Level 2 Safeguarding Training for Schools 2015 /16

Keeping Children Safe in Education

What is

safeguarding?

Safeguarding

Child Protection

Staff Conduct

Curriculum

Managing Allegations Against Staff

Safe Recruitment and Selection

Health and Safety

Behaviour Management

Attendance

Anti Bullying Policies

A “Listening” School Building Design

Safeguarding

• government introduced the concept of ‘safeguarding children’ in 2004/05

• Safeguarding’ much broader concept (than child protection) based around preventing children / young people from being harmed – focus upon promoting the child / young person’s welfare

• Child Protection is part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. It refers to activity undertaken to protect specific children identified as either suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect.

• It is only multi-agency working which effectively safeguards children

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• Statutory multi-agency organisation - Children Act 2004 required every local authority to set up a Local Safeguarding Children Board

• Aim is to improve outcomes for children by co-ordinating the work of local agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children

• Links with Southend and Thurrock (SET procedures – ESCB, March 2015)

• Statutory duty to publish annual report on effectiveness of child safeguarding within the locality

The Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB):

SET Procedures

ESCBMarch 2015

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SET Procedures (2015)

Southend

Essex

THurrock

• underpinned by Working Together to Safeguard Children (March 2015)

• two key principles: – Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility: for services to be

effective each individual and organisation should play their full part;

– A child centred approach: for services to be effective they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of children.

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SET Procedures (2015)• Part A – Section 7: Allegations against staff or

volunteers, who work with children • Part B – Section 2.3.5: Designated safeguarding

children lead • Part B – Section 2.11.20: Schools and further

education institutions • Part B – Section 3: Sharing information• Part B – Section 6.1: Managing work with families

where there are obstacles and resistance• Part B – Section 11: Professional Conflict Resolution• Part B – Section 12.1.1: Safer recruitment

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SET Procedures (2015)

• Part B – Section 21: Children not attending school• Part B – Section 24: CSE• Part B – Section 32: Children harming others• Part B – Section 33: Bullying• Part B – Section 35: Self-harming and suicidal

behaviour• Part B – Section 36.10: Foreign exchange visits • Part B – Section 40: Child Abuse linked to faith or

culture• Part B4 - appendices

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Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE, July 2015)

Governing bodies should:

• ensure the school contributes to inter-agency working (in line with Working Together to Safeguarding Children – HMG, 2015)

• ensure safeguarding arrangements take into account procedures and practice of the local authority / LSCB

• ensure there is an effective child protection policy and staff behaviour policy in place

• appoint a Designated Lead (from the leadership team)

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All staff:• have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in

which children can learn

• have a responsibility to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. All staff then have a responsibility to take appropriate action, working with other services as needed

• are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned.

All staff:• should be aware of systems within their school which

support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This includes: – Safeguarding Policy – Staff Behaviour policy (sometimes called a Code of

Conduct)– The name of the designated safeguarding lead and

how to access them

• should receive appropriate child protection training which is regularly updated (At least every two years for Designated Lead)

All staff:

• should be aware of the signs of abuse and neglect so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection

• refer concerns about another member of staff to the headteacher

• Should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the school’s safeguarding regime

It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address risks and prevent issues escalating. Research and Serious Case Reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective action. Poor practice includes:

– failure to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect

– poor record keeping– failure to listen to the views of the child– failure to re-assess concerns when situations do

not improve – sharing information too slowly – a lack of challenge to those who appear not to be

taking action

Abuse is…

…a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. A child may be abused by an adult or adults or another child or children.

Categories:• Physical• Emotional • Sexual • Neglect

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Physical:

May involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

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Emotional:

The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve:

– conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.

– seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.

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Emotional:– not giving the child opportunities to express their

views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate.

– age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction

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Sexual:Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

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Neglect:

Persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to: provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Specific safeguarding issues:

• Child Missing from Education (CME)• child missing from home or Care• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)• bullying (including cyberbullying)• domestic violence• drugs• fabricated / induced illness• faith abuse• Female genital mutilation (FGM)

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Specific safeguarding issues:

• forced marriage • gangs and youth violence • gender-based violence/violence against women and

girls (VAWG) • mental health • private fostering • preventing radicalisation – and see page 15 • sexting • teenage relationship abuse • trafficking

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Further information on CME:• all children entitled to a full time education (suitable to their age,

ability, aptitude and any SEN they may have)• missing from education is a potential indicator of abuse or

neglect • schools should put in place appropriate safeguarding policies,

procedures and responses for children who go missing from education, particularly on repeat occasions

• it is essential that all staff are alert to signs to look out for and the individual triggers to be aware of when considering the risks of potential safeguarding concerns such as travelling to conflict zones, FGM and forced marriage

• All schools must inform the local authority of any pupil who fails to attend school regularly, or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 school days or more

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Further information on CSE:

• involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people receive something (for example food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, gifts, money or in some cases simply affection) as a result of engaging in sexual activities

• can take many forms ranging from the seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship where sex is exchanged for affection or gifts, to serious organised crime by gangs and groups

• there is an imbalance of power in the relationship

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Further information on FGM:

• comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs

• range of potential indicators - if staff have a concern they should activate local safeguarding procedures

• From October 2015, S.5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) will place statutory duty upon teachers (also social workers and healthcare professionals) to report to police where they discover (through disclosure by victim or visual evidence) that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18

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Further information on preventing radicalisation:

• protecting children from risk of radicalisation should be seen as part of schools’ wider safeguarding duties, and is similar to protecting children from other forms of harm and abuse

• specific background factors may contribute to vulnerability which are often combined with specific influences such as family, friends or online, and with specific needs for which an extremist or terrorist group may appear to provide an answer

• internet and social media a major factor in the radicalisation of young people

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PREVENT

• As of July 2015, the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act (HMG, 2015) placed a new duty on schools and other education providers

• Under S. 26 of the Act, schools are required, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty

• Schools expected to assess risk of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology

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PREVENT

• schools should be able to demonstrate – a general understanding of the risks affecting

children and young people in the area – a specific understanding of how to identify

individual children who may be at risk of radicalisation and what to do to support them

• schools should have clear procedures in place for protecting children at risk of radicalisation

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PREVENT• schools must ensure children are safe from terrorist

and extremist material when accessing the internet in schools

• schools should ensure suitable filtering is in place

• also important that schools teach pupils about online safety more generally

• school staff should understand when it is appropriate to make a referral to the Channel programme

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What to do if a child discloses to you:

DO• Listen carefully• Make accurate notes

(using the child’s words) - date and sign these

• Reassure the child they have done the correct thing by telling you

• INFORM THE DESIGNATED LEAD

DO NOT • Promise confidentiality• Ask leading questions• Use your own words to

describe something• Investigate

Reporting, recording and referring concerns

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• All staff should be aware of systems which support safeguarding (includes Child Protection policy, Staff Behaviour policy and name of Designated Lead)

• Any concerns should be raised with Designated Lead

• All CP records relating to a child should be kept in a central location (locked, fire-proof filing cabinet)

• It is good practice to review files regularly to scrutinize concerns logged - record the review process

• How do staff report concerns and how are they recorded?

• Is rationale for decisions / action recorded?

• What happens then with the information?

• Is there feedback to staff about their referral?

• Has all appropriate action been taken?

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Whistleblowing

• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998• Must concern one of the 6 types of ‘qualifying disclosure’• Must reasonably believe it is in the public interest• Must be raised initially with own line manager (or to more

senior manager if concerns line manager)• Any staff member can press for re-consideration of a

case if they feel the child’s situation does not appear to be improving. They may refer their concerns to Social Care directly if they have concerns for the safety of a child*

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex (ESCB, 2013)

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Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex (ESCB, 2013)

Essex Effective Support Windscreen

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Universal (Level 1)

All children who live in the area have core needs such as parenting, health and education – children are supported by their family and in universal services to meet all their needs

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Additional (Level 2)

Children and families with additional needs who would benefit from or who require extra help to improve education, parenting and / or behaviour, or to meet specific health or emotional needs or to improve material situation

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Intensive (Level 3)

Vulnerable children and their families with multiple needs or whose needs are more complex, such as children and families who:

• Have a disability resulting in complex needs• Exhibit anti-social or challenging behaviour• Suffer neglect or poor family relationships• Have poor engagement with key services such • as school and health• Are not in education or work long term

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Specialist (Level 4)

• Children or young people who have suffered or are likely to suffer significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect

• Children with significant impairment of function / learning and / or life limiting illness

• Children whose parents and wider family are unable to care for them

• Families involved in crime / misuse of drugs at a significant level

• Families with significant mental or physical health needs

Families where there are obstacles and resistance • There can be a wide range of unco-operative

behaviour by families towards professionals

• Four types of uncooperativeness:– Ambivalence– Avoidance– Confrontation– Violence

• Number of reasons why families may be un-coperative (discuss)

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Cultural issues to consider:

• Professionals should seek advice to gain a better understanding, when there is a possibility that cultural factors are making a family resistant to having professionals involved. Professionals should be: – Aware of dates of the key religious events and customs;– Aware of the cultural implications of gender; – Acknowledge cultural sensitivities and taboos e.g. dress

codes.

• Professionals may consider asking for advice from local experts, who have links with the culture. In such discussions the confidentiality of the family concerned must be respected.

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Key documents:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE, July 2015)

• Keeping Children Safe in Education - information for all school and college staff (DfE, July 2015)

• SET Procedures (ESCB, 2015)

• Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government, March 2015)

• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act (HMG, 2015)

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Additional useful documents:

• What to do if you're worried a child is being abused (HMG, 2015)

• Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools (DfE, March 2015)

• You Have Someone to Trust – Outstanding Safeguarding Practice in Primary Schools (September 2012)

• Feeling Safe, Keeping Safe: Good Practice in Safeguarding and Child Protection in Secondary Schools (September 2013)

Essex School Infolink (ESI) Safeguarding page

• Model Child Protection Policy

• Level 2 training programme

• Information on CSE• Information on

PREVENT• Training opportunities• Key documents and

useful resources

• Safeguarding Audit• Feedback from Serious

Case Reviews• How to make a child

protection referral• Presentations • How to manage

allegations against members of the workforce

‘Working Together’ (March 2015)

“effective safeguarding of children can only be achieved by putting

children at the centre of the system, and by every individual and agency

playing their full part, working together to meet the needs of our

most vulnerable children.”

Contact for Safeguarding Adviser to Schools:

jo.barclay@essex.gov.uk

033301 31078

http://schools.essex.gov.uk/Pages/EssexSchoolsInfolink.aspx