We believe that the safety and security of all children is of paramount importance. We have a strong Pastoral Care and Support team in place to ensure this belief is a reality and we endeavour to work with pupils, parents, staff and a range of external agencies to keep our pupils safe.   

As a school, we strictly adhere to the DFE Statutory Guidance for Keeping Children Safe in Education. You can find the 2022 guidance here.  

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Robinson (Assistant Headteacher) and in his absence the deputy DSL is Mr McAuley (Headteacher). The Pastoral Heads of Year and Pastoral Support Staff also work closely as a team to support in safeguarding and child protection. 

All staff are trained in safeguarding basic awareness.  Additional training to staff includes ‘mental health awareness’, ‘Prevent: extremism and radicalisation’, ‘sexual harassment and violence’, online safety and a range of other relevant safeguarding topics. 

The Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Deputy are trained to level 3 as required by the Cumbria LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children’s Board) for more details please go to: https://cumbriasafeguardingchildren.co.uk/ 

We work very closely with a range of agencies including local health teams, GPS's, CAMHS, mental health charities, the Police, the Cumbria Safeguarding Hub and Children's Services.  Where necessary referrals will be made to the relevant agency to help ensure the right support is accessed at the right time to help the young people in our care.  

For further information on safeguarding and child protection please refer to the School’s Safeguarding Policy here. 

You can see the school’s response to OFSTED’s ‘Review of Sexual Abuse in School’s and Colleges’ here. 

Additionally, our comprehensive HRSE programme covers a wide-range of topics that helps to ensure our pupils are resilient and responsible young people who are able to recognise, report and reduce risks in their lives. You can see our full HRSE curriculum by clicking here.  

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a program designed to support children who may have been exposed to domestic abuse. It works by ensuring that schools are notified promptly when a child has been present during a domestic incident. Upon receiving the notification, the school safeguarding team ensures that appropriate support is provided to the child. This may involve additional pastoral care, counselling, or any other necessary interventions to address the child's well-being. 

St John Henry Newman Catholic School demonstrates its commitment to protecting and supporting its students, both academically and emotionally, by integrating the Operation Encompass protocol into our safeguarding procedures.

Useful Sites for Parents 

Government website – www.educateagainsthate.com – Practical advice and information on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation. 

Information relating to Child Sexual Exploitation http://knowaboutcse.co.uk/what-is-cse/