St Mary’s RC Primary School is a community and all those directly connected (staff, volunteers, parents, families and pupils) have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure. St Mary’s RC Primary School recognises our statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.
St Mary’s RC Primary School recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within school that will help children to be safe and feel safe. In our school children are respected and encouraged to talk openly.
“… school staff… play a crucial role in the support and protection of children as well as the development of their wellbeing. …Teachers are likely to have the greatest level of day-to-day contact with children and so are well placed to observe physical and psychological changes in a child that could indicate abuse and to contribute to the assessment of vulnerable children”
National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2014)
Designated Child Protection Officers
Mrs Curran, Miss Lothian, and Mrs Melville as the Child Protection Officers (DCPO). The DCPOs have the overall responsibility for the day to day oversight of safeguarding and child protection systems in school.
The DCPOs will undergo appropriate and specific training to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out their role. The DCPOs training will be updated formally every year but their knowledge and skills will be updated through a variety of methods at regular intervals through the DCPO forum and a variety of training opportunities.
Mrs Curran – Head Teacher Miss Lothian – Depute Head Mrs Melville – Senior EYP
