Safer School

West Mercia Police and Shropshire Council support our school with the Safer School initiative. We are an accredited ‘Safer School’ and proud of our Safer School sign and certificate. The accreditation is reviewed every two years.

The initiative is a holistic, practical and realistic approach to school security and personal safety. It gives our school a clear focus on the subject and turns a negative subject into a positive one. It sets a minimum standard for school security.

The essential elements of the ‘Safer School’ process include:-

• Implementing a security policy that the governors have adopted.
• Consulting parents/carers and pupils/students for their views and updating them on any progress.
• Publicity of Safer Schools to school staff, pupils, school neighbours, parents and prospective parents.
• Establishing a Safer School Group. This Safer School Group is a partnership of school stakeholders – Headteacher/Deputy, staff, governors, parents, pupils, neighbours, Shropshire Council and West Mercia Police.
• Regularly reviewing and implementing good practice and essential security/safety measures for staff, pupils, the site and assets.
• Educating pupils through the Personal, Social, Health and Economic curriculum programme or the Safer School folder.
• A daily procedure for recording incidents should they occur i.e. trespass, burglary, theft, anti-social behaviour, vandalism, arson, suspicious activity etc., both during school hours and out-of hours.
• Solving real problems rather than perceived problems. Prioritising work (if any) and reviewing action.
• If there are security issues i.e. vandalism, anti-social behaviour etc., the intention of the initiative is to reduce/eliminate the issues.

17/11/23 | Safer Schools Accreditation:

Ian Bartlett, Crime Prevention Officer at Shropshire Council commented;  “In 2008, Tilstock CE Primary School became an accredited ‘Safer School’. This is a risk management approach to school security, created by West Mercia Police and supported by Shropshire Council. Fifteen years after the school’s accreditation, I recently attended an annual Safer School meeting at the school involving Mrs Kaminski and Governors. We reviewed security/safety, analysed parent/carer and pupil surveys, considered any school issues and planned for the future. It was a really productive meeting and a good reflection of the school’s hard work in maintaining the Safer School accreditation – excellent work. The school was presented with an updated certificate and a future annual meeting is planned for autumn 2024. Congratulations!”