All of our Safeguarding policies are on our Policies page, you can view all of them by clicking here.
External Link: Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026
Download: Schools Safeguarding Charter [PDF]
Download: Safeguarding Advice for Visitors [PDF]
Download: Operation Encompass Information [PDF]
Download: Safeguarding Induction Booklet [PDF]
Download: Designated Safeguard Lead (DSL) Job Description [PDF]
Download: Sexual Exploitation Leaflet [PDF]
External Link: IWF AI Child Abuse Imagery Parent Guide
Safeguarding at St Matthew’s
At St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. Our first priority is to provide a safe, caring and welcoming environment in which every child can thrive and have the very best start in life.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All staff, governors, volunteers and visitors are expected to remain vigilant and act immediately if they are worried about a child. We listen carefully to children, take their concerns seriously and work closely with families and other agencies when support is needed.
Our Safeguarding Team
Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Claire Sime, Headteacher Mrs Black Pastoral, Attendance and Family Support
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Jen Evans and Mr Mark Edwards, Deputy Headteachers
Any member of staff can receive a safeguarding concern and will pass it immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Our Approach
Safeguarding includes much more than child protection. Our responsibilities include:
- protecting children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and harm;
- supporting children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing;
- promoting respectful relationships and responding to bullying and child-on-child abuse;
- teaching children about consent, personal boundaries and how to seek help;
- keeping children safe online, including risks associated with social media, gaming, generative AI, deepfakes and the sharing of images;
- maintaining appropriate filtering and monitoring of school technology;
- monitoring attendance, punctuality and children missing from education;
- supporting children with medical needs, SEND or additional vulnerabilities;
- preventing radicalisation, extremism, criminal exploitation and sexual exploitation;
- following safe recruitment procedures and maintaining the school’s Single Central Record; and
- ensuring that school premises, educational visits and daily procedures are safe and well managed.
Safeguarding is taught through our curriculum, assemblies, relationships and health education, online-safety lessons and everyday conversations. Teaching is adapted to reflect children’s age, stage of development, SEND and communication needs.
Reporting a Concern
If you are worried about a child, please speak to a member of the safeguarding team or contact the school office as soon as possible. You do not need to be certain that abuse or neglect has occurred. Please share what you have seen, heard or been told and allow the safeguarding team to consider the appropriate action.
Information will be handled sensitively and shared only with those who need it to protect and support the child. The school may need to seek advice from or make a referral to Children’s Social Care, the police, health services or another appropriate agency. Wherever it is safe and appropriate, we will work openly and in partnership with parents and carers.
If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police by calling 999. Concerns may also be reported directly to Liverpool Children’s Services.
Attendance and Welfare
Regular attendance is an important part of safeguarding. The school follows up every unexplained absence on the first day, uses all available contact numbers and records the action taken. Where we cannot make contact or have concerns about a child’s welfare, we may carry out a home visit or request a welfare check.
Parents and carers must tell the school promptly why their child is absent and keep all contact and emergency-contact details up to date.
Online Safety and Images
The school teaches children how to use technology safely, responsibly and respectfully. School systems are filtered and monitored, but these safeguards do not replace adult supervision.
Parents and carers should supervise children’s online activity, use appropriate parental controls and talk regularly to their children about what they do online. Please report online bullying, grooming, inappropriate contact, harmful content, sexualised images, deepfakes or threats to the school.
To reduce safeguarding and AI-manipulation risks, the school normally uses partial, group, distant or rear-view photographs for public communications. Identifiable images of pupils are never uploaded to generative-AI platforms.
Visitors to School
All visitors must report to the school office, sign in, wear the identification provided and follow the school’s safeguarding procedures. Visitors must not photograph, film or record pupils or use mobile phones around children.
If a visitor sees or hears anything that causes concern, they must report it immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or another member of the safeguarding team.
Working Together
We value our partnership with parents and carers. By communicating openly, reporting concerns promptly and treating one another with respect, we can ensure that St Matthew’s remains a safe, happy and welcoming place where every child can Love, Learn and Shine together with Jesus.