Relationships: Trust and Networks

Dear Families,

At UWCSEA, we believe that keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. This extends to a responsibility to ensure that our students are equipped to make sense of the world around them and to make decisions that maximise the safety of themselves and others. With this in mind, a key component of our PSE (Personal and Social Education) Curriculum focuses on “Safe Behaviours”. This is based on the foundation of developing respectful relationships, in keeping with our belief that all children and young people have a right to:

• Be treated with respect and to be protected from harm

• Be asked for their opinions about things that affect their lives and be listened to

• Feel and be safe in their interactions with adults and other children and young people

• Understand as early as possible what is meant by ‘feeling and being safe’

When introducing concepts around Safe Behaviours, our teachers use age-appropriate language and activities to explore the themes of having a right to be safe and making choices to keep ourselves safe.

All staff members at UWCSEA are trained in Safeguarding, and we also have “Designated Safeguarding Leads”(DSLs) at UWCSEA. These are senior members of staff trained further in child protection and are responsible for receiving, gathering information and responding to safeguarding concerns within UWCSEA. In the Infant School, our designated DSLs are Ms. Vikki Wright (Primary School Vice Principal, Infants) and Mr. Brian O’Maoileoin. If you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a student at UWCSEA, please don’t hesitate to reach out to them.

Please read carefully the letter below introducing our upcoming Safeguarding Unit on Trust Networks. More information about how we will work with the children to create their "Trust Trees" will be shared with you in the coming weeks. If your child was at UWCSEA last year, they may already be familiar with making a “trust tree”. If possible, please take out your child’s trust tree from last year and talk about who is on it. What people might they keep on their tree this year? Who might they add? For now, please begin these important discussions, below, at home.

Many thanks and as always in partnership,

K2 Team