Safeguarding

As a school, Cranford Park Academy, as well as educating the children in our care, are very passionate about another priority, which is to keep children safe and protect them from harm.

To do this, we at Cranford Park Academy, have a responsibility to consider the wellbeing of all children who attend our school. This means we are aware of the things we see and hear from children that might indicate they are at risk of significant harm or have been exposed to long term harm. In most situations any matter of concern that is identified will be discussed with you as the parent/carer of the children. We recognise these can be difficult conversations to have but we will raise matters with you as we know the wellbeing and safety of your child is important to you as well as to us and it is key that we work together to the benefit of your child. In the best interests of your child we would hope that we can have an open and honest conversation, should the situation arise.

In certain circumstances we will share these concerns in accordance with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board Procedures. This means we will contact the Stronger Families Hub (previously known as MASH) in Hillingdon. They will make a decision as to whether the concern needs further assessment or investigation. MASH is the first point of contact with children’s social care and services. In some circumstances and where children are seen to be at risk of immediate or have been exposed to significant harm, we may have to contact MASH without having spoken to you first and gained your agreement.

Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.

More detail of the Child Protection policies for Cranford Park Academy can be found here and on the Cranford Park app.

At Cranford Park Academy we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our all our pupils. We have a large safeguarding team, the poster that you may see around school can be seen below.

The entire Safeguarding team have also had training in how to take disclosures, questions to ask and how to make a referral to Hillingdon Children’s services; this includes how to speak to parents about disclosures as well as how to communicate with social workers. 'Difficult conversations' advice can be found at the NSPCC.

All members of staff at Cranford Park Academy have yearly Safeguarding training and updates throughout the year. All staff are aware of and trained in the Prevent Strategy which helps to identify threats for extremist groups, both at home and abroad.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns then please don’t hesitate to contact our Designated Safeguarding Leads, Miss Mitchell and Miss Logathas. If you have concerns about a child/ren who do not attend Cranford Park Academy, you can contact Hillingdon Stronger Families Hub on 01895 556006.

You can find out more about Cranford Park's commitment to safeguarding children and young people and how you can play a part in protecting children and young people by clicking on the links below.

Safeguarding Newsletters

CPA Autumn newsletter October 2023

Operation Encompass

Our school participates in a national scheme called ‘Operation Encompass’, which is a joint partnership between Hillingdon Police and schools.

One of the principles of Operation Encompass is that all incidents of domestic abuse are shared with schools, not just those where an offence can be identified. This system has been established to help schools provide in-house support to children who have been present at, exposed to or involved in any domestic abuse incident. We know that children can be significantly harmed physically and/or emotionally during these situations and that it negatively affects their learning and behaviour. Therefore, as part of the Operation Encompass procedure, and to help mitigate the resulting negative impact, the school receives and email the morning after a child has been witness to or involved in any reported domestic abuse incident.

We are then able to use this information to provide the right support to any child and their family as and when it is needed.

If you hear anything that concerns you regarding a family or friend in need of support with this matter please don’t hesitate to speak to Miss Mitchell or Miss Logathas who are here to help. If you have concerns about a child/ren who do not attend Cranford Park Academy, you can contact Hillingdon Stronger Families Hub on 01895 556006.

Useful Information for Parents

Other Safeguarding Information

Documents that govern our Child Protection & Safeguarding procedures that you may find interesting or useful:

School Procedures

Network Rail Safety Videos

Network Rail in partnership with Learn Live are working to help raise awareness to students across the UK educating them about the dangers of the train tracks through interactive digital delivery.

The session is less than 15 minutes and explains why it is important to stay safe near the tracks.

Over 13 million students, parents and teachers from across the UK have watched these videos which has led to a significant decrease in the number of trespasses in their area through watching the safety videos.

Remember 15 mins can help save lives and provide important safety information to young people.

Network Rail have made things easier for you to watch the free safety videos by just entering the email railsafety@learnliveuk.com into the I am registered field when you first watch the videos.

Please click on the link below to view the relevant safety video:

Primary school version: Age 7- 11