As a school, we are particularly well placed to recognise signs that a child may be being abused, because we have regular contact with pupils and get to know them well.
A child may tell someone at school that they are being abused or their behaviour may change in a way that could mean they are being abused. This must always be taken seriously.
In some cases, we will be able to discuss concerns about a pupil with his/her parents and to tell the parents that we are going to talk to the Social Services Department about their child.
Sometimes it is not possible to tell parents this beforehand. This is because it may put the child at risk.
If we talk to Social Services about your child before telling you, you will be told about our concerns as soon as possible afterwards. This will usually be by the Social Services Department. This may be the first time you hear about our worries for your child and it may make you angry. You may feel that we have broken your trust.
In fact we have no choice in the action we take. If there is any suggestion that a child is at risk, then we must involve the proper investigating agencies.
We will want to continue to work with you as we have done before and will do everything possible to achieve this.