Safeguarding

Bishop Aldhelm's C.E. Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, children and staff at school. All concerns are passed through the members of staff who are trained as "Designated Child Protection Officers" in school in compliance with the "sharing of information" guidance.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Cheryl Smith (Assistant Headteacher). The Deputy Safeguarding Leads are Mr Scott Tait (Headteacher), Miss Sarah Draper (Assistant Headteacher), Miss Lizzie Sharpe (Deputy Headteacher), Mrs Lucy Strickland (SENCO) and Mrs Kerrie Goodenough (Well being and Mental Health Co-ordinator).

Our Online Safety Champion is Mrs Cheryl Smith - please see our Online Safety webpage for more information and guidance. 

Our Anti-Bullying Champion is Mrs Kelly Hawkins - please see our Anti-Bullying webpage for more information and guidance. 

If you have any serious concerns about your child or any other pupil at Bishop Aldhelms C.E. Primary School please do not hesitate to contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead who knows who to contact for the best advice and help and is experienced in using the appropriate degree of confidentiality.

We have a Safeguarding Policy and procedures in place which we refer to in our prospectus.  A copy of the policy can be found on the the 'Policies' page of our website and at the bottom of this page in the 'downloads' section.

Pupil Voice

Our School Council discuss safeguarding at each of their meetings. They are given a question to discuss with ideas taken back to the Headship Team. 

Recent Questions:

Do you feel safe at school? What makes you feel safe? 

All children said they feel safe at school. They said this is because teachers look after them, they feel they are being cared for by friends in the playground, teachers and Claire, our pastoral care worker.

Chidlren feel that they are with people they trust in school, including teachers, friends, headship team, Kelly and Kerrie. 

Additional information...

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021

This document is statutory guidance that schools and colleges in England must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Please access this below in the 'downloads' section (there is a handy 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' leaflet which is easier to access).  Do you know of any parents or families who speak another language? Please see below a copy of the 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' leaflet in a range of different home languages. 

BCP Children’s services

First Response T. 01202 123334 Monday to Thursday: 8.30am to 5.15pm, Friday: 8.30am to 4.45pm or email
Out of hours T. 01202 738256 or email

Operation Encompass - Domestic Abuse 

Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership 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 soon after they have been called to a domestic incident.

All Key Adults (DSL/DDSLs) have attended an Operation Encompass local briefing as well as national online training. The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.

Click here for more information about Domestic Abuse, how to access support and what to look out for when supporting others. Additional advice on identifying children who are affected by domestic abuse and how they can be helped is available here and here. National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000247, Poole Domestic Abuse Outreach: 01202 710777.

For further information about Operation Encompass and domestic abuse, please see the dowloads section below.

County Lines

Click here for information about 'County Lines'. This is a major safeguarding issue in our country and county currently. Children as young as 7 are being put in danger by criminals who are taking advantage of how innocent and inexperienced these young people are. Any child can be exploited, no matter their background. Below, in the downloads section is also a Parent Guide for County Lines, published by Escapeline, a charity which works with our Year 5 and 6 children to ensue that they know the dangers of this form of child exploitation. 

Child Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse

Click here for information from the NSPCC regarding Child Sexual abuse and exploitation. The PANTS message is very important and one which we regularly share with our children in school. Make sure you are keeping up to date with the information available out there!

FGM (Female Gential Multilation)

Click here to access information regarding FGM (a type of 'so-called honour based violence). Learn how to spot the signs and who to contact for support. 

The Prevent Duty

Click here for information from the governoment and the Counter Terrorism team regarding 'Run, Tell, Hide' - actions to take in the rare event of a firearm or weapons attack. Please also refer to the information below in the 'downloads' section regarding our role in the Prevent Duty. 

Educate against hate has lots of information about The Prevent Duty.

Peer on Peer Abuse (including Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence)

Click here for information from the NSPCC regarding 'Peer on Peer Abuse' and different forms that it includes. The link to our local procedures can be be accessed here 

We have also updated our Peer on Peer Abuse Policy (see downloads section below) to reflect the updated 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' 2021 to ensure that all our school community are aware of what the signs of Peer on Peer Abuse are and how Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence can occur in these situations.