The Greenfield and Hurst Drive Federation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, volunteers and members of the school community to share this commitment. We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection Policy.

The policies inform individuals within our school about:

● What abuse is and how to spot it;

● How to respond to concerns or disclosures of abuse

● The process of reporting concerns as soon as abuse or safeguarding concerns are suspected or identified, and

● How reports are followed up

We are committed to working collaboratively with parents, carers and colleagues and respect the confidentiality of information. Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child or adult's welfare. If we have a safeguarding concern and need to share information about a child, we will typically inform the parent/guardian of the child. However, the safety of children may override the confidentiality of information. If it is believed the matter is serious or potentially a criminal offence, we may be advised to share the information with other agencies without parental or carer's consent.

We require Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks to be carried out on all staff, governors and volunteers. We also provide safeguarding training to staff and volunteers.

When concerned about the welfare of a child, you should always act in the interests of the child.

The governing body has a responsibility to ensure that an appropriate senior member of staff is appointed to the role of designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL and their deputies will always be available (during school hours) to discuss any safeguarding concerns.

Our safeguarding team consists of the following people:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)  Miss Elle Savage (Deputy Headteacher)

Deputy Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Mrs Fiona Ajose, (Executive Headteacher

Deputy Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Mrs Hayleigh Baker (SENCo)

Deputy Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Mrs Nicky Chanter (Pastoral Lead)

Safeguarding Governor:  Mrs Rosie Bloomfield

If you have any concerns about a child’s welfare, please ask to speak to the DSL or their deputies. They can be contacted by telephoning the main school number: 01992 624099 or email: admin@hurstdrive.herts.sch.uk

Operation Encompass

Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is an early intervention safeguarding partnership between police and educational establishments, which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse. Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school PRIOR to the start of the next school day when they have been called to a domestic incident.

Online Safety

The Greenfield and Hurst Drive Federation recognises that internet, mobile and digital technologies provide a good opportunity for children and young people to learn, socialise and play, provided they are safe. The digital world is an amazing place, but with few rules.  It is vast and fast moving and young people’s future economic success may be partly dependent on their online skills and reputation.  We are, therefore, committed to ensuring that all pupils, staff and governors will be able to use internet, mobile and digital technologies safely.  This is part of our safeguarding responsibility. Our Online Safety policy outlines the systems we use in school, the way we teach the pupils to behave in a responsible and respectful manner when using technology and how to report anything they are uncomfortable with online. The Online Safety policy can be found by clicking here.