Section 1 Here is some information about the importance of safeguarding children and young people and procedures for child protection. Everyone who works with children has a duty to keep them safe from abuse Here are the main current legislations, guidelines, policies and procedure. They are put in place for protecting and safeguarding children again abuse. Children Act 1989 This act aims to simplify the laws that protected children and young people in the UK.
This makes it clear to all who work with children what their duties are and how they should work together in the event of allegations of child abuse. Protection of Children Act 1999 The Protection of Children Act 1999 came into force in October 2000 and introduced the Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List in which the secretary of state has a duty to record the names of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children.
All regulated child care organisations (as defined in the Act) have a statutory duty to refer the names of those individuals who fulfil certain criteria making them unsuitable to work with children for possible inclusion in the PoCA List. Child care organisations proposing to offer individuals employment in child care positions must not employ individuals whose names are included on the PoCA List or List 99 (on the grounds that they are unsuitable to work with children) and must cease to employ such individuals in child care positions if they subsequently discover that they are included on these Lists.
In fact, it is an offence to knowingly offer work to or to employ for a child care position, an individual who is disqualified from working with children and individuals who apply or offer to work, accept work or continue to work with children in such positions will be committing a criminal offence and can face prosecution if they are so disqualified. Children Bill 2004 In 2003 there was a widespread recognition that services for children were still not working together to identify and protect vulnerable children in our society. The key features of the Bill aims at improving the protection fforded to children providing a much more coordinated approach. Actions include: A tracking system to keep a record of information on children include name, address, date of birth, school and GP stating whether they are known to social, education or welfare services or to the police or youth offending teams. COSHH COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health[1]. You can prevent or reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous substances by finding out what the health hazards are; deciding how to prevent harm to health (risk assessment[2]); providing control measures to reduce harm to health; aking sure they are used ; keeping all control measures in good working order; providing information, instruction and training for employees and others; providing monitoring and health surveillance in appropriate cases; planning for emergencies. Most businesses use substances, or products that are mixtures of substances. Some processes create substances. These could cause harm to employees, contractors and other people. Sometimes substances are easily recognized as harmful. Common substances such as paint, bleach or dust from natural materials may also be harmful.
UN convention of rights of a child The Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments. They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere.
With these rights comes the obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both interdependent and indivisible; we cannot ensure some rights without—or at the expense of—other rights. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act The primary aim of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act is to strengthen current safeguarding arrangements for individuals in the workplace.
Its purpose is to reduce the risk of individuals suffering harm at the hands of those employed (in either a paid or voluntary capacity) to work with them. The introduction of the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will support the implementation of the Act and brings together the existing barring schemes, Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA), Protection of Children Act and List 99. It will draw on wider sources of information to provide a more comprehensive and consistent measure of protection across a wide range of settings.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 An Act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work, for controlling the keeping and use and preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of dangerous substances, and for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere; to make further provision with respect to the employment medical advisory service; to amend the law relating to building regulations. Section 2
The term ‘ child protection’ refer to preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. Child protection also targets children who are uniquely vulnerable to these abuses; such as when living without parental care, in conflict with the law and in armed conflict. We all have a responsibility to society to protect children and those wanting to work with children have to be CRB checked.
CRB Checks must be carried out – for anyone who wishes to work with children. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is able to provide information about an individual as to whether or not he or she has a criminal conviction or has been charged with a criminal conviction which has expired. This information is gathered from a number of sources and collated by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) who will provide the applicant with what is known as a ‘ disclosure’. This disclosure – as I’ve already mentioned – enables a rospective employer be they a children’s centre, school, residential or children’s home or any institution where children, the elderly or vulnerable people reside, to decide for themselves if an applicant is suitable for employment. Given recent upturns in certain crimes against the self; assault, sexual assault, child abuse etc, the demand for Criminal Records Bureau disclosures have increased dramatically. Violations of the child’s right to protection take place in every country and are massive, under-recognized and under-reported barriers to child survival and development, in addition to being human rights violations.
Children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk of death, poor physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, educational problems, displacement, homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting skills later in life. Under child protection legislation you have a duty of care to these children and this requires that you should have a child protection policy; a set of child protection procedures and that you implement these safely. Ideally you should also have some basic child protection training.
Within every setting they should have a safety check list that needs to be looked at before each session/class etc. These included things such as ensuring safety gates are fitted properly, ensure socket holes are covered. There should be a safety check list for every room before every session. This includes outside play. Gates need to be checked, surfaces should be clean and any sharp objects/corners need to be removed or covered. Section 3 Local and national guidelines, policies and procedures are put in place to protect those who may be abuses sexually, physically or mentally.
This guidance emphasises the importance of schools and other education establishments incorporating measures to help deter, reject, or identify people who might abuse children, or are otherwise unsuited to work with them in their recruitment and selection procedures and other human-resources management processes. It aims to assist all schools, including non-maintained and independent schools, further-education colleges and local authorities with education functions to review and, where appropriate, modify their practice and procedure in ways that will strengthen safeguards for children by helping to deter and prevent abuse
If there are any child welfare concerns, relevant information about the child and family should be discussed with a manager, or a named or designated health professional or a designated member of staff depending on the organizational setting Children can only be safeguarded properly if agencies work effectively together. Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are designed to help ensure that this happens. They put the former Area Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) on a statutory footing through the Children Act 2004.
LSCB’s include representatives of local authorities, health bodies, the police, schools, voluntary organisations and many others. The objective of LSCBs is to coordinate and to ensure the effectiveness of their member agencies in safeguarding children. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the responsibility of the local authority, working in partnership with other public organisations, the voluntary sector, children and young people, parents and carers, and the wider community.
A key objective for local authorities is to ensure that children are protected from harm. Other functions of local authorities that make an important contribution to safeguarding are housing, sport, culture and leisure services, and youth services. Health professionals and organisations have a key role to play in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The general principles they should apply are: to aim to ensure that all affected children receive appropriate and timely preventative and therapeutic interventions; * those professionals who work directly with children should ensure that safeguarding and promoting their welfare forms an integral part of all stages of the care they offer; * those professionals who come into contact with children, parents and carers in the course of their work also need to be aware of their safeguarding responsibilities; * ensuring that all health professionals can recognise risk factors and contribute to reviews, enquiries and child protection plans, as well as planning support for children and providing ongoing promotional and preventative support through proactive work. All health professionals working directly with children and young people should ensure that safeguarding and promoting their welfare forms an integral part of all elements of the care they offer.
The police also have a key role in safeguarding children. They recognise the fundamental importance of inter-agency working in combating child abuse, as illustrated by well established arrangements for joint training involving police and social work colleagues. All forces have child abuse investigation units and while they normally take responsibility for investigating such cases, safeguarding children is a fundamental part of the duties of all police officers. The police are committed to sharing information and intelligence with other organisations and should be notified as soon as possible where a criminal offence has been, or is suspected of, being committed.
LSCBs should have in place a protocol agreed between the local authority and the police, to guide both organisations in deciding how enquiries should be conducted, and in which circumstances joint enquiries are appropriate S11 Children Act 2004, together with S11 Education Act 2002, requires all organisations and individuals working in services related to children to ‘ discharge their functions with a view to safeguarding children’. This includes safe recruitment, child protection procedures in place, designated child protection people, clear child protection accountability and reporting mechanisms and staff trained in child protection. Section 4 You must be very careful when contemplating a child abuse report. Children Centres have administrative policies with regard to these situations, and a practitioner must be careful to strictly follow those guidelines. There are cases, however, when the policies are unclear.
For instance, some centres would rather a practitioner report the suspected case of child abuse internally before contacting child protective services, so the administration can determine if the situation should be reported. This is unlawful according to different local and national laws, which mandates that practitioner’s are to report suspicions of child abuse, and not allow administration to determine if the case should be reported. If you do suspect a child abuse case please report this initially to your supervisor and any information should be recorded. A Practitioner who suspects child abuse must report the following information to social services: 1. The child’s name and identifying marks of the child . All information known about the biological parents or the caregivers who interact with the child 3. The address where the child lives, along with any information such as the parent’s address, if living away from the home where the child lives 4. Dates when incidents were noted of the child and types of incidents that occurred 5. History of previous noted incidents History of any contact with the alleged abuser, or other pertinent information Social services will then take on the case and do an investigation in accordance with the law. There is always a review which will take place in any investigation to decide the next steps.
The first review conference must be held within 3 months of the initial child protection conference and all further reviews must take place at least every six months for as long as the child remains the subject of a Child Protection Plan. Where necessary, reviews can be brought forward to address changes in the child’s circumstances. Participants in the review should include all members of the core group, including family members and the child, (if appropriate) and any other relevant agencies such as those present at the initial child protection conference. The lead social worker is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate people are invited.
The purpose of the child protection review conference is to: Review the safety, health and development of the child against the planned outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan Consider how the current Plan has affected the perceived concerns Ensure that the welfare of the child continues to be adequately safeguarded Consider whether inter-agency co-ordination is functioning effectively Consider the membership of the core group Consider whether the Child Protection Plan should continue in place or should be changed The same decision making procedure should be used to reach a judgement on continuing to have a Child Protection Plan as is used in the initial child protection conference.
The IMR Author (individual management review) will first have to construct a chronology of involvement by you and other staff with the child and their family, over the period of time the review encompasses. They will consider the events that occurred, the professionals involved, the actions taken or not taken, whether policies and procedures were followed, whether appropriate services were offered and whether the child’s wishes and feelings, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious circumstances were taken into consideration. In an interview with yourself they may also ask you about your qualifications and experience, the training you have received and your supervision arrangements.
The IMR Author will take notes of your interview and you will be given the opportunity to agree that the notes are a true reflection of what you have said. These notes will then be referred to in the IMR as appropriate. You are able to have your line manager or a colleague with you when you are interviewed. They have a role in supporting you and not representing you. If you are bringing a supporter with you it is advisable to inform the IMR Author prior to the meeting and rules of confidentiality must be observed. Conference participants should base their judgements on: Whether the risk of harm has been reduced by action taken through the Child Protection Plan
Whether the child and family’s circumstances have changed Whether a re-assessment indicates a Child Protection Plan is not necessary As in the initial child protection conference, the views of parents and children are important to the conference but it is the professionals who make the decision about whether the Child Protection Plan should be discontinued. Clear reasons for the review conference decision should be given and recorded. Information which should be available to the review conference includes: A conference report from the lead social worker which will reflect the collective views of the core group The Child Protection Plan Conference reports from agency members of the core group.
Where a key professional is unable to attend a review conference, they must submit a written report and indicate their views (with relevant evidence) on whether a Child Protection Plan needs to remain in place and where possible delegate attendance to a well briefed colleague. If possible, reports should be shared with the child (if of sufficient age and understanding) and the family at least one working day prior to the review conference Expectations and procedures for the participation of the child and family and for exclusions are the same as for the Initial Child Protection conference. Similarly, the quorum for any review conference should be representation from Children’s Social Care and at least two other professional groups or agencies that have had direct contact with the child.
If a child already subject to a child protection plan becomes looked after under an interim or full care order, a review child protection conference should normally be arranged to consider the discontinuation of the child protection plan as the interim/full Care Order gives the local authority parental responsibility and makes the child subject to a care plan which addresses their safeguarding needs and the management of any risks to the safety and welfare of the child. In the very few cases where a looked after child may remain subject to a child protection plan (e. g. brief period of accommodation) the child protection review should be part of the looked after child review. This will be achieved by the reports of any core group/child protection review conference being considered at the review of the child’s Care Plan. This is to ensure that the same information in relation to the child’s safety and welfare is considered both within the child protection review meeting and within the care planning process.
This can be a very difficult process for professionals and you may like to talk to somebody about your feelings and what has happened to the child. The IMR Author who is undertaking the IMR should be able to inform you of the support arrangements in your agency. You must ask if the information is not automatically provided. These reviews are very tense for everyone and any professionals explaining their concerns in front of the accused parents may feel a number of things including embarrassed, guilty and nervous, worried. These are all completely normal and expected but al if for the safety and wellbeing of the child. There are four primary forms of abuse that should be reported, given any suspicion that a teacher may have.
They include: Physical abuse: This is an intentional injury to a child given by the caretaker of the child. It may include, but is not limited to burning, kicking, punching, beating, which leaves external markings such as burns, bruises, and broken bones. Physical abuse is not accidental, and sometimes injuries will be noticeable in not so common places of general childhood accidents (knees, shins, etc. ). Child neglect: This is when a child’s basic needs are not being met properly. You may notice a child not being properly dressed for the weather, comes to class consistently dirty, has poor dental hygiene, steals food from other children, and gives you verbal clues that he is not being properly cared for, among other things.
Emotional abuse: This is when a child’s emotional needs are not met, such as not receiving the proper attention they need, not being shown signs of affection, harsh and consistent verbal abuse, threats in order to frighten a child, or rejection of the child. Sexual abuse: This is simply sexual exploitation of a child. Section 5 This is the policy and process we abide by at work. Working in this Childcare setting and in accordance with the guidelines laid down in “ The Children Act” (1989), we have a duty to report any suspicious incidents as well as accidents to the relevant authorities, as the welfare of the child is of paramount importance. As a professional working in childcare: Elim Children’s Centre will ensure that: Someone is nominated to hold specific responsibility for data protection within the centre. •Everyone managing and handling personal information understands that they are responsible for following good data protection practice. •Everyone managing and handling personal information is appropriately trained to do so. •Everyone managing and handling personal information is appropriately supervised. •Anyone wanting to make enquiries about handling personal information knows what to do. •Queries about handling personal information are promptly and courteously dealt with. •Methods of handling personal information are regularly assessed and evaluated. The following are some examples of our practice:-
Requiring all visitors to sign in and wear a visitor lanyard to ensure there is knowledge of all personnel on site ensuring that the inner door is shut and secure during sessions ensuring that all written confidential information is contained in lockable fireproof cabinets with key holders limited to manager and administrator ensuring there is password protection on all computers containing information and data * ensuring that passwords are restricted to named members of staff * ensuring that other staff, visitors and parents do not have access to any machines holding data * sitting computers containing data so there is no visible access to information on screen for visitors etc * requiring all information to be regularly backed up * storing all back-up software on Zip disks * ensuring there is virus protection on all computers ensuring that record keeping on each child is kept as confidential information and shared only with parents or other professionals * making staff and parents aware that names/ telephone numbers and addresses of parents cannot be divulged to others without permission from the parent concerned * ensuring that the awareness of the needs for confidentiality is reinforced at all times in the setting and is integral to the staff’s professionalism * ensuring that the Centre is locked and security system is activated when the premises are empty * named people having keys and security passwords for access * ensuring that all staff have relevant training and have read the data protection policy
This policy covers the Data Protection principles, handling data and an individual’s rights as set down in the Data Protection Act 1998. Any injuries that a child has upon arrival of the setting must be logged in our accident/ incident book. A brief explanation from us on how the injury occurred will be required and also a signature. Any accidents that occur while a child is at our setting will also be logged in the accident book with an explanation as to how the accident occurred and again a signature will be required to witness the entry. Any suspected incidents of abuse will be recorded and observed then if needed passed on to the relevant authority.
If a suspected case of abuse is brought to our attention, we should first approach the parent/carer. This is not done if it may possibly cause more harm to the child. If there is a satisfactory explanation, then no further action will be taken. If explanations are unsatisfactory, then you will not hesitate to contact the authorities. You have a duty to report any concerns or suspicions of child abuse to Social Services. If any cases of sexual abuse are suspected, then you will immediately inform the relevant authorities. All data is processed on our computer system. Any suspicions should be written down which protects you if something does happens.
Names should not be mentioned (only initials) this information is confidential and locked away in a cupboard at all times. If a concern is raised and outside agencies are involved then they have the right to see this information you have gathered. The aforementioned data handling activity ensures that we are totally compliant with the previously mentioned Data Protection Act. We have created an environment where children are safe and secure and can feel happy and well looked after. We will ensure that training is up to date and we all should have sufficient training so that we are aware of how to recognize signs of abuse. We have a responsibility and duty to protect children from abuse and will seek advice where necessary. We hope you enjoy working with us.
