Safeguarding

Keeping Children Safe

What to do if you are concerned about a child — ‘The welfare of the child is paramount’

At Fern Hill, keeping children safe and ensuring that every child reaches their potential underpins everything we do.  Occasionally, things go wrong for our children and their families — we take our responsibility for the children in our care very seriously and we are here to help, support and guide as best we can. 

You can tell us about a child, young person or parent or carer that needs support in some way by contacting one of our safeguarding officers above via the school office. You may be concerned about the child's developmental needs, issues that the parent or carer is experiencing, or you may suspect a child is being neglected or subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

Our duty is outlined in detail within the document Working Together to Safeguard Children published in July 2018 by the Government. In essence, we have a duty to record and report concerns and work alongside local agencies to ensure children are adequately safeguarded against harm.

All details are treated confidentially and will only be shared if there are concerns that a child is at risk.  It is always our aim to share our concerns transparently with the child’s parent or guardian before making a referral.  However, we reserve our right to refer without consent if we are sufficiently concerned about a child’s safety or we are unable to contact the parent or guardian after reasonable attempts have been made.

Single Point of Access (SPA)

You can also tell Kingston and Richmond’s Children’s Services about a child, young person or parent/carer that needs support in some way by contacting their Single Point of Access team (SPA).

You can contact the SPA team from 8.00 am to 5.15 pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.00 am to 5.00 pm on Friday by calling 020 8547 5008. The telephone number for out of hours contact is 020 8770 5000

In an emergency or if you think a child is in immediate danger you should call 999.

Visitors to School

We want Fern Hill to be open and welcoming to all who would like to support our children. Please refer to the Visitors Leaflet attached below which provides information on your safety in school and your responsibility to keep others safe whilst in school.

Advice for parents whose child is cyberbullying

The BBC shares advice on what to do if your child is bullying others online. Key points include: try to establish the facts around the incident with an open mind; show your child that taking responsibility for your own actions is the right thing to do and help them learn from what has happened; supervise the deletion of any bullying content they have created; seek advice from a teacher or trusted confidant.

Follow this link for further information