SAFEGUARDING

At John Emmerson Batty Primary School, the safety, welfare and wellbeing of every child is our highest priority.

We are committed to providing a safe, caring and supportive environment in which children can Achieve, Believe and Challenge, knowing that there are trusted adults who will listen to them, help them and act when they are worried.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility

Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. Everyone who works with our children – staff, governors, volunteers and visitors – has a responsibility to help keep them safe.

We aim to maintain a culture of vigilance in which:

the welfare and best interests of the child always comes first;
children feel safe, valued and listened to;
children know who they can talk to if they are worried;
concerns are recognised, reported and acted upon promptly;
staff remain professionally curious and understand that safeguarding concerns can arise in any family or community;
children and families receive the right help at the right time; and
safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility – it could happen here.

We recognise that safeguarding extends beyond protecting children from abuse and neglect. It includes children’s physical and emotional wellbeing, attendance, behaviour, online safety, child-on-child abuse, exploitation, domestic abuse, mental health and the many other circumstance that can affect a child’s safety and welfare.

Our Safeguarding Team

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of a child, please speak to a member of our Safeguarding Team as soon as possible.

Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs Julie Craggs (Headteacher)
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Miss Caitlin Harrison (Assistant Head) Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead / SENCO – Mrs Jayne Hogg

Working with parents and carers

Safeguarding children works best when schools and families work together.

We encourage parents and carers to speak to us if they are worried about their own child or another child. Sometime we may need to share information or work with other professionals and agencies to make sure that a child and their family receive the right support.

Wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so, we aim to work openly and respectfully with parents and carers.

Operation Encompass

John Emmerson Batty Primary School participates in Operation Encompass, an information-sharing partnership between the Police and educational settings.

The scheme enables school to be informed when the police have attended a domestic abuse incident involving a child or their household. This allows appropriately trained safeguarding staff to provide timely and sensitive support to the child when they arrive at school.

Children who see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse are recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.

Information received through Operation Encompass is treated sensitively and confidentially and is used to ensure that children receive appropriate support.

Our safeguarding responsibilities

Our safeguarding practice is informed by current statutory guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and Working Together to Safeguard Children, alongside relevant legislation and local safeguarding procedures.

All staff receive safeguarding training and regular updates and are expected to remain vigilant, recognise possible signs of harm and report concerns immediately.

The school follows robust safer recruitment procedures for adults working with children and maintains the required checks and records.

Useful safeguarding information

Parents and carers may find the following organisations helpful:

NSPCC – advice and support about keeping children safe
Childline – confidential support for children and young people
CEOP Safety Centre – reporting and advice relating to online sexual abuse and exploitation
Cleveland Police – police advice and reporting
UK Safer Internet Centre – advice about keeping children safe online

In an emergency, or if you believe that a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999.

Please use the link below to access Trust Safeguarding information

Safeguarding | Galileo Academy Trust

ATTENDANCE

Every Day Matters

At John Emmerson Batty Primary School, we want every child to attend school regularly, arrive on time and make the most of every opportunity to Achieve, Believe and Challenge.

Good attendance is about much more than numbers. Being in school every day helps children to:

learn and make progress;
develop friendships and feel part of our school community;
establish positive routines;
access support when they need it; and
develop the confidence, knowledge and skills they need for the future.

We know that there can sometimes be genuine reasons why children find attending school difficult. Our approach is to work with families, understand any barriers and provide support as early as possible.

Our approach: working together

Attendance is everyone’s responsibility.

We want parents and carers to talk to us early if something is making it difficult for their child to attend school regularly.

Where attendance begins to cause concern, we will work with children and their families to:

understand the reasons for absence;
identify any barriers to attending school;
agree appropriate support;
involve other professionals or services where this would help; and
review whether the support is improving attendance.

Our aim is always to work with families, while being clear about the importance of regular school attendance.

What should I do if my child is absent?

If your child is too unwell to attend school, please contact the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence and explain the reason for their absence.

School telephone no: 01642 483697

Please continue to keep us informed if your child’s absence continues.

If we have not received a reason for a child’s absence, school will contact parents/carers as part of our safeguarding and attendance procedures.

If you are unsure whether your child is well enough to attend school, please contact us for advice. NHS guidance about when children should stay off school is also available through the link below.

Attendance and safeguarding

Attendance is an important part of safeguarding.

Unexplained, frequent or prolonged absence can sometimes be an indication that a child or family needs additional help or support.

We therefore monitor attendance carefully and follow up unexplained absence promptly. Where we have concerns about a child’s welfare, we will take appropriate action in accordance with our safeguarding procedures.

When attendance becomes a concern

We monitor the attendance of all pupils and look carefully at patterns of absence rather than simply waiting for attendance to reach a particular percentage.

Where we identify concerns, we will contact parents/carers and work together to understand what is happening.

Depending upon the circumstances, this may include:

a conversation with a member of the attendance team;
additional support in school;
an attendance meeting;
an agreed attendance support plan;
support from other agencies or professionals; or
working with the Local Authority where attendance does not improve.

Please don’t wait for attendance to become a significant concern before speaking to us. Early conversations often enable us to provide help before difficulties become established.

Persistent and severe absence

The Department for Education defines a pupil as persistently absent when they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions.

A pupil who misses 50% or more of their possible sessions is considered severely absent.

We will work particularly closely with children and families where attendance reaches, or is at risk of reaching, these levels.

Our priority is to understand why a child is absent and identify what needs to happen to help them attend school more regularly.

Punctuality – being on time matter too

Arriving at school on time helps children to have a calm, positive start to the day.

Being regularly late can mean children miss important learning; routines and instructions and can make settling into the school day more difficult.

Classroom doors open at 8:40 am for a flexible start to the day.

Registration is at 8:50 am

The school register closes at 9:20 am, after which a child receives an unauthorised mark.

If you are experiencing difficulties getting your child to school on time, please talk to us so that we can help.

Leave during term time

Parents and carers should arrange holidays and other planned activities during school holidays where possible.

Headteachers may only grant a leave of absence during term time where the circumstance meet the requirements set out in the School Attendance Regulations. Each request will be considered individually.

A family holiday would not normally be considered an exceptional circumstance.

Parents wising to request leave during term time should complete the school’s Leave of Absence Request Form in advance.

Taking a child out of school without authorisation may result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised and may lead to further action, including a penalty notice.

Penalty Notices

There is a national framework for penalty notices relating to school attendance.

The national threshold for considering a penalty notice is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence with a rolling period of 10 school weeks. Ten sessions would usually be equivalent to five school days.

The sessions do not have to be consecutive and the 10-week period can span different terms or school years.

Where appropriate, our first priority will be to work with families to improve attendance. However, there are circumstanced where a penalty notice or other legal intervention may be appropriate.

Under the national framework:

First penalty notice within a three-year period

£80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days.

Second penalty notice for the same child within three years

£160 per parent, per child, payable within 28 days.

Third or subsequent offence within three years

A further penalty notice will not normally be issued and other legal action may be considered.

Penalty notices are issued per parent, per child.

We are here to help

There can be many reasons why a child struggle to attend school – including illness, anxiety, SEND, changes at home, friendship difficulties or other circumstances.

Please talk to us.

We would much rather know that there is a problem and work with you to find a solution than allow attendance difficulties to become more established.

Contact the school office on 01642 483697 or speak to a member of staff if you would like help or advice about your child’s attendance.

Useful information and documents

NHS – Is my child to ill for school?

Please see the attached poster which highlights the new attendance rules:

To download click here: Penalty Notice Information 24

Evidence shows that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A Level results. Our research found that pupils who performed better both at the end of primary and secondary school missed fewer days than those who didn’t perform as well. (Education Hub 23)

Attendance Poster – 90 Percent Attendance

Attendance Poster – Every Lesson Counts

Attendance Poster – Five Minutes Late

Attendance Poster – In One School Year

Attendance Poster – Lessons Missed