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Safeguarding

94% of pupils say that they feel safe at Reading Girls' School

Student survey, October 2019

Safeguarding is a key priority at Reading Girls’ and all staff take this seriously. To ensure that pupils are kept safe, an ethos of safeguarding is embedded in what we do throughout the school.

In addition to statutory Safeguarding training, all staff receive ongoing Safeguarding updates and support. Safeguarding runs through the school and is regularly monitored and audited by West Berkshire, Thames Learning Trust’s Health and Safety and Safeguarding Committee and our Safeguarding Team at school.

The words ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Child Protection’ are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. Safeguarding is what we are doing for all our children; Child Protection refers to the policy and procedures we have for referring and supporting children at risk of serious harm, or who have been seriously harmed. The definition of Safeguarding is given in the DFE’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory guidance.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

  • protecting children from maltreatment;
  • preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
  • ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
  • taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.’

All volunteers and visitors who are in the school for extended periods of time receive relevant training and have a DBS check carried out.

Our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) are:

  • Karen Stannard (Vice Principal)
  • Debbie Hargrave (Pastoral Leader)
  • Debbie Jewell (Attendance and SEMH Learning Mentor)

All safeguarding issues relating to staff and pupils at Reading Girls’ School are reported to the DSLs or the Principal.

All new staff appointed to the school are expected to complete an on-line level 1 safeguarding course, in addition to having a face to face briefing and training session with the DSL.

If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact safeguarding@readinggirlsschool.net. Emails sent to this address are monitored by the Designated Safeguarding Leads.