Safeguarding and Child Protection
At Gorsefield, the safety and welfare of every child is our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a strong culture of vigilance, where every member of staff understands their safeguarding responsibilities and acts swiftly to protect children from harm.
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, and at Gorsefield we go beyond statutory expectations. All members of the Senior Leadership Team and Inclusion Team are fully trained Designated Safeguarding Leads, ensuring that specialist safeguarding support is always available for children, families and staff. In recognition of the importance we place on online safety, our Digital Strategy and Computing Lead is also DSL trained, further strengthening our commitment to safeguarding children both in school and in the digital world.
In addition to Mrs Paice and Mrs Ireland, the following staff are also DSL trained:
Mrs Onyekaba: Head Teacher
Mr Brannigan: Digital Strategy and Computing Lead.
Safeguarding is woven into the fabric of school life and our curriculum, both socially and academically, equipping children with the knowledge, skills and confidence to keep themselves safe, make informed choices and navigate the world around them. Through strong relationships, high expectations and a shared commitment to wellbeing, we ensure that every child feels safe, valued and empowered to learn without limits.
All staff receive regular safeguarding training, including:
Child Protection, Prevent, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) Training and Cyber Security Training
Our approach aligns fully with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Ofsted’s emphasis on safeguarding being embedded across every aspect of school life.
If you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child, please contact a member of our Safeguarding Team immediately.
Safeguarding: Medical Conditions
At Gorsefield Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that every child’s health and wellbeing needs are met so they can thrive in school. We understand that some pupils require additional medical support and we take great care to ensure that this is managed safely, sensitively and in partnership with families and health professionals.
We are proud to have our own Medical Lead, Mrs Ireland, who leads our approach to health and medical care in school. Mrs Ireland liaises directly with medical professionals to ensure that all medical care plans are accurate, up to date and effectively shared with relevant staff.
All of our staff are First Aid trained, ensuring rapid support in the event of an injury or medical concern. In addition, all staff working in and alongside EYFS are Paediatric First Aid trained, enabling expert response to the needs of our youngest pupils.
All staff receive appropriate training to manage a wide range of medical conditions, including:
Prescribed medication can be administered on school premises with prior written consent from parents or carers, ensuring pupils receive the care they need throughout the school day.
Through robust communication, clear procedures and a compassionate approach, we ensure that children with medical needs are fully included in school life and can belong, achieve and thrive alongside their peers.
Gorsefield's Early Years Safeguarding Song
At our school, we believe that every child has the right to feel safe, valued, and supported and that it is everyone's responsibility to ensure this happens. To help our pupils remember the special people who help keep them safe, we have created a fun and memorable 'safety song'. This is particularly supportive to children who may not be fully fluent readers yet and therefore not fully accessing the signage and website information. The song encourages children to think about the trusted adults in their lives-both in school and at home-who they can talk to if they ever feel worried or unsure. The song is share during EY and KS1 assembly times and through singing and learning together, our pupils are reminded that safety, care, and learning without limits are at the heart of our school’s mission and ethos.
This song sits alongside school's safeguarding policy, keeping you safe posters around school and a culture of safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
Forward as One by ThoJo | Suno
Safeguarding Contextual Factors as a Radcliffe Primary School
Open Water Safety
We encourage all families to talk regularly with their children about water safety. Children should never play near open water without appropriate adult supervision and should always stay away from riverbanks, especially after periods of heavy rain when water levels and currents can rise rapidly. In an emergency, children should know to call 999 and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service or Coastguard, rather than entering the water themselves.
As a school located close to the River Irwell, we are committed to helping children understand the dangers associated with open water. Rivers, canals, reservoirs and ponds can be extremely hazardous at any time of year. Strong currents, deep water, slippery banks, hidden obstacles and cold-water shock can quickly put lives at risk, even for confident swimmers.By working together, we can help keep our children safe and raise awareness of the risks of drowning and water-related accidents in our local area.
Every year, too many lives are lost to drowning, yet drowning is preventable. With the right water safety education, children and young people can enjoy the water with confidence and stay safe.
Water Safety Lesson Shared with Children
To support water safety and promote lifelong swimming skills, all pupils take part in swimming lessons during both Year 4 and Year 6. This additional provision helps ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop confidence in the water, improve their swimming ability, and work towards meeting the National Curriculum expectation of being able to swim at least 25 metres competently, confidently and proficiently. By providing swimming lessons at two key stages, we aim to equip our pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe in and around water throughout their lives.
Safeguarding Newsletters
Termly Safeguarding Newsletter Autumn 1