CONTEXTUAL SAFEGUARDING AT WHITLEY CHAPEL
Contextual safeguarding recognises that as young people grow and develop they are influenced by a whole range of environments and people outside of their home.
At Whitley Chapel C of E First School, we recognise that there are specific dangers in our community that we must safeguard children from. Our curriculum has been designed to tackle each of these areas at regular points throughout each year in school. In each class, the issues will be covered in age appropriate ways.
The recognised contextual issues for our children are:
ROAD SAFETY
Whitley Chapel C of E First School is situated in Whitley Chapel, a small village that is close to a large number of tourist destinations and farms. As a result, there is a high volume of traffic moving through our village. Our school is situated on a corner and the main road that passes by is used by farm traffic such as combine harvesters and tractors. There are also other vehicles such as tourist caravans and goods vehicles that pass by and it is for this reason that we feel it is vital that our pupils develop an awareness of the dangers of the road network and learn how to use our roads safely.
E-SAFETY
The internet has changed all of our lives, particularly our children’s. One outcome of the pandemic is that more and more children have access to, and spend time using, electronic devices that have the capability to connect to the internet. It is vital that we equip our pupils with the tools they need to stay safe online. In addition to the units of work that are built into our computing curriculum, we plan special events throughout the year to tackle this issue, such as e-safety week each February.
VALUING EACH MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
Our community is not particularly diverse in terms of religion and/or culture, however in an ever evolving world, we feel our children need to know how to embrace these differences for their future life experiences. Additionally, we want to challenge some attitudes that we come across, that don't belong in our society.
WATER SAFETY
Northumberland is home to a number of different bodies of water. Many of our children go to Tyne Valley with their family and the RIver Tyne runs right through the heart of this. It is vital that we upskill our pupils so they are able to stay safe in the water. This takes the form of specific lessons focused on water safety, and a slow drip feed through other curriculum areas. Children also have swimming lessons.