As parents and carers, community members, children and staff, you know how seriously we take child safety and welfare at IKB. There is concern nationally relating to a culture of misogyny and sexual harassment in many schools and the Department for Education and Ofsted are reviewing school procedures. More information can be found on this here:

Everyone's Invited: Schools abuse helpline and review launched - BBC News

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/mar/27/sexual-abuse-rife-in-state-schools-say-police

On the 10th June 2021 Ofsted published a report on sexual abuse in schools and colleges. The link to the report can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges

IKB might be a new school with very young children, however we want our community to know that the foundations of child safety are deeply rooted in our curriculum that every child is receiving.

Through our Jigsaw PSHE curriculum we teach all children within our Early Years Foundation Stage and beyond about the following topic areas, many of which specifically link to the headlines of misogyny and sexual harassment currently being highlighted, but at an age appropriate level for our children:

Term 1

Being me in my world – Children learning about the feeling of belonging, their place in their families, in school and their communities. Managing feelings. Being kind to one another. Children’s rights. Being responsible. Kindness.

Term 2

Celebrating difference – Identifying things children are good at. What makes each child unique. Being a kind friend. Home being safe and special. Making friends. Vocabulary to use when someone is unkind.

Term 3

Dreams and goals – Perseverance. Not giving up to achieve goals. Setting goals and working towards them. Kind words to encourage. Links between things learned now and the future e.g. respect. Discussing and explaining feelings.

Term 4

Healthy me – Exercise, rest, food, sleep, water and washing are all needed to be healthy. Strangers and how to stay safe if approached.

Term 5

Relationships – Identifying jobs. Making friends and not being lonely. Solving problems that arise with friends. The impact of unkind words. Managing feelings. Being a good friend.

Term 6

Changing me – Naming parts of the body. Respecting our body. Growing up from babies to adults. Expressing feelings about moving to year 1. Talking about things children are looking forward to. Talking about things children are worried about. Sharing memories.

We want you to feel confident in the knowledge that we regularly revisit safeguarding, especially that of our bodies and respect, with our children, during learning time, in assemblies, through stories, etc. We would like to think that children would come to us should they have a problem, however we understand that this may not always be the case and so we want to ensure that all children have a range of alternatives to follow should they require them.

The government has set up a helpline for anyone wishing to make a disclosure and seek support and advice from Thursday 1^st April 2021:

Government launches review into sexual abuse in schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Dedicated NSPCC Report Abuse in Education Helpline – 0800 136663 Monday to Friday 8am - 10pm, or 9am - 6pm at weekends or help@nspcc.org.uk

Other support options include:

NSPCC – 0800 5008000

Child Line: 0800 1111

As a school, children, parents and carers can report any welfare or wellbeing concerns to our safeguarding team:

By working together, we can ensure that our children grow up with a greater awareness and support surrounding sexual abuse and in turn be more securely safeguarded. Thank you for your ongoing support.