Safeguarding Information

Safeguarding all our children and families is of paramount importance to our school. We have a strong culture of safeguarding at Cuddington, and staff are trained to understand this is a responsibility for us all. You will find our Safeguarding policies on our policies page here.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Beth Hacking (Executive Headteacher)

The Safeguarding Team - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) comprises Sarah Potter (Deputy Headteacher - DHT), Margi Ireland (Family Support Worker - FSW) and Jenny Ducker (SENDCO). To contact the DSL or DDSL, please use our school contact details here.

 All staff have training to respond to safeguarding concerns and there are systems in place for us to escalate concerns. 

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child whilst school is closed (including the school holidays) please call the Integrated Access and Referral Team (iART) or the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) for help and advice. 

Telephone: i-ART -  0300 123 7047

The team can be contacted 8.30am to 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 8.30am – 4.30pm on Friday.

If you have an urgent concern outside these hours, or over a bank holiday, please call the Emergency Duty Team (out of hours) on 01244 977277.

Alternatively call Cheshire Police: 101 for non-emergencies or 999 in an emergency.

Domestic Abuse

If you or your children are experiencing domestic abuse and would like information and support, please see more information and contact details here. If you are at risk of immediate harm, call 999.

Operation Encompass

Our school is part of Operation Encompass, a joint project between Cheshire West and Chester schools and Cheshire Police. The project ensures that schools are informed, via a confidential phone call, when a domestic abuse incident occurs that may affect a child in school.

Designated Key Adults are trained to receive this information and provide appropriate support. At Cuddington Primary School, the Key Adults are Beth Hacking and Margi Ireland.

Support is usually discreet and may simply involve ensuring the child has a calm and supported day. Information is shared on a need-to-know basis and treated in confidence.

Where there are safeguarding concerns, information may be shared with other agencies in line with our Safeguarding Policy.

Operation Encompass allows the school to be ready to support children immediately. Parents and carers are welcome to speak to a Key Adult, who can also signpost further support if needed.

Parents and carers receive information about Operation Encompass annually.

Visitors to Cuddington

If you are a visitor to Cuddington (volunteer, student, other visitor) you will be given a quick guide to the school on arrival - there are additional copies available in the office, staffroom and staff bathrooms should you need to check them again. To keep all our visitors and children safe, please ensure you read this guide and ask for clarification if there is anything you are unsure about. 

Staff use CPOMs as a way of recording incidents or concerns about our children, but if CPOMs is not available, or you are not a member of staff, we ask that you seek the Designated Safeguarding Lead as soon as possible. They will likely ask for your account in writing for our records.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)

All staff working directly with children are expected to read at least part 1 of KCSIE, which is a statutory document issued by the DfE for all schools and colleges. You can find the latest guidance document below:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025-26 Part 1 download_for_offline
  download_for_offlineKeeping Children Safe in Education 2025-26 Part 1

Prevent Duty

It is part of our statutory duty to ensure we align with the Prevent Duty.

The aim of Prevent is to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

The objectives of Prevent are to:

• tackle the ideological causes of terrorism
• intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
• enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate

All staff are trained in what the Prevent Duty means, and what are the signs of causes for concern.

The school teaches Fundamental British Values through our SMSC approach.