“We want every child at Riverview to feel safe, confident and heard.”
At Riverview, safeguarding isn’t a standalone subject – it’s a thread that runs through everything we do. Whether it’s a story shared in class, a conversation at playtime, or a structured PSHE lesson, we ensure our children are given the tools they need to understand safety, trust, boundaries, and emotional wellbeing.
Safeguarding is not just taught. It’s lived.
From the moment children join us in Early Years, we begin building their awareness of safety, both in school and in the wider world. Our staff create safe spaces where children feel empowered to ask questions, share worries, and make sense of their experiences.
Through our curriculum and day-to-day interactions, we help children to:
Understand their right to feel safe at all times – emotionally and physically
Identify trusted adults they can go to when they need help or comfort
Recognise and name their feelings, and feel confident expressing them
Set and respect boundaries, including body privacy and personal space
Stay safe online, including what information to keep private and how to spot something that doesn’t feel right
Build resilience and the confidence to say “no” or seek support
Recognise unkind or unsafe behaviour, including bullying, peer pressure or manipulation
These conversations happen regularly, not just during specific lessons. Our classrooms are nurturing environments where children learn how to talk about safety and relationships in an age-appropriate, open, and respectful way.
Safeguarding themes are explicitly and implicitly taught across many areas of the curriculum. Key subjects include:
We follow a well-sequenced PSHE curriculum that covers:
Building positive relationships
Understanding different types of families
Learning about consent and personal boundaries
Recognising feelings and managing emotions
Identifying safe and unsafe situations
Knowing when and how to ask for help
Our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is taught sensitively, in line with statutory guidance and in partnership with parents/carers.
Our children are taught to be responsible and safe users of technology. They learn about:
Keeping personal information private
Recognising trustworthy websites and apps
What to do if something online makes them feel worried or confused
Being kind and respectful online
We reinforce these messages through regular class discussions, as well as annual participation in Safer Internet Day.
Assemblies give children space to explore our values and important concepts such as:
Kindness, respect, and teamwork
Resilience and learning from mistakes
Diversity, inclusion, and anti-bullying
Standing up for what is right, and supporting each other
Our assemblies often use real-life scenarios, storytelling, and role play to help children reflect on how their choices impact themselves and others.
Books are powerful tools for teaching safeguarding. We use carefully chosen stories to help children explore:
Feelings and empathy
Differences and diversity
Family dynamics
Healthy friendships
Making safe choices
These stories spark meaningful conversations and help children understand safeguarding in ways that feel natural and engaging.
Throughout the year, we take part in national safeguarding initiatives to deepen children’s understanding and bring the community together around important themes. These include:
NSPCC’s Speak Out. Stay Safe.
Anti-Bullying Week
Children’s Mental Health Week
Safer Internet Day
These events are fully embedded into our curriculum and provide meaningful opportunities to revisit key messages.
Every child is different – and so is their understanding of safety.
We work closely with our SEND team to make sure that safeguarding messages are accessible and meaningful for all children. This includes:
Using visual supports and social stories
Adapting lessons for children with communication or sensory needs
Providing additional adult support in conversations around sensitive topics
Using individual risk assessments and personalised care plans where appropriate
We also ensure that our safeguarding education reflects the diverse families and lived experiences of our school community.
Safeguarding is a shared responsibility. If you’d like to know more about how safeguarding is taught at Riverview, or if you have concerns or questions about your child’s understanding of safety, please don’t hesitate to speak with your child’s class teacher or contact a member of the safeguarding team.
Together, we can ensure that every child not only knows how to stay safe, but truly believes they deserve to be.