At Turnfurlong Infant School, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concern. 

To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes  checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure & Barring Service checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire County Council in accordance with current legislation.

In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education“ September 2023, we have a trained Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection (Mrs Rebecca Ochiltree, Headteacher).  It is the responsibility of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis. We also have four members of staff who are able to deputise for the DSL in her absence.

Designated Safeguarding Lead - Rebecca Ochiltree, Headteacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads - Jenny Glen, Deputy Headteacher
                                                                          Sarah Gerhardt, SENDCo
                                                                          Karen Henry, Teacher
                                                                          Vicky Stockwell, Teacher, Early Years Lead
                                                                          Lesley Arnott, Teaching Assistant

We also have a named Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding.

Safeguarding Governor - Charlotte Austin, Chair of Governors                                                                    

Occasions do arise when our concern about a child mean we have to consult other agencies.  Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.

On very rare occasions whilst Social Care are undertaking an investigation under s47 of the Children Act 1989 they may want to speak to a child without a parent’s knowledge.  This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all.  If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to the Headteacher, Mrs Rebecca Ochiltree.

The Child Protection Policy can also be viewed on the website under 'Policies'.