Safeguarding

We are committed to ensuring the welfare and safety of all children in school and all our staff, governors and volunteers have Child Protection training.

It is our highest priority to work in partnership with all to ensure that our children remain safe.

If you are worried about your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or the Headteacher. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission or it is necessary to do so in order to protect a child.

We will share concerns we may have with parents, unless to do so would place a child at risk of harm.

Please scroll down to see our At-a-Glance safeguarding messages.  You will also find our safeguarding policies and links to statutory documentation further down the page. 

In the event of any concerns regarding the safety/well-being of a child or children, please contact

Designated Safeguarding Lead at Burton Leonard C of E Primary School

Mrs Rebecca Wolfe, Head Teacher

 

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead at Burton Leonard C of E Primary School

Mrs Sally Drake, School Business Manager

 

Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead at Burton Leonard C of E Primary School

Mr Jack Doohan, SENCo & Class Teacher 

 

Safeguarding Governor

Mrs Jennifer Hewitt 

Contact can be made through the office on 01765 677412

Any parents who are worried that a child is at risk can either contact the school or seek information via the NYSCB website.

All North Yorkshire schools follow the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Partnership procedures.

We have trained First Aiders in school and we will deal with minor accidents and injuries.

Please ensure that school is informed of any changes to contact and emergency details.

At-a-Glance Safeguarding 

Playground Safety

A polite health and safety reminder that children, including siblings, should not ride their bikes/scooters on the playground before or after school. We are keen to promote pupils travelling to and from school on their bicycles, and request that they dismount before entering and leaving the school grounds, thank you. We also kindly request that pupils and siblings do not play on the climbing frame/adventure equipment at these times. Thank you for support.

Healthy Schools

We are working hard to improve healthy eating at school and as much as we know treats are OK every now and again, we are on a mission to champion healthy eating choices throughout the day. Fruit is available at Breakfast Club, lunch times & After-school Club daily, as well as provided free to our reception and KS1 (Y1&Y2) children during their snack-time. All classes have a dedicated snack-time, where pupils eat their snack calmly whilst enjoying story time. KS2 children (Y3-Y6) are encouraged to bring a healthy snack every day, so that they can enjoy a snack during this session too.

As a reminder, chocolate bars and sweets should not be included in packed lunches. For further information on healthy packed lunches, please visit the school website for some fantastic ideas! Parent Healthy Packed Lunch Guidance

Allergens in School & Food Safety

We have members of our school who have severe allergies to nuts and peanuts. Please support us to keep our children safe by ensuring these products do not come into school and are not included in your child’s packed lunch or any snacks.

In addition, please can we request that all grapes, blueberries, cherries, sausages and popcorn need to be cut up, or avoided, as they pose a significant choking risk to children.

Hair, Nails & Jewellery

Hair should be tied up with discreet hair accessories in school colours (this can include house team colours); earrings must be small studs, which will need to be removed for PE. No make-up, nail varnish, false nails or other jewellery should be worn to school, thank you.

Jewellery & PE

Further to communication regarding PE, a reminder that earrings are no longer allowed for PE (North Yorkshire Council and The Association for Physical Education (AfPE)). Schools have a higher duty of care; this is dictated by national guidance and schools must comply. Earrings pose a significant risk to children participating in contact sports at school.

If earrings get caught in another child's clothes or skin, injury can occur both to the child wearing the earrings and the child in contact with the earrings. Contact in PE can also cause damage to the area of the ear behind the earring.

• Children are not permitted to wear jewellery, including pierced earrings, during PE lessons and swimming lessons.
• Teachers are not allowed to take out or replace children’s earrings if they are unable to do so themselves. It would therefore be helpful if earrings could be taken out at home on PE days.
• If a child has recently had their ears pierced and are unable to remove their earrings they may not be able to take part in some elements of the PE lesson, but sessions will be adapted for them to participate.
• Staff are not permitted to tape earrings for children - the taping of earrings ‘creates a perception of safety and is not recommended’. There have been several incidents nationally where children’s ears have been injured from earrings being pulled out from under the tape, or the earring stud has pierced the back of the head.
• During swimming lessons children wearing earrings must remove them - swimming sessions cannot be adapted and children unable to remove earrings will need to spectate, rather than participate.

Smart Watches

Pupils are no longer permitted to wear smart watches in school. Please ensure your child does not bring one into school. If a child is wearing one, the class teacher will ask for it to be removed and will be returned to parents at the end of the school day.

Online Safety

Please check out our online safety newsletter that can be found here Online Safety Newsletter

Medication & Treatments

A gentle reminder that school cannot administer any non-prescribed medications or treatments. If your child has been prescribed medication, including creams/sprays a medication form must be completed in the school office and medication/treatments can only be accepted with a named, prescribed sticker.

Pupils can self-administer any prescribed medication/treatments following this process, but this must then be observed and recorded with adult supervision. Children must not carry any medications/treatments independently. A copy of our updated medical policy can be found here: https://burtonleonard.n-yorks.sch.uk/Key-Info/Policies/

Road Safety

Our on-going polite reminder to please park safely when arriving at school throughout the day. Drop-offs are a busy time and we have many children and families using the paths and roads where cars park. Help us to keep all our children safe, thank you. Please also be mindful if you use the driveway up towards school as this is use by pedestrians throughout the day, including our children walking to and from school with their families. We also remind you to not park across driveways and entrances to properties at any time, thank you.

Safer Working Practice

Our school will comply with the DfE guidance and the North Yorkshire Child Protection procedures at all times. Safe working practice ensures that pupils are safe and that all staff, volunteers and governors:

• are responsible for their own actions and behaviour and should avoid any conduct which would lead any reasonable person to question their motivation and intentions.

•  work in an open and transparent way.
• work with other colleagues where possible in situations open to question.
• discuss and/or take advice from school management over any incident which may give rise to concern.
• record any incident or decisions made.
• apply the same professional standards regardless of gender, race, disability of sexuality.
• be aware of confidentiality policy.
• are aware that breaches of the law and other professional guidelines could result in criminal or disciplinary action being taken against them.

Safer Recruitment and Selection

The school pays full regard to current safer recruitment DfE guidance, 'Working Together to Keep Children Safe' and 'Keeping Children Safe in Education'. 

We ensure that all appropriate measures are applied in relation to everyone who works in the school who is likely to be perceived by the children as a safe and trustworthy adult, including volunteers and staff employed by contractors.

Safer recruitment practice includes scrutinising applicants, verifying identity and academic or vocational qualifications, obtaining professional references, checking previous employment history and ensuring that a candidate has the health and physical capability for the job. It also includes undertaking interviews and where appropriate, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and providing honest and accurate references when individuals move on.

In line with statutory changes, underpinned by regulations, the following will apply:
• a DBS Enhanced Disclosure will be obtained for all new appointments to our school workplace (including volunteers) and renewed inline with North Yorkshire Policy.
• this school is committed to keep an up to date single central record detailing a range of checks carried out on our staff, volunteers and governors.
• all new appointments to our school workforce from overseas or who have lived outside the UK will be subject to additional checks as appropriate.
• our school ensures that supply staff have undergone the necessary checks and will be made aware of this policy.
• identify checks will be carried out on all appointments to our school workforce before the appointment is made, in partnership with the North Yorkshire Local Authority. The following staff have undertaken Safer Recruitment training and one of these staff members will be in attendance at interview for all staff and volunteer appointments:

Headteacher: Mrs Rebecca Wolfe

School Business Manager: Mrs Sally Drake

School Governors: Jenny Hewitt & Kate Steele

Safeguarding Information for Pupils

All pupils in our school are aware of who they can talk to if they have a worry or concern. The school is committed to ensuring that pupils are aware of behaviour towards them that is not acceptable and how they can keep themselves safe. All pupils know that we have a senior member of staff with responsibility for child protection and know who this is. We inform pupils of whom they might talk to, both in and out of school, their right to be listened to and heard and what steps can be taken to protect them from harm.

Partnership with Parents

The school shares a purpose with parents to educate, keep children safe from harm and have their welfare promoted.

We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information until we have permission or it is necessary to do so to protect a child.

Burton Leonard C of E Primary School  will share with parents any concerns we may have about their child unless to do so may place a child at risk of harm.

We encourage parents to discuss any concerns they may have with school staff. We make parents aware of our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policies and parents understand that they can view these policies on request.

School Training and Staff Induction

The school’s Senior Designated Person with responsibility for child protection and any named deputies undertake specific child protection training which includes how to undertake their role. They also undertake inter-agency child protection training provided by the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board.  Refresher training is undertaken at two yearly intervals.

All other school staff, including non-teaching staff, volunteers and governors undertake appropriate training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities for child protection effectively. 

New staff and volunteers will undertake a safeguarding induction and complete all relevant training. 

Health and Welfare

Please inform the school if your child has any specific problems or difficulties e.g. allergies, dietary needs etc.

Teachers can only administer prescribed and named medication which needs to be taken during school hours and parents must complete an authorisation form. 

 

Health and Safety Policy

The school has a health and safety policy, which is monitored each year by the relevant committee of the School Governing Body and also the Health & Safety adviser from North Yorkshire County Council.

The Headteacher, School Business Manager and governor with responsibility for Health and Safety oversee the policy and the maintenance of the school. Any concerns from staff, volunteers, governors or pupils are reported to any of the above and the School Business Manager carries out an initial examination, assessing what remedial action needs to take place.

Each term there is a fire drill that practices efficient evacuation from the buildings. The school conducts an annual fire risk assessment and risk assessments.

There is an Emergency Response Plan that details what to do in the case of emergencies.

Prevent Duty

As part of Burton Leonard Church of England (VC) Primary School's ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties we are fully behind the government's Prevent Strategy.

From 1 July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent Duty for Schools.

At our school we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views.

The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent awareness training to equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas. The Home Office has developed a core training product for this purpose – Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP). All our staff and Governors have completed Prevent training on what Prevent is about and how to deal with any issues they may see inside or outside school.

 

First Aid

All staff have been trained in Emergency First Aid at Work, relevant staff have also completed the specialised Paediatric First Aid Course.

First aid kits are situated around the school, in every classroom and are also taken out onto the playground at lunchtimes & breaktimes. 

When a child is unwell or has suffered an accident in school or on the school grounds, the following steps are followed:

• Step 1: A trained first aider is immediately called to provide assistance and advice.
• Step 2: The incident/accident is logged in the incident/accident register.
• Step 3: The parent is notified of the incident/accident as soon as necessary.
• Step 4: The Local Authority Health and Safety Team and/or the Health and Safety Executive are notified of the incident/accident where there is a statutory duty to do so.

Site Security

Burton Leonard C of E Primary School aims to provide a secure school site but recognises that the site is only as secure as the people who use it. Therefore, all people on the site have to adhere to the rules, which govern it. It is recognised that laxity can cause potential problems to safeguarding. Therefore, the school ensures that:

• gates are locked except at the start and end of each day.
• doors are kept closed to prevent intrusion.
• visitors and volunteers only enter through the main entrance and must sign in at the office.
• children are only allowed home with adults/carers with parental responsibility or confirmed permission has been received in advance.
• empty classrooms have closed windows.
• children are not allowed to leave school alone during school working hours and if collected by an adult, signed out.
• should a child leave the school premises without permission then staff have been informed never to chase after a child, but rather to report immediately to the SLT; parents and Police will then be immediately informed of the circumstances.

Welcoming other Professionals

Visitors with a professional role, such as local authority and Diocese advisers or members of the Police will have undergone safer recruitment to work with children - this will always be checked by school.

The School Business Manager  will ensure that written confirmation is received from all employing organisations regarding any person that visits our school.

When an individual makes an unplanned visits to the school, they will be accompanied by a staff member at all times and not allowed to have any unsupervised access to the children until confirmation of their vetting status has been confirmed. No examination/medical treatment of any child will be allowed unless the professional has suitable clearance prior to their visit.

It is recognised that in emergency situations when the Police are called, perhaps to support a pupil/adult, it may not be possible to confirm their identity before access to the school site is allowed. The Headteacher will use their professional judgement to effectively manage these situations.

Internet/E-Safety

Children are encouraged to use the internet as much as is possible but at all times in a safe way. Parents are asked to give permission for their children to use the internet on entry to the school. Parents, pupils and staff must sign an appropriate usage form to ensure that they understand the risks and sanctions relating to misuse of the system in and beyond the school. If staff know of misuse, either by a teacher, staff member, volunteer or child, the issue must be reported to the Headteacher without delay.

The Headteacher has overall responsibility for internet safety and will have access to all email addresses and passwords provided. The school follows guidelines for Internet use/E-safety from the Local Authority and the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children's Partnership.

The school will ensure that:

• software is in place to minimise access and to highlight any person accessing inappropriate sites or information.
• pupils will be encouraged to discuss openly their use of technology and anything which makes them feel uncomfortable. (If this results in child protection concerns, the DSL should be informed immediately).
• every effort is made to encourage pupils not to give out their personal details, phone numbers, school, home addresses, computer passwords etc.
• pupils adhere to the school policy on mobile phones.
• training is provided to pupils, staff and volunteers on e-safety matters where necessary.

Every month school provide a useful online safety newsletter for parents, which can be found on our online safety page HERE

We also share weekly online safety links on Mrs Wolfe's Weekly Newsletters that can be found HERE

Anti-Bullying Policy

Adults must be informed immediately regarding any allegation of bullying, this will be investigated and appropriate action will take place.

 

 

Whistleblowing

If members of staff, volunteers or governors have any concerns about people working in a paid or unpaid capacity with children, they have a duty of care (and in some cases a professional duty) to inform management accordingly. This can be done in writing or verbally and such issues will be managed with sensitivity and the necessary degree of confidence.

The school follows the Local Authority’s policy on whistleblowing.

 

Making a Referral Directly - NYSCP

Educate Against Hate Website

Prevent Duty in Schools

North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

• Anti- Radicalisation Policy
• Anti-bullying Policy 2025-26
• Keeping children safe in education from 1 September 2025
• Safeguarding Child Protection Policy 2025-26

 Where to get help this winter...

 

Cost of Living Support

As winter approaches, many households face increased financial pressures due to higher heating bills and other seasonal expenses. The following organisations and schemes are available to support families that may need it.

Foodbanks: Foodbanks provide emergency food supplies to those in need. Organisations like the Trussell Trust operate foodbanks across North Yorkshire. You typically need a referral from a local agency to access these services.

 

Clothing Banks: Clothing banks offer free clothes and shoes to those in need. For example, the Harrogate Clothes Bank provides pre-loved clothing to the community, as does theclothingbank.org.uk

 

Community Support Organisations: Various local organisations offer support, including Warm Welcome Spaces where people can find a warm place to stay and access other resources.

Warm & Well - North Yorkshire Citizens Advice and Law Centre (NYCALC)

 

Emergency Payments:

Local Assistance Fund

The North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund (NYLAF) provides emergency support for essential items such as food, utilities, and household goods. Applications are made through authorised agencies such as Children & Family Hubs, Living Well, IDAS.

North Yorkshire local assistance fund | North Yorkshire Partnerships

 

Budgeting Loans:

If you’re on certain benefits, you may be eligible for a budgeting loan to help with unexpected expenses. These loans are interest-free and repayable over time.

 

For further information, please see an extensive guide at - Cost of Living Support | North Yorkshire Council

 

Citizens Advice: Offers free, confidential advice on a range of issues, including benefits, debt, and housing. They can help you navigate the various support options available. North Yorkshire Citizens Advice & Law Centre

 

Food Banks > Healthy Schools North Yorkshire – Information on Foodbanks

Vulnerability Commitment - Energy UK

Tackling Financial Insecurity Together | Turn2us – For advice, grants and support.