Safeguarding and welfare procedures
At our school staff understand that children learn best when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them.
It is a legal requirement for each child in the EYFS to have a key person. By the time most children reach Nursery and Reception class age they will have developed a strong attachment to a parent and are able to cope with shared attention from a few adults. With this in mind all the children are designated a key person in Nursery, enabling the children to initially build a trusting relationship with a particular member of the staff team who will help to settle the child, make observations, feed interests and next steps into planning and discuss progress with the class teacher. All staff in Nursery work very closely together to ensure the children are supported appropriately and make progress. In Reception, the class teacher is the designated key person supported by the teaching assistant who may have a small number of key children who need support in developing good attachment and relationships or who have formed a trusting working relationship with that child.
It is vital that all children in the school are safe and develop the skills they need to keep themselves safe. Children are allowed to take risks, but need to be taught how to recognise and avoid hazards both in the real and virtual world. We risk assess our environment and opportunities in order to enable children to engage in challenging play and ‘risky freedoms’.