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At Romero Catholic Academy Trust, safeguarding is central to our mission, guided by Faith, Service, Aspiration and Collaboration to ensure every child is safe, supported and able to thrive.  

Faith:We uphold our Catholic ethos by prioritising the spiritual, moral and emotional welfare of all children.

Service: We serve our communities by ensuring all staff are trained and vigilant, responding swiftly to safeguarding concerns. 

Aspiration: We create a secure environment where every child can learn, grow and reach their full potential.

Collaboration: We work closely with families, local authorities and partners to protect all children, sharing best practices across our Trust.

Romero Catholic Academy Trust schools are committed to embedding safeguarding in every part of school life , ensuring all children are cared for and their well-being is always at the heart of our work.

Please read our Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy document.

If you are concerned about a child, please make a factual record of your concern. Include day, date, time, and concern. You must share your concerns without delay to one of the following designated safeguarding leaders. Our Safeguarding Staff can be contacted during office hours on 01282 438120

Child Protection

Sharing information – Our Obligations

There may be times when the person you talked to has to share information.

This includes:

• if they think a child is at risk of harm
• if they think an adult is at risk of harm
• if they think the information could help prevent or detect a serious crime

We have a duty to protect children and young people from harm caused by neglect or abuse. This includes investigating any allegations that a child might be being neglected or abused, and if necessary, take appropriate action to protect the child.

If you have a concern that is out of school hours or you would like to make a referral directly to children’s services, please use the details below 

IF A CHILD IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER, PLEASE CONTACT THE POLICE ON 999

If you have concerns about a member of staff’s conduct towards a child, in the first instance, please contact the headteacher of the school. If the concern relates to the headteacher please contact the chair of governors and or the head of safeguarding at Romero Catholic Academy. There is also a Local Authority Designated Officer who you can speak to, below are the details for the LADO’s in each authority area of the trust. 

(Please note that the LADO contact names are based on the most recent available information and may be subject to change.)

Operation Encompass

Our school participates  in the Operation Encompass partnership scheme, between local school, academies, colleges, community health agencies, and Lancashire Police.

As part of the school’s commitment to keeping children safe, we are proud to be part of Operation Encompass. Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. Through this partnership the school’s Key Adult will be informed by 9.00am on the next school day that the child or young person has been involved, heard or witnessed a domestic incident. This knowledge, given to schools through Operation Encompass, allows the provision of immediate early intervention which means that our children will be given support and nurture when they need it most

If you would like to speak to someone further about the project or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Thompson.

If you would like to find out more information on this project, please click on the operation Encompass links below. 

Home : Operation Encompass

Early Help 

Early help means providing support to our children and families as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life.

School works to provide Early Help to those children and families in the school community with emerging needs, which may not be appropriate for Social Services intervention, but require some support. Early Help means providing support to our children and families as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life.

The “levels of need” model is used to assess at which level the help should be provided.

Early Help is the vision of all partner organisations working with children and families, to improve children’s lives by working in partnership to raise aspirations, build achievement and protect the most vulnerable.

There is clear evidence that early help results in better outcomes for children.

A key objective of Early help is to provide information, advice and access to services at the right time to meet a family’s needs and to support them in resolving concerns as soon as they emerge.

Support can be delivered from a wide range of services depending on what is needed; people already working with your family might offer additional help or support so that you can access more specialist or targeted services.

Support for families may include: 

• Advice and support to promote good attendance
• Liaising with external services e.g. Housing and Children Social Care.
• Support during appointments and in meetings.
• Help to complete paperwork and forms e.g. court appearances, housing, school letters, grant applications and benefits.
• Referrals to outside agencies e.g. Continence service, Paediatric Learning Disability Team and Speech and Language Therapists.
• Emotional support for parents
• Information on local specialist training events linked to additional needs through the termly SEND newsletter
• SEND parent drop ins with Headteacher/SENDCo
• School nurse support
• Early Help Assessment which may involve support from external agencies
• Children and Family Wellbeing pastoral visits 
• Providing information and signposting to other services in your local area. 

If you would like to request early help support or would like more information, please contact Mrs Thompson.

Please take time to read our Online Safety Policy

We also have a section on Internet Safety

External Support Details 

Online Safety 

We distribute a monthly online safety newsletter to our families.

The internet and technology are an every day and essential tool for learning and socialising. The online safety agenda continues to evolve and increase, and it continues to be crucial that we recognise online safety as a key safeguarding consideration and part of our statutory safeguarding responsibilities. This newsletter forms part of our approach to safeguarding our community online.

Please see the poster below for tips on keeping children safe online: