This policy applies to all staff and volunteers.

Within Stranraer Academy we aim to create an environment in which all children are safe and feel safe.

We aim to ensure there is a strong, robust, and proactive response from adults to reduce the risk of harm to children.

We aim to ensure that adults working with our children know and understand the indicators that may suggest that a child/young person is suffering or is at risk of suffering harm. (Ref: How good is our school 4^th Edition)

We are fully committed to practice in a way that protects all children and fully adhere to the processes and procedures contained within Dumfries and Galloway’s Child Protection Procedures and the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 (updated 2023)

Supporting documents – National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 – updated 2023 – gov.scot

This document recognises:

• Everyone in Stranraer Academy has a responsibility to protect children.

• Every child, always, has a right to feel safe and protected from any situation or practice which may result in harm.

• The welfare of children, in Stranraer Academy is the paramount consideration, and we must all work together to ensure they are protected.

The purpose of this policy is to show how we:

• Protect children and young people attending Stranraer Academy.
• Provide staff, volunteers, children, parents, and carers with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding and child protection.

We believe that:  

• Children should never experience abuse of any kind.
• We all have a responsibility in Stranraer Academy to promote the welfare and wellbeing of all children to keep them safe and to practice in a way that protects them.

This policy should be read alongside our other policies and procedures including:

Health Care in Schools, Anti-bullying Guidance, Self-Harm & Suicidal Behaviours, Attendance at Schools, Managing School Exclusions, Prevent Referral Pathway etc.

In Stranraer Academy we recognise the following principles:

• The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take.
• Working in partnership with children, their parents, carers, and other agencies is essential in promoting children’s welfare.
• All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse.
• Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues.
• Extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.

We will seek to keep children safe in Stranraer Academy:

• Valuing our children, listening to them, and respecting them ensuring each child has access to a named person they can trust and talk to.
• Appointing a Child Protection Co-ordinator for the school and a deputy who will be the single points of contact for safeguarding and child protection matters.
• Adopting the processes and procedures contained within Dumfries and Galloway’s Education Child Protection Guidance & Multi-Agency Guidance.
• Building a safeguarding culture where staff, volunteers, children, and their families treat each other with respect and are confident and comfortable sharing their concerns.
• Embedding safeguarding and child protection into our policies and procedures.
• Developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures.
• Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through training, support, and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies and procedures, and our code of conduct confidently and competently.
• Building the capacity of our staff or volunteers by supporting their professional learning in matters related to safeguarding.
• Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.
• Recording and storing information professionally and securely and ensuring our record keeping is maintained to a high standard.
• Using our procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agency’s who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families, and carers appropriately.
• Sharing information about safeguarding and child protection and good practice with children and their families via leaflets, posters, websites etc to make sure children, and their families know where to go if they have a concern.
• Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately and promptly.
• Creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring we have a policy and a procedure in place to help us deal effectively with any bullying behaviour that does arise.
• Ensuring we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place.
• Ensuring we have approaches to safeguarding and child protection as part of our self-evaluation activities.
• Ensuring we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff, and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance.

Contact details for the Child Protection Coordinators in Stranraer Academy

Child Protection Coordinator
Name	Pamela Livingstone
Designation	Depute Head Teacher
Email	gw08livingstonepamel@glow.sch.uk

Depute Child Protection Coordinator
Name	Claire Dougan
Designation	PT Pupil Support
Email	gw08douganclaire@glow.sch.uk

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

This policy was last reviewed on: 21^st January 2025

Signed: Pamela Livingstone  (CPC for Stranraer Academy)

Further information to help protect children within Dumfries and Galloway:

Public Protection https://www.dgppp.org.uk/article/18633/Child-Protection

Dumfries and Galloway Children’s Services Partnership https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/dg/dgchildrensservices/

CAMHS – https://dghscp.co.uk/camhs/

NSPCC – https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

Further information to help protect children within Dumfries and Galloway:

Public Protection https://www.dgppp.org.uk/article/18633/Child-Protection

Dumfries and Galloway Children’s Services Partnership

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/dg/dgchildrensservices/

CAMHS – https://dghscp.co.uk/camhs/

NSPCC –  https://www.nspcc.org.uk/