computing, PSHE/RSE, assemblies and wider safeguarding work. This includes understanding issues around:

content they may see
contact with other people
their own conduct online
commercial risks
social media, messaging and gaming
online bullying and exploitation
sharing images
artificial intelligence and emerging online risks.

On school systems, Securly provides filtering and monitoring to help us identify and respond to inappropriate or potentially harmful online activity.

Filtering and monitoring is reviewed as part of our safeguarding arrangements. Current Department for Education standards emphasise that schools should review this provision at least annually and consider emerging risks, including AI-generated content.

Weston is also a mobile-phone-free environment for pupils during the school day.

For more advice for families, please visit our Staying Safe Online page.

Children with SEND and Other Vulnerabilities

Some children may face additional barriers to recognising, communicating or reporting abuse.

This can be particularly relevant for children with SEND, communication difficulties or certain health conditions. Staff are expected to remain professionally curious and not assume that changes in behaviour, mood or presentation are simply a consequence of a child's SEND.

Our safeguarding, SEND, attendance and pastoral systems work together so that children are considered as individuals and relevant information is shared appropriately.

We also pay particular attention to children who may be more vulnerable because of family circumstances, social-care involvement, caring responsibilities, mental health, persistent absence, exploitation risks or other barriers.

Mental Health and Safeguarding

Mental-health difficulties are not automatically safeguarding concerns, but in some circumstances they may indicate that a child is experiencing or at risk of harm.

Staff are expected to recognise this link and to seek safeguarding advice where necessary. Our Mental Health Lead is Mrs Emma Loveland, and our wider school approach includes universal wellbeing provision, pastoral and ELSA support and access to external services where appropriate.

Please see our Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing page for further information and sources of support.

Preventing Radicalisation

Schools have a statutory responsibility under the Prevent Duty to help protect children from the risk of being drawn into terrorism.

At Weston, staff receive appropriate Prevent training and understand that concerns about radicalisation are safeguarding concerns and must be reported.

Mr Cutts is Weston's Prevent Single Point of Contact.

Where appropriate, referrals may be considered through Prevent and Channel. Channel is a voluntary, confidential multi-agency programme providing support to people assessed as susceptible to being drawn into terrorism.

Cheshire East – Prevent and Channel information

Helpful Contacts

Concern	Contact
Immediate danger / emergency	999
Cheshire East Consultation Service – child safeguarding concerns	0300 123 5012, option 3
Emergency Duty Team – outside office hours	0300 123 5022
Police – non-emergency	101
Childline	0800 1111
NSPCC Helpline	0808 800 5000
Cheshire East Domestic Abuse Hub	0300 123 5101

The current Cheshire East Safeguarding Children's Partnership also lists ChECS, Childline and the NSPCC as key safeguarding contacts for children and families.

Cheshire East Safeguarding Children's Partnership – Parents and Carers