Safeguarding
At Mary’s School is highly committed to safeguarding all the children and adults who are in our care. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Ms Sasha Marius-Beeko (Deputy Headteacher) , and the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Lee Duffy (Headteacher)
Our Safeguarding Policy can be found here:
If you have a concern about a child or an issue at school please contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead or the Deputy Safeguarding Lead immediately - referencing Safeguarding.
If you have a concern about the Headteacher then please follow the procedures in the school's safeguarding procedure. This is to contact the school's Chair of Governors - chair@stmbs.org.uk. You can also contact the clerk to governors - clerk@stmbs.org.uk
For any concern or complaint, the school's policy should be followed and adhered to prior to contacting external organisations. However, we understand that some families may feel this is more appropriate due to their level of concern.
School would like to highlight that nearly all school complaints which are referred to either the Local Authority (Westminster Education Department or Children's Services) or Ofsted, will be referred immediately back to the school or Local Authority (who will speak to the school). Please note the role of Ofsted is not to investigate individual parental complaints, but inspect the standards of education within a school.
Finally, you can also report concerns via other organisations such as NSPCC - https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/our-services/nspcc-helpline/
Everyone at St Mary’s Bryanston Square Primary School is committed to providing an environment where children can learn, play, develop and achieve in an environment where they feel safe. Safeguarding children is absolutely vital to our work and we consistently strive to ensure children have positive relationships with adults and the confidence to speak up if they are worried or at risk of harm.
We are fully committed to ensuring that all staff are sensitive to issues of race, culture, gender and diversity.
Key to ensuring effective safeguarding practices is building strong relationships with parents so that we can work together to help keep every child safe.
Our dedicated staff team work together with the designated safeguarding leads whose key responsibility is to ensure children are safe and able to access their learning.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads are Sasha Marius-Beeko, Deputy Headteacher & Lee Duffy, Headteacher. At the beginning and end of everyday a member of the Senior Leadership Team will be on the main gate should families wish to speak to them. Alternatively, they can be contacted via the main school office phone number, or on the following email address: office@stmbs.org.uk – please title the email safeguarding.
We recognise the importance of working together to ensure our children are happy and therefore able to access their learning to achieve their best. We also know that any family can hit a time of challenge - and that sometimes this is unexpected. We have a wealth of knowledge and resources available to help families should they need it. We can also signpost to other agencies and organisations who can provide support and guidance.
If you need any help at all - please speak to a member of our staff team. We are here to help and support families and, when times are low, help to get you back on track.
Operation Encompass
Operation Encompass is a safeguarding initiative that St Mary's school is now part of, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police Service. The project runs jointly between schools and the Met Police. This project links with our safeguarding responsibilities and enables us to support pupils and families where necessary and appropriate.
Operation Encompass is the notification to schools that a child (under 18) has been exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident. This will ordinarily be done by the start of the next school day.
Operation Encompass will ensure that a specially trained member of the school staff, known as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), is informed. The DSL can then use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to ensure the wellbeing of the child.
Safeguarding Documents
We follow the Department of Education guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (Sep 2022): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1080047/KCSIE_2022_revised.pdf
It is extremely important that children also stay safe online. The Department for Education have released guidance related to the teaching of online safety in schools:
Please read our school policy here:
Please note that mobile phones and cameras are not allowed in our Early Years Foundation Stage or in classrooms. Thank you.
If you have any concerns about a safeguarding issue, please see Ms Marius-Beeko or Mr Duffy as soon as you can. If your concern is about a member of staff, please see Mr Duffy straightaway. If your concern is about the Headteacher, please contact Sarah Bedford, the school’s Chair of Governors. (chair@stmbs.org.uk)