Cherry Orchard Primary Academy is a community and all those directly connected (staff, governors, parents, families and students) have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure. Cherry Orchard Primary Academy recognises our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.
Cherry Orchard Primary Academy recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within the academy that will help children to feel safe, secure and respected; encourage them to talk openly; and enable them to feel confident that they will be listened to. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective support, protection and justice.
- Safeguarding Team
- COPA Visitor Information Leaflet
- Online Safety Policy
- COPA Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy
- COPA Child Protection Policy for Early Years Setting
Our ‘Child Friendly’ Pledge to keep children safe at COPA
“Cherry Orchard is our school and we want it to be a safe place! The adults in Cherry Orchard will do everything they can to make sure you are protected and happy. To help them do this, they have lots of rules to follow. This pledge helps you understand what Safeguarding means to you and to help you decide what could be a ‘ problem’ and who you should talk to.
The adults in school think that Safeguarding means that they should:
- Protect you from harm
- Make sure nothing stops you being healthy or developing properly
- Make sure you are safely looked after
- Make sure you have the best life chances and can grow up happy and successful
They agree that to make sure they look after you they will:
- Make the school a friendly, welcoming and supportive place to spend time in somewhere you want to be
- Be there for you to talk to if you need to and know who to ask for help
- Give you safe messages in your lessons to help you learn how to look after yourself both online and in the real world
- Have all the right rules in place to help look after you. They will follow these rules all of the time (these are sometimes called Policies)”
What is abuse?
Any form of neglect, physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to harm or injury. It can happen to any child regardless of their age, gender, race or ability.
What is discrimination?
When people receive less favourable treatment on any grounds which cannot be justified. This covers race, ethnic or national origin, language, religion or belief, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, disability, social class, responsibility for other dependent or where the person lives.
What is bullying?
A wilful, conscious attack on the self-esteem or the person or an individual student. It may include jibes, name-calling, silence/exclusion from the social circle, emphasising different, threatening behaviour, racial/sexual harassment, extortion and physical attacks. It may vary in severity, frequency and in the numbers of people involved and usually this happens frequently, over a long period of time.
People working in school are uniquely placed to notice signs and symptoms of abuse and to support children who are subject to abuse or living in abusive situations.