IN light of the national media revealing that sex offenders have been permitted to work in schools, it's little wonder that parents throughout the county have been fearful for the safety of their children. However, schools in and around the Bordon area have been heavily involved in a county council initiative to ensure that abuse of children in schools is prevented in the first instance, but if necessary detected and appropriately responded to. The aim of the initiative is also to help provide reassurance to parents that their children will be safe when they send them off to school. In response to current fears over paedophiles teaching in schools, Hampshire County Council has launched a substantial programme for the training of headteachers and other senior staff in the 540 schools throughout the county. Child protection involving concerns or allegations about staff in schools was the subject of a review last year and now the revised guidance is to be used to ensure those responsible for the well-being and safety of more than 170,000 children and young people in education settings across the county are up to date in their knowledge. Following major consultation and drawing on lessons learned nationally, the new guidance was launched at a major conference last Friday and attended by 400 headteachers and school representatives. Madeline Knight, Bordon Infant School's headteacher said: "I attended Friday's conference and I understand there will be a further meeting regarding safer recruitment measures. "The conference was very interesting. It was current and, I believe, it was very good. "We already have very stringent recruitment regulations in place with CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) checks and reference checks. We are quite happy with the measures, but we would welcome any improvements that can be made." She added that the school had a relatively stable staff situation and did not need to recruit many new staff. In fact, it could be looking to reduce the staff numbers because of the decline in pupil numbers. The review was part of the setting up of the new Children's Services department in response to the Children Act. This requires councils to deliver all children's services from within one department, and give fully co-ordinated support for vulnerable children and young people. The county council says that the new department now taking shape is a critical component in its determination to make certain that the prevention and detection of abuse of children is as watertight as possible. Knowledge of child protection issues has increased in recent years, hence the need to review child-protection guidance and training provision for school staff to ensure they are fully aware of the patterns and behavioural characteristics of offenders. This long-planned initiative now coincides with the renewed national debate about child protection in schools. The Headley Holme Primary School is one of the many schools in the local area which has taken measures to ensure its children's safety. The school's headteacher, Helena Reese, said: "We sent a representative to a conference before Christmas and I have just completed a course designed by the NSPCC which included modules on how to recognise certain clues and what to do aboput them. "After the course, I taught these modules to the other staff members, so it is as though we have all completed the course on how to keep children safe. "We take this matter very seriously and it something we keep a close eye on." Felicity Hindson, the executive member for children's services, said: "There can be no duties more serious than those of safeguarding children. "We are committed to making child protection as watertight as possible and, as we work in partnership with schools, this will be a continuing process designed to ensure that child protection and its various complicated strands remains high on the agenda of everyone who works with children in Hampshire. "With the shared responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of more than 170,000 children in education settings and the employment of 20,000 school staff, we are doing our utmost to ensure that abuse is prevented, detected and responded to. "Children's services is a challenging area to work in and it will always be vulnerable to those few in a position of trust who seek to exploit children. "All concerned must exercise constant vigilance and we are proud in Hampshire of this programme of work designed to further enhance the safety of children and catch those predators who prey on their vulnerability."
