Everyone at Cranford has a responsibility to keep children safe and to be alert at all times to their welfare and wellbeing. Any concerns about a child, however small, is reported through our MyConcern recording system to the Safeguarding Team.
We have 3 members of staff trained as designated safeguarding leads:
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is:
Mr Robert Tyman - Headteacher
Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are:
Mrs Emma Payne - Class Teacher
Mrs Tracey Molsher - Family Support Officer
Mr Tyman, Mrs Payne and Mrs Molsher can be contacted via the school office Tel. 01536 330300 or via our contact form on the school website.
At times we may need to seek advice from outside agencies as to how best to support you and your family. For more information, please see our our current Safeguarding policy, which can be found in the policies section.
A key safeguarding documents that we work with is:
Safeguarding Supporting Documents
Whenever we have a visitor, student or supply teacher to our school we pass on to them our Safeguarding Leaflet and ask that they read it carefully and keep it with them for reference throughout their time at Cranford C of E Primary School.
At Cranford, we promote an ethos of 'professional curiosity' and believes that all children have a right to grow up and learn in a safe and secure environment. If we have any concerns about a child's safety we will speak to you as parents in the first instance. Often through us talking things through, the concerns that have been raised are explained. In some cases, we can support you as a family through our extensive experience within school. Occasionally, we may feel that further support is required by outside agencies and refer the suspicion to social services. This procedure enables us to protect children at risk and we make no apology for taking the attitude that where there are grounds for suspicion it is better to be safe than sorry.
What should I do if I have concerns about a child or family?
Emergencies: If it is an emergency and you think a child may be in immediate danger please contact the emergency services directly by calling 999.
If you do not think it is an emergency
- Speak with one the safeguarding leads at school via the school office 01536 330300 or email
- Contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for North Northamptonshire on 0300 126 7000.
- Click here for further advice from Northamptonshire MASH.
- Speak to the NSPCC:
Help for adults concerned about a child or call 0808 800 5000
Help for children and young people or call 0800 1111
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) deals with referrals from professionals and members of the public who may have concerns about a child’s welfare. It makes the process of dealing with referrals quicker and more effective by improving the way county council: Children’s social care, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), Youth Offending Service (YOS) and education, work alongside other partner agency colleagues including Northamptonshire police, Northamptonshire health partners, National Probation Service, and the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) to share information.
To contact MASH
Reports can also be made online at Report a concern (nctrust.co.uk)
Out of Hours
If you need to contact children's social care urgently during the evening, at night or at the weekend, phone their out of hours team on 01604 626 938.
To find out more or to make a referral to MASH please using the multi-agency referral form online, please click here.
LADO
If you have a concern about a member of staff in school, please contact the Headteacher, Rob Tyman,
If your concern is about the Headteacher, please contact the PDET Director of Safeguarding, Helen Buckley on 01604 422485.
If you have a concern about any adult who is working with children, you can also contact the Designated Officer (formerly known as the LADO) on or to contact the local authority Designated Officer for North Northamptonshire, please call Andy Smith 07850 854309 / Sian Edwards 07738 636449 / Francesca Hamilton 07443 348415.
Below are some more specific links and details in regards to safeguarding concerns and worries:
Family Help Conversations
Support for Families at Cranford CE Primary School
We understand just how complicated family life can be. Every family can have ups and downs. Being a parent is hard work and there are no instructions.
From time to time, there may be situations where you or your children need some extra help and support. If things are not right at home, please come and talk to us. We can offer support for many different problems. Some examples are:
- Children’s behaviour or parenting advice
- School attendance
- Finances or housing
- Parental conflict or separation
- Bereavement
- Parent or Child Mental Health or Wellbeing
- Completion of forms or applications
- Lead on Family Help Conversations (see below)
Family Help Conversation (formerly Early Help Assessment)
A Family Help Conversation is particularly useful when there is more than one issue that you may need support with.
What will happen if I ask for a Family Help Conversation?
Every family goes through challenging times at some point. Family help means working with you and your family so that small problems don’t become big problems.
Family help is for everybody - for families with children and young people of any age. It is your choice whether to have it or not.
Why would I want Family Help?
There are lots of reasons why people look for family help. It could be that you’re worried about your child’s health, development or behaviour, or how they’re doing at school, or perhaps because you are caring for a disabled child. It may be that you’re worried about money or housing and how that is affecting your family. Maybe your child or your family is affected by domestic abuse, drugs or alcohol or crime. Perhaps your child is a carer for other people, or maybe you’ve had a bereavement in the family that’s made life a real challenge.
Where can I get Family Help?
If you feel you and your family might need support to solve some problems, you can speak to our Family Support Worker, Tracy Molsher. Sometimes, if we are worried that you may be having some problems, we might ask you if you would like to talk about Family Help.
Initially, we will talk with you about the problems you’re experiencing. We will ask what help and support you think you might need. This is called a Family Help Conversation. This is nothing to be worried about. It’s just a conversation to work out how to help you stop small problems turning into big problems. You can talk about things that are going well and things that you’re proud of as well as things that you’re finding a challenge. We will also talk with your child or children in your family to make sure they understand how they are feeling and anything they think they might want some help with. Together we’ll agree what to write down so there is a record of what we talked about.
What happens next will be different for every family. You might make a plan with the person you spoke with to sort out the problems. You might want to meet with other people who may be able to help. This is called a Team around the Family (TAF) meeting. Or you might want to get an external service to give you the help you feel you need. These are just examples. You have control over what happens next and can say what you want. If you decide you’d like some help, the person you talked with will ask if they can share details of your conversation. You need to be happy with this and give your permission. This is to make sure the people who will be supporting you are able to do a good job for you and understand the journey you and your family have been on.
Tracy currently works at Cranford all day on Wednesday but is contactable by email on any day.
Targeting and Reducing Grooming, Exploitation and Trading of Children and Young People Online
The TARGET Project across Northamptonshire and Leicestershire aims to challenge the many and increasing dangers to children and young people online, supporting 900+ young people aged 5-18 year olds in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Project beneficiaries will increase their online protective behaviours, improve their wellbeing and increase their transferable knowledge and skills. This service is currently for disadvantaged children and young people aged 5-18 (up to 25 for Disabled Young People) who will have been identified as at risk or already affected by online sexual exploration and abuse. Work undertaken by the project beneficiaries may lead to referrals into other internal and external services. The project aims to achieve young people with an increased awareness of online protective behaviours, increased levels of wellbeing, increased transferable life skills and increased accredited youth volunteering.
Advice and Support can be received by calling 01933 277520.
County Lines
County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs. The ‘County Line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs. Importing areas (areas where the drugs are taken to) are reporting increased levels of violence and weapons-related crimes as a result of this trend.
The best advice is to trust your instincts. Even if someone isn't involved in county lines drug dealing, they may be being exploited in some other way, so it's always worth speaking out. You can speak to your local police by dialling 101, or in an emergency 999. If you would rather remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
To find out more, click here.
Accommodation Concern
Accommodation Concern is the only dedicated, independent, anti-poverty, housing advice and homelessness prevention charity based in Kettering, Northamptonshire. They operate at least 12 advice surgeries each week, both via drop-in sessions and individual appointments for housing and well-being. Accommodation Concern receives food donations from Aldi and Lidl on a Monday, Thursday and Friday. Accommodation Concern are based at 1 Meadow Road, Kettering NN16 8TL.
If you know of any families that would benefit from help from Accommodation Concern, please contact them on 01536 416560 to find out what food items they have in.
Kettering Community Unit (KCU)
KCU was founded in 1984 and works with partners to provide a wide range of services, offering help and support to improve the lives of people in the Kettering Community. Their services now provide Education, Training and Support for the unemployed, unwaged and low-income households of Kettering and it's surrounding areas. To find out about the help and courses that KCU are running please visit their website here.