The physical and emotional safety of the children and adults at Southville Primary is of paramount importance to us all. This page is a summary many of the day-to-day measures we have in place to ensure that everyone in our school family is able to learn, play and work in an environment which keeps them safe and secure.
Entering The School Buildings
All visitors must enter through the signposted main entrance on each site and report to the welcome desk where they will be asked to sign in and wear a visitor badge. This is really important, even if you are only 'popping in'. We use an electronic sign-in system across both sites which means that we have completely accurate picture of who is in each building at all times.
Site Security
It is essential our children feel safe and secure whilst in the school building and in the grounds.
For parents and children at the start and end of the day, access to the grounds is solely via the allotted gate and these gates remained locked at all other times.
Maintaining a Safe Environment
We have a team of people ensuring our school environment is safe for the children and adults within it. Our Headteacher Andy Bowman and Site Manager David Thomas are supported by our Health and Safety Governor Liz Newton and Business Manager Savi Flaecher. 'Formal' monitoring walks alongside day-to-day vigilance ensure our environment remains a safe place to learn, play and work.
Reporting a Hazard
Our site team consists of Mr Thomas, Mr Smith and Mr Staynings and together they take excellent care of our buildings and grounds. They are proactive in ensuring the environment is safe for us all, however lots of eyes are better than six so if you spot a potential hazard, please do not hesitate to let Mr Thomas, Mr Potter, Mr Commander or Mr Bowman know and we will see to it as quickly as possible.
Play
Our play policy is rooted in the principle that 'risky play' is often the most enjoyable and beneficial form of play, and so we provide varied opportunities for children to climb, build, explore and play imaginatively.
We risk assess all opportunities carefully, always balancing the likely level of risk against the potential benefits of the play, and our staff are trained to support the children in making appropriate decisions. Accidents do occasionally happen, as they do in every school, however since expanding the play opportunities we provide children, and introducing more opportunities for child-led play, we have seen children becoming more adept at managing risks independently.
As with all aspects of Health and Safety in school, our Governors support us in monitoring and refining our playtime provision, and we are part of the OPAL project (Outdoor Play And Learning) through which we are able to check our process of risk-benefit assessment is robust and in line with overarching OPAL safety principles. This ongoing review of our provision means we can ensure our children benefit from the joy of active, natural, sometimes risky play, in as safe an environment as possible.
First Aid
We have a designated First Aid space on each site and many qualified First Aiders. We are very proactive in contacting parents and carers if we are particularly concerned about a child, and do so as a matter of course if a child has a head bump. If this is to inform you of a bump but your child is well enough to stay in school, we will usually inform you via text message. All children who are treated in the First Aid room are given a letter to take home with details of the injury or symptoms they have been treated for.
Medicines
Generally we operate on the simple principle that if a child requires medicine during the day, they are not well enough to be in school and should stay at home. Children should never be entrusted with bringing any kind of medication into school including cough sweets or similar.
Occasionally however, a doctor may advise that a child may attend school whilst still needing medication and parents are welcome to come into school to administer the medicine. If this is not possible for any reason, please contact the school office or speak to your child's class teacher or teaching assistant, who maintains an overview of all medical needs in their class.
If your child has an on-going problem, such as a serious allergy, which may affect them while they are at school, please speak to their class teacher, Paula Mathias (Family Liaison) or a member of the senior leadership team.
Asthma inhalers may be kept by the child or teacher for use if needed. Please label clearly with your child’s name.
Please click here to read our policy for supporting children with Medical Conditions.
Behaviour
Our behaviour policy works towards ensuring all adults and children at Southville are able to thrive in an environment which not only provides the emotional and physical safety we all need but also offers the support, nurture and guidance we each need to be the best we can be.
If bullying occurs, we identify and tackle it as outlined in our Preventing and Managing Bullying Policy.