Safeguarding at Harper Bell Primary School
At Harper Bell, the safeguarding and wellbeing of our children is our highest priority. We are committed to creating a safe, caring and inclusive environment where every child feels protected, valued and able to thrive. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and is embedded across all aspects of school life.
Safeguarding Leadership Team
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) work closely with staff, families and external agencies to ensure children are safe and well supported:
- Claire Ndaji - Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
- Mrs S Sidhu - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
- Mrs S. Campbell - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL), Pastoral & Mentoring Lead
- Mr M. Baker - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL), School Chaplain & Early Help Lead
The DSL team is responsible for responding to safeguarding concerns, supporting pupils and families, maintaining strong links with outside agencies and ensuring safeguarding procedures are followed consistently.
Staff Training and Safeguarding Culture
All staff at Harper Bell receive:
- Full safeguarding training in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)
- Regular safeguarding updates throughout the year
- Clear guidance on recognising, responding to and reporting concerns
All safeguarding concerns, disclosures and welfare issues are recorded, monitored and managed using CPOMS, our secure online safeguarding system. This ensures that concerns are logged promptly, information is shared safely with the safeguarding team, actions are tracked effectively and no concern is overlooked.
We pride ourselves on working in close partnership with our families, community and children to ensure safeguarding is a shared responsibility. We strongly believe that strong families make strong learners, and collaboration is key to helping children succeed.
Early Help and Family Support
Our Early Help Lead, Mr M. Baker, offers practical help, guidance and early intervention support to parents and carers. This includes advice and support with:
- Accessing Early Help through Birmingham Family Hubs
- Managing children's behaviour at home
- Parenting programmes and family wellbeing support
- Funding and advice for free school meals and uniform grants
- Food bank vouchers, housing support and referrals to partner agencies
We have strong links with a wide range of external agencies. Where we are not able to help directly, we will always work to connect families with someone who can.
Pastoral Care and Behaviour Support
Our pastoral and behaviour support provision helps pupils overcome barriers to learning and develop emotional resilience. Support includes:
- 1:1 mentoring
- Nurture groups
- Classroom-based support
- Lunchtime clubs and wellbeing activities
These approaches are designed to build confidence, support emotional regulation and help children feel secure and ready to learn.
Health, Medical Care and First Aid
At Harper Bell (and across our partner schools), we are committed to ensuring that every child's health and medical needs are met so they can fully participate in school life.
We are proud to have Mrs Dawati leading our approach to health and medical care in school. She works closely with medical professionals to ensure:
- Medical care plans are accurate and up to date
- Relevant staff are fully informed
- Care is managed safely and sensitively
A significant proportion of our staff are Emergency First Aid trained, providing rapid support in the event of illness or injury. All staff working in and alongside EYFS are Paediatric First Aid trained, ensuring expert care for our youngest pupils.
Staff receive appropriate training to manage a range of medical needs, including:
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
Medication can be administered on school premises with prior written consent from parents or carers, ensuring children receive the care they need during the school day.
What training have staff at Harper Bell received to help safeguard children?
- Annual child protection training
- DfE PREVENT Training
- National Cyber Security Centre: Cyber security training for school staff
- GDPR Training
- Annual Keeping Children Safe in Education update
- All staff have been given access to, and read key government documents and guidelines
- Attachment and trauma informed practice
- New Staff Induction - including CPOMS training
- Regular updates and safeguarding question for staff as part of weekly briefing
- Safer recruitment training for designated staff
- Designated Safeguarding Training for safeguarding team
- Health and Safety
- Paediatric first aid
- Annual medical needs training - anaphylaxis, epilepsy, asthma and diabetes
- DfE Prevent training
-
Team Teach positive handling
Useful Links:
Keeping Children Safe In Education https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
Bullying UK https://www.familylives.org.uk/
Family Life Today- Where's the Risk? https://capt.org.uk/news/family-life-today-wheres-the-risk
Domestic Violence https://womensaid.org.uk/
Internet Safety https://www.childnet.com/resources/know-it-all-for-parents/
Our Commitment
Through strong safeguarding leadership, well-trained staff, clear procedures and a compassionate approach, we ensure that all children feel safe, supported and included. At Harper Bell, safeguarding is not just a policy-it is a daily commitment to helping every child belong, achieve and thrive.
Our Safeguarding Team at Harper Bell Adventist School
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment.
Everyone is responsible, no concern is too small.
If you are concerned about a child's safety or wellbeing, please speak to one of the DSL's immediately.
.png)
Mrs Sidhu
Headteacher
Deputy DSL
.png)
Mrs Ndaji
Deputy Headteacher
Designated Safeguarding Lead
.png)
Mr Baker
Deputy DSL
Early Help Lead
Mrs Dawati
Operation Encompass
At Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist School the safety and wellbeing of every child is our highest priority. We are proud to be part of Operation Encompass, a national initiative that supports children who may have been affected by domestic abuse.
What is Operation Encompass?
Operation Encompass is a partnership between schools and the police. It ensures that schools are notified, before the start of the next school day, if a child has been present at or exposed to a domestic abuse incident.
This confidential information allows the school to provide immediate support to the child when they arrive at school.
How the Programme Works
When the police attend a domestic abuse incident where a child from our school is present, the police will notify our trained safeguarding team. This notification is shared with the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) before the next school day begins.
This enables the school to:
- Provide immediate emotional support if needed
- Be aware that a child may have had a difficult evening or night
- Respond sensitively to changes in behaviour or wellbeing
- Ensure the child feels safe, supported and understood in school
Confidentiality and Safeguarding
All Operation Encompass notifications are treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Information is only shared with key safeguarding staff who need to know in order to support the child.
The aim of the programme is not to investigate incidents, but to ensure that children who may be affected by domestic abuse receive the understanding and care they need in school.
Our Commitment
By participating in Operation Encompass, we are strengthening our safeguarding systems and ensuring that no child faces the impact of domestic abuse alone. Our staff are trained to respond with care, sensitivity and professionalism so that every child continues to feel safe, valued and supported.
If you would like to know more about Operation Encompass, please speak to the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead.