Newton International School

West Bay
Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy 2022-23
OUR VISION
An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.

OUR MISSION
We aim to provide the highest quality of education possible for students of all abilities. In doing so,
we aim to positively encourage each student to achieve academic excellence, enjoy creative
diversity, develop critical thinking skills and become lifelong learners and responsible citizens.

To achieve our Vision & Mission, we will provide a diverse education in a safe, supportive
environment that promotes self-discipline and motivation. We will provide and maintain a calm,
trusting and caring atmosphere where teaching and learning experiences are ethical, purposefuland
authentic and where every member of our school community is valued and respected.

Child Protection & Safeguarding

Child Protection is a re-active process used to describe the activity that is undertaken to protect
specific children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.
Safeguarding is the proactive actions that is taken by us in order to promote the welfare of children
and protect them from harm. Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment is everyone’s
responsibility at this school.
We support the Qatar National Vision’s belief in an effective social protection system for all Qataris
that ensures their civil rights, values their contribution in developing their society, and ensures an
adequate income to maintain a healthy and dignified life. This policy outlines all the measures that
we take in order to ensure that we remain vigilant, identify concerns early and provide help in order
to safeguard and protect our pupils.

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay
Rationale
NIS West Bay is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and expects all staff
members to share this commitment.

Aim of the policy

To ensure that all members of staff know:
1. The signs and symptoms of concern;
2. How to respond to a pupil who discloses abuse;
3. What to do if they are concerned about a child.

Purpose of Safeguarding
At Newton International School, West Bay, we aim to:

 Establish and maintain an environment where pupils feel safe and secure, are encouragedto talk and
are listened to;
 Ensure that pupils know that there are adults within the school they can approach if theyare
worried or are in difficulty;
 Ensure pupils receive the right help at the right time to address risks and prevent issuesescalating;
 Include in the curriculum activities and opportunities which equip pupils with the skills they need to
stay safe from abuse and to develop healthy and safe relationships;
 Include in the curriculum, material which will help pupils develop realistic attitudes to the
responsibilities of adult life, particularly with regard to the treatment of children;
 Protect children from harm and to ensure that they are taught in a way that is consistentwith our
values and to promote respect for all others;
 Make parents/carers aware of the school policies and practice for child protection and safeguarding
to ensure that, wherever possible, every effort will be made to establish open and honest effective
working relationships with parents in order to protect our children from harm.

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay
Sample of activities, protocols and tasks used to safeguard our pupils:
 Clear policy that is known to all stakeholders (School staff / parents etc.)
 Designated Safeguard Lead and deputies who are known to staff, pupils and parents.
 All staff trained externally online on Safeguarding and in-school training on the school’s procedures.
 Procedures to report a disclosure
 Procedures for visitors through the security gates
 Internet and online prevention strategies.
 Anti-bullying day / Online safety day and other opportunities to protect children
 Risk assessments for Trips *

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

The Head of Primary, Mr Michael Stuart is the DSL at the Primary school and the KS1 Coordinator,
Ms Foteini Papadopoulou is the Deputy DSL in the primary school.

The EYFS Coordinator, Mrs. Katie Dower, is the DSL at the Kindergarten school and Ms Nadine
Heaney is the Deputy DSL in the kindergarten school.

In addition, we have Ms Nawal as the DSL with regards to Arabic concerns, which she liaises with
the Primary DSL.
The designated safeguarding lead (and deputy) are committed to continued training to provide them
with current knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. This training should be updated at
least every two years.
The designated safeguarding lead and deputy must:

 ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands, the school’s child protection
And safeguardingpolicy and procedures;
 ensure each member of staff understands the importance of information sharing, both within the
school and with other organisations (where applicable);
 ensure that the school maintains detailed, accurate, secure written records of concerns and
referrals;
 understand the unique risks associated with online safety and be confident that staff andparents
have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep childrensafe whilst they are
online at school;
 recognise the additional risks that children with SEN and disabilities (SEND) face online, for example,
from online bullying, grooming and radicalisation and are confident they have the capability to
support SEN children to stay safe online;
 obtain access to resources and attend any relevant or refresher training courses;
 encourage a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, among
all staff, in any measures the school may put in place to protect them;
 ensure the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy is known, understood and used
appropriately;
 ensure the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy is reviewed annually and theprocedures
and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly, and work with Standardisation Office
regarding this;
 ensure the child protection and safeguarding policy is available publicly; and
 Link with the safeguarding partner to make sure staff are aware of any training opportunities and

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay
the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements.
 Keep written records of concerns about a child;
 Ensure that all such records are kept confidentially and securely and are separate from student
records;
 Ensure that an indication of further record-keeping is marked on the student records;
 Provide advice, guidance and support to staff in child protection matters

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Our Online Safety Rules

Key Stage 1
Think then Click!
These rules help us to stay safe on the Internet

 We only use the internet when an adult is with us

 We can click on the buttons or links when we know what they do.
 We can search the Internet with an adult.
 We always ask if we get lost on the Internet.
 We can send and open emails together.
 We can write polite and friendly emails to people that we know

Key Stage 2

Think then Click!

These rules help us to stay safe on the Internet

 We ask permission before using the Internet.

 We only use websites that an adult has chosen.
 We tell an adult if we see anything we are uncomfortable with.
 We immediately close any webpage we not sure about.
 We only e-mail people an adult has approved.
 We send e-mails that are polite and friendly.
 We never give out personal information or passwords.
 We never arrange to meet anyone we don’t know.
 We do not open e-mails sent by anyone we don’t know.
 We do not use Internet chat rooms. If you felt uncomfortable about anything you saw, or if
anybody asked you for your personal details such as your address on the internet would you know
where to go for help

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Indicators of abuse and neglect

Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting
harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional
or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. Abuse can take place
wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by an
adult or adults or by another child or children.
Physical abuse: a form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning,
burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.
Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or
deliberately induces, illness in a child.
Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and
adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they
are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another
person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views,
deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may
feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may
include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection
and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal
social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve
serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in
danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in
all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.
Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities,
not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is
happening. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or
in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in
sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take
place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse.
Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adults; sexual abuse of children by other children is a
specific safeguarding issue in education.

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Neglect: the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likelyto
result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during
pregnancy, for example, as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may
involve a parent or carer failing to: provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including
exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or
danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); orensure
access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or
unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic needs.

Signs and Indicators of abuse

Neglect Emotional Physical Sexual
-Tired/listless -Failure to thrive -Unexplained injuries -Age inappropriate
-Poor hygiene sexual
-Untreated medical -Attention seeking -Injuries on certain parts behaviour/knowledge/
conditions of the body promiscuity
-Over ready to relate to
-Medical appointments others -Injuries in various stages -Wary of adults/running
missed of healing away from home
-Low self esteem
-Constantly hungry or -Injuries that reflect an -Eating
stealing food -Apathy article used disorders/depression/
self-harm
-Over eats when food is -Depression/self- harm -Flinching when
available approached -Unexplained gifts/
-Drink/drug/solvent Money
-Poor growth abuse -Reluctant to change
-Poor/late attendance -Stomach pains when
-Persistently being over -Crying/instability walking or sitting
-Being regularly left protective
alone or unsupervised -Afraid of home -Bedwetting

-Dressed inappropriately -Behavioural extremes -Recurrent genital

for the weather discharge
condition -Apathy/depression
-Sexually transmitted
-Having few friends -Wanting arms and legs diseases
and/or being withdrawn covered even in very hot
weather
-Ill equipped for school

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Professional Confidentiality

 A member of staff must never guarantee confidentiality to a pupil nor should they agree with a
pupil to keep a secret as, where there is a child protection concern, this must be reported to the
Principal or Deputy Principal.
 Staff will be informed of relevant information in respect of individual cases regarding child
protection on a ‘need to know basis’ only. Any information shared with a memberof staff in this
way must be held confidentially.
Records and Monitoring
Well-kept records are essential to good child protection and safeguarding practice. Our school is clear
aboutthe need to record any concern held about a child or children within our school.
Any member of staff receiving a disclosure of abuse or noticing signs or indicators of abuse, must
make an accurate record as soon as possible noting what was said or seen putting the event in
context, and giving the date, time and location. Where possible, a member of staff should use the
Safeguarding Form 1 (appendix A). All records will bedated and signed and will include the action
taken. This should be presented in person tothe Principal (or Vice Principal) who will then decide on
appropriate action and if the second form is needed.
Any file notes and documents are kept in a confidential file in alphabetical order (which is separate
to pupil files) and stored in a secure place in the Head of Primary’s office. All child protection records
are stored securely and confidentially.
Professional Development
At Newton International School, West Bay, we provide our staff with:
Access to current publications and useful websites e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education (DFE
September 2019)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm
ent_data/file/836144/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_part_1_2019.pdf

 Opportunities to discuss significant safeguarding issues on weekly agendas

 Regular updates and training
 Access to online training through our EduCare subscription

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Staff Recruitment
At Newton International School, West Bay we have developed a culture of safe recruitment and,
as part of that, adopt recruitment procedures that help deter, reject or identify people who
might abuse children.
Our Principal has received Safer Recruitment Training and together with our HR department we
carry out rigorous checks of work history including following up on references and ensuring that
certificates of service are provided to support a candidate’s work history. Professional qualifications
are also robustly authenticated in accordance with Qatar Law.
Parents & Visitors
Parents and visitors must present a picture ID to security where their QID number is recorded
before entering the school site. They will be expected to wear a visitor’s badge (Yellow Lanyard) at
all times whilst on the school site and they must report to the admin team in Villa 3 immediately
after security clearance. Teaching staff must check before handing children over to adults
collecting them at the end of the day and always remain vigilant and follow-up with SMT if there is
any uncertainty, before releasing a child(ren).
Any adult collecting children early must present a pass to security, obtained in Villa 3, in orderto
be given clearance to leave.
Previously Reviewed: June 2022
Reviewed: December 2023
Reviewed By: Principal and Ms. Mari Wiid & Head of Primary
Principal’s Head of Primary’s EYFS Coordinator
Signature Signature

Next Review Date: June 2023

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

Safeguarding Form 1 (pink form)

Safeguarding Concern Form

Professional Confidentiality
 Confidentiality is essential, do not discuss the content of this concern or disclosure unless you are seeking advice first
from a more senior member of staff. Remember if there is any doubt, note it and pass it on to the Principal or Vice
Principal.
Records and Monitoring
 All records will be dated and signed and will include the action taken. This should be presented in person to the
Principal (or Vice Principal) who will then decide on appropriate action.
Pupil’s name: Staff name:
Pupil’s class: Time & Date:
If you are sharing a concern, please briefly describe it below:

If a child has made a disclosure try to gather the following information:

Welfare – Is the child ok?
What happened?

Who else was involved?

When did it happen?

Has something like this ever happened before?

Where did it happen?

Never ask leading questions or ask the question ‘Why?’. Only note the child’s
words as quickly and accurately as possible.

Thank you for taking responsibility for our children’s safety and welfare.

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.
 Newton International School
West Bay

DSL Follow-up Form 2 (pink form)

Safeguarding Concern Form – DSL Follow-up

Professional Confidentiality - Confidentiality is essential, do not discuss the content of this concern or disclosure unless
you are seeking advice first from a more senior member of staff. Remember if there is any doubt, note it and pass it on
to the Principal or HOP (Designated Safeguard Lead).
Records and Monitoring - All records will be dated and signed and will include the action taken. This should be
presented in person to the Principal (or Head of Primary) who will then decide on appropriate action.
Has a Pink form been filled out by the teacher concerned?

Pupil’s name: Staff name:

Pupil’s class: Time & Date:
If you are sharing a concern, please briefly describe it below:

If a child has made a disclosure try to gather the following information:

Welfare – Is the child ok?
What happened?

Who else was involved?

When did it happen?

Has something like this ever happened before?

Where did it happen?

Never ask leading questions or ask the question ‘Why?’. Only note the child’s
words as quickly and accurately as possible.

Thank you for taking responsibility for our children’s safety and welfare.

'An international community of learners striving for excellence and celebrating success.