Safeguarding
The Marlborough is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and expects all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment.
Safeguarding children and protecting them from harm is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play.
We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff are trained in Child Protection & Safeguarding. Children are made aware of the adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical /emotional harm, neglect and sexual abuse and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Safeguarding Policy which can be viewed in the policies section on our website. On occasions our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult outside agencies such as social services. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed first with parents/carers before any such referrals are made, unless of course we believe that such action may be contrary to a child’s welfare.
We actively support the Government’s Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism, and all staff have CSE and FGM training.
The Marlborough's Safeguarding Team
Mrs Presland (Lead DSL)
Miss Mack (DDSL)
Mrs Kennett (DDSL)
Mrs Currie (DDSL)
Mrs Lovelock (DDSL)
Information for parents
Early Help for Families
There are organisations and services across Medway that can support you and your family. Medway provide support early on and as soon as it is needed, to help families thrive and resolve any challenges you and your family may be facing before they become too difficult to manage.
What is Early Help?
Early Help is any additional support that a family may need, to prevent concerns escalation and to try and prevent a family hitting crisis point and needing statutory services to become involved. This Early Help can be provided by a number of different professionals/agencies and is an opportunity to support a family at the right time for them. It can transform children's and families' lives giving them the resilience they need to thrive. The aim is to ensure that families needing additional help have one lead person in their lives, so that they do not have to tell their story more than once. Early Help will work with you to understand the issues and will get the support needed to help you and your family get back on track
Early Help is a optional service, and therefore it is your choice whether to have this or not.
Early help could help with issues about:
- School, education or training
- home and life relationships
- health and emotional wellbeing
- work, finances or housing
- domestic violence or abuse
- crime or anti-social behaviour
If you would like extra help and support, then let the school pastoral team aware or make an early help referral online
*Please see Online information under 'Online Safety' https://www.hoo-st-werburgh.medway.sch.uk/key-information/safeguarding
Medway Safeguarding Children Partnership
Medway Council Concerned About A Child You can also phone 01634 334 466 or the 24 hour emergency number 03000 419 191.
Alternative telephone numbers if you have concerns about a child:
NSPCC on 0808 800 5000
Child Line on 0800 1111
Medway Police on 0162 2690 690
Other useful contact details:
Non-emergency number 101
Emergency number 999
LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) – Tel: 01634 331307 / 01634 336 204
Useful links to:
NSPCC
NSPCC Whistleblowing helpline is 0800 028 2085 (8am – 8pm Monday to Friday) or via email help@nspcc.org.uk
CEOP
Information for learners
HSW Child Friendly Safeguarding Polices:
Working Together To Safeguard Children
NSPCC or call 0808 800 5000
Child Line or call 0800 1111
Information for staff
Pastoral
If you have any concerns about your child/ren, please feel free to reach out to our inclusion team. We are hear to listen and support with any issues that you may have.
Mrs Banks (Head of Inclusion and Pastoral Services)
Mrs Pace (Pastoral Welfare Manager)
Nurture team
Mrs Winters (Nurture Lead)
Mrs Sam Potts (Nurture TA)
SEND
Mrs Gallacher (Senco)
Online Safety
Online-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at our school.
We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the online-Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.
It’s essential to be realistic - banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.
CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and ‘e’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.
Read more information about online safety on:
Our Safety Centre
Internet Matters
Internet Watch Foundation
Stop It Now
Childline Safety Online
How do I ensure my child is kept safe online?
It is important that pupils know what to do to stay safe when accessing the internet. The following are some ways you can help your children to stay safe online.
- Help your child to avoid seeing inappropriate content online by discouraging them for clicking on pop-ups or links that they have not been directed to by their class teacher.
- Ensure they know to tell a trusted adult straight away if they see anything they don't like online or are worried about what someone has said them online.
- Talk to your child and remind them to not share any personal data online.
- Ensure they are aware to be mindful of how they speak to others online and remember that all actions they take have a digital footprint.
Child friendly search engines
Operation Encompass
At Hoo St Werburgh Primary School and The Marlborough we strive to provide a caring ethos where everyone in the school community feels safe, confident, valued and respected. By promoting and environment with this ethos, Hoo St Werburgh and The Marlborough participates in a police led initiative called Operation Encompass. This is a partnership between schools and the police that helps schools to better support any child where a domestic incident has been reported to the police from their home.
Following a domestic incident, the police will made contact with the child's school via a secure email and will communicate relevant information to a nominated, fully-trained member of our safeguarding team. This will ensure that as a school, we are mad aware early enough, to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe, supported and listened to. It will also provide an opportunity for school to offer support to the whole family. Where everyone can live and work together in a supportive way, enables all to reach their full potential, emotionally, socially, and intellectually.
Please click on here for more information.
Prevent
What is the Prevent strategy?
Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.
The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.
PREVENT Guidance for schools and childcare providers on preventing children and young people
Prevent Policy
Marlborough Prevent Policy 2026
Educate Against Hate
This is an important government website that provide advice and information about protecting children from extremism and radicalisation. Please note the poster in the staff corridor.
How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?
From July 2015 all schools have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.
This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence.
The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. However, it is about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect.
Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss any issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.
Safeguarding Policy
Please take a moment to read our Trust Safeguarding Policy 2025