Designated Safeguarding Leads
Safeguarding Governor
Safeguarding at Towcester
Everyone at Towcester C of E Primary School has a responsibility to keep our children safe and protected. We aim to safeguard and promote our pupils’ welfare, safety and health by fostering an honest, open, caring and supportive climate; we believe that all children have a right to grow up and learn in a safe and secure environment.
If we have any concerns about a child's safety we will speak to you as parents in the first instance. Often through us talking things through, the concerns that have been raised are explained or further support is arranged and we move forward from there.
Very occasionally we have concerns are raised that we may feel, that by talking directly with you, may put the child more at risk. In some instances, these cases are then referred to Social Services.
This procedure enables us to protect children at risk and we make no apology for taking the attitude that where there are grounds for concern, it is better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, this means that we risk upsetting some parents by reporting a case, which upon investigation proves unfounded.
This procedure enables us to protect children at risk and we make no apology for taking the attitude that where there are grounds for concern, it is better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, this means that we risk upsetting some parents by reporting a case, which upon investigation proves unfounded.
If you would like more information about services available for support from West Northants, please follow the link below:
If you are worried about a child outside of school time you can call the local Multi Agency Support Hub for advice (anonymously if needs be) on 0300 126 7000 (West Northants: Northampton, Daventry and South Northants))
Please see our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures for more information. Please do come and speak to us if you have a safeguarding concern or query.
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
To contact the local authority Designated Officer for West Northamptonshire, please call Andy Smith on 07850 854309 or you can leave a message via voicemail on 01604 362993 . Alternatively please email your query to and a Designated Officer will get back to you as soon as they are able to.
What to do if you have a concern
If you have a concern about any member of our school community, please speak to one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads.
Any member of our school community can report a concern straight to the Multi Agency Support Hub (MASH) or call them to ask for advice; 0300 126 7000.
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is a county-wide team made up of agencies including:
Education, Police, Early Help Team, East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), Children’s Social Care, Health, Fire & rescue Service (FRS), Domestic Abuse Advisor, Probation, Youth Offending Service (YOS) and the Crime Reduction Initiative.
Collaboratively the MASH will deal with any referrals or concerns a professional or a member of the public has about a child’s welfare, identify risks and respond with the most effective actions to properly care for and protect any Vulnerable Children.
Contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub:
- Call: 0300 126 7000
- You can also report a concern online via Northamptonshire Children’s Trust’s website:
Northamptonshire Children’s Trust’s website
Out of hours
If you need to contact children's social care urgently during the evening, at night or at the weekend, phone the out of hours team on 01604 626938.
An operator will answer the phone and take details of the problem and your contact details. They will then pass this information over to the duty social worker.
Early Help
Every family goes through challenging times at some point. Early Help means working with you and your family so that small problems don’t become big problems. Early Help is for everybody, for families with children and young people of any age. And it’s your choice whether to have it or not.
Why would I want Early Help?
There are lots of reasons why people look for Early Help. It could be that you’re worried about your child’s health, development or behaviour, or how they’re doing at school, or perhaps because you are caring for a disabled child.
It may be that you’re worried about money or housing and how that is affecting your family. Maybe your child or your family is affected by domestic abuse, drugs or alcohol or crime. Perhaps your child is a carer for other people, or maybe you’ve had a bereavement in the family that’s made life a real challenge.
Early Help enables access to support and agencies who can offer help and advice. Please come and talk to us if you are worried about something that we can offer Early Help support with.
Useful Articles
Northants Parents, Carers & Families website
A series of Useful Guides for Parents, Carers and families have been published. Please click here to see more.
Useful Guides for Parents, Carers and Families
The Underwear Rule (from NSPCC)
Teach your child the Underwear Rule and help protect them from abuse. It's a simple way that parents can help keep children safe from abuse – without using scary words.
Follow this link to the 'Let's Talk Pants' website. Talking PANTS teaches children important messages, like their body belongs to them and they should tell an adult if they're upset or worried.