This policy includes managing allegations of abuse against a member of staff and responding to child protection concerns.
Our setting will work with children, parents and the community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Our Safeguarding Policy is based on the three key commitments of the Pre-school Learning Alliance Safeguarding Children Policy.
We are committed to building a culture of safety in which children, young people and vulnerable adults are protected from abuse and harm in all areas of our work.
Our designated person (a member of staff) who co-ordinates child protection issues is the pre-school deputy manager, Eve Ratcliff.
When the setting is open, but the designated person is unavailable, a suitably trained deputy is available for staff to discuss sageguarding concerns. This deputy is the pre-school manager Pat McGowan.
The designated person and the person who deputises for them understand Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) safeguarding procedures, attend relevant LSCB training at least every two years and refresh their knowledge of safeguarding at least annually.
Our designated officer (a member of the management committee) who oversees this work is the Chair of Trustees, Dave Hand.
The designated officer will support the designated person to undertake their role adequately and offer advice, guidance, supervision and support.
The designated person will inform the designated officer at the first opportunity of every significant safeguarding concern, however this should not delay any referrals being made to children’s social care, the LADO (Local Authority Duty Officer), Ofsted or RIDDOR.
We ensure all staff are trained to understand our safeguarding policies and procedures and that parents are made aware of them too.
All staff have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues and are alert to potential indicators and signs of abuse and neglect and understand their professional duty to ensure safeguarding and child protection concerns are reported to the local authority children’s social care team or the NSPCC. They receive updates on safeguarding at least annually.
All staff are confident to ask questions in relation to any safeguarding concerns and know not to just take things at face value but can be respectfully sceptical.
All staff understand the principles of early help (as defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children) and are able to identify those children and families who may be in need of early help and enable them to access it.
All staff understand LSCB thresholds of significant harm and understand how to access services for families, including for those families who are below the threshold for significant harm.
All staff understand how to escalate their concerns in the event that they feel either the local authority and/or their own organisation has not acted adequately to safeguard.
All staff understand what the organisation expects of them in terms of their required behaviour and conduct. They follow our policies and procedures on positive behaviour, online safety (including use of mobile phones), whistleblowing and dignity at work.
Children have a key person to build a relationship with, and are supported to articulate any worries, concerns or complaints that they may have in an age appropriate way.
All staff understand our policy on promoting positive behaviour and follow it in relation to children showing aggression towards other children.
We provide adequate and appropriate staffing resources to meet the needs of children.
Applicants for posts within the setting are clearly informed that the positions are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Candidates are informed of the need to carry out ‘enhanced disclosure’ checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service before posts can be confirmed. We use these checks to ensure that no disqualified person or unsuitable person works at the setting or has access to children.
Where applications are rejected based on information that has been disclosed, applicants have the right to know and to challenge incorrect information.
We inform all staff that they are expected to disclose any convictions, cautions, court orders or reprimands and warnings which may affect their suitability to work with children (whether received before or during their employment with us).
All staff and volunteers are required to notify us if anyone in their household (including family members, lodgers, partners etc.) has any relevant convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands or warnings or has been barred from, or had registration refused or cancelled in relation to any childcare provision or have had orders made in relation to care of their children.
We notify the Disclosure and Barring Service of any person who is dismissed from our employment, or resigns in circumstances that would otherwise have led to dismissal for reasons of a child protection concern.
We record the details of visitors to the setting in a visitors book kept in the pre-school entrance hall.
We take security steps to ensure that we have control over who comes into the setting, so that no unauthorised person has unsupervised access to the children.
We take steps to ensure children are not photographed, filmed, or recorded on video for any other purpose than to record their development or their participation in events organised by us. Parents sign a consent form and have access to records holding visual images of their child.
Any personal information is held securely and in line with data protection requirements and guidance from the ICO.
The designated person in the setting has responsibility for ensuring that there is an adequate online safety policy in place.
We keep a written record of all complaints and concerns including details of how they were responded to.
We are committed to responding promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns of abuse that may occur and to working with statutory agencies in accordance with the procedures that are set down in What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused.
We acknowledge that abuse of children can take different forms - physical, emotional, and sexual, as well as neglect.
We ensure that all staff have an understanding of the additional vulnerabilities that arise from special educational needs and/or disabilities, plus inequalities of race, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation or culture, and that these receive full consideration in relation to child, young person or vulnerable adult protection.
We are aware of the ‘hidden harm’ agenda concerning parents with drug and alcohol problems and consider other factors affecting parental capacity and risk, such as social exclusion, domestic violence, radicalisation, mental or physical illness and parent’s learning disability.
We are aware that children’s vulnerability is potentially increased when they are privately fostered and when we know that a child is being cared for under a private fostering arrangement, we inform our local authority children’s social care team.
We are aware of other factors that affect children’s vulnerability that may affect, or may have affected, children and young people using our provision, such as abuse of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities; fabricated or induced illness; child abuse linked to beliefs in spirit possession; sexual exploitation of children, including through internet abuse; Female Genital Mutilation and radicalisation or extremism.
In relation to radicalisation and extremism, we follow the Prevent Duty guidance for England and Wales published by the Home Office and LSCB procedures on responding to radicalisation.
The designated person completes online Channel training, online Prevent training and attends local WRAP training where available to ensure they are familiar with the local protocol and procedures for responding to concerns about radicalisation.
We are aware of the mandatory duty that applies to teachers and health workers to report cases of Female Genital Mutilation to the police.
We also make ourselves aware that some children and young people are affected by gang activity, by complex, multiple or organised abuse, through forced marriage or honour based violence or may be victims of child trafficking. While this may be less likely to affect young children in our care, we may become aware of any of these factors affecting older children and young people who we may come into contact with.
Where we believe that a child in our care or that is known to us may be affected by any of these factors we follow the procedures below for reporting child protection concerns and follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures.
Where such evidence is apparent, the child’s key person makes a dated record of the details of the concern and discusses what to do with the member of staff who is acting as the designated person. The information is stored on the child’s personal file.
In the event that a staff member or volunteer is unhappy with the decision made of the designated person in relation to whether to make a safeguarding referral they must follow escalation procedures.
We refer concerns to the local authority children’s social care department and co-operate fully in any subsequent investigation. In some cases this may mean the police or another agency identified by the Local Safeguarding Children Board.
We take care not to influence the outcome either through the way we speak to children or by asking questions of children.
We take account of the need to protect young people aged 16-19 as defined by the Children Act 1989. This may include students or school children on work placement, young employees or young parents. Where abuse is suspected we follow the procedure for reporting any other child protection concerns. The views of the young person will always be taken into account, but the setting may override the young person’s refusal to consent to share information if it feels that it is necessary to prevent a crime from being committed or intervene where one may have been, or to prevent harm to a child or adult. Sharing confidential information without consent is done only where not sharing it could be worse than the outcome of having shared it.
All staff are also aware that adults can also be vulnerable and know how to refer adults who are in need of community care services.
We have a whistleblowing policy in place.
These records are signed and dated and kept in the child’s personal file, which is kept securely and confidentially.
The member of staff acting as the designated person is informed of the issue at the earliest opportunity.
The Pre-school Learning Alliance’s publication Safeguarding Children contains procedures for making a referral to the local children’s social care team, as well as a template form for recording concerns and making a referral. This is based on What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused.
We keep a copy of this document alongside the procedures for recording and reporting set down by our Local Safeguarding Children Board, which we follow where local procedures differ from those of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.
If we feel that a referral made has not been dealt with properly or that concerns are not being addressed or responded to, we will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board, escalation process
We ensure that staff are aware of how to escalate concerns.
Parents are normally the first point of contact. Concerns are discussed with parents to gain their view of events, unless it is felt that this may put the child at risk, or interfere with the course of a police investigation. Advice will be sought from social care if necessary.
We inform parents when we make a record of concerns in their child’s file and tell them that we also make a note of any discussion we have with them regarding a concern.
If a suspicion of abuse warrants referral to social care, parents are informed at the same time that the referral will be made, except where the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board does not allow this, for example, where it is believed that the child may be placed in greater danger. This will usually be the case where the parent is the likely abuser. In these cases the social workers will inform parents.
If there is a possibility that advising a parent beforehand may place a child at greater risk (or interfere with a police response) the designated person should seek advice from children’s social care, about whether or not to advise parents beforehand, and should record and follow the advice given.
We work within the Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines.
We have the current version of What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused available for parents and staff.
We ensure that all staff are familiar with what they need to do if they have concerns.
We have procedures for contacting the local authority regarding child protection issues, including maintaining a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of social workers, to ensure that it is easy, in any emergency, for the setting and children’s social care to work well together.
We notify Ofsted of any incident or accident and any changes in our arrangements which may affect the well-being of children or where an allegation of abuse is made against a member of staff (whether the allegations relate to harm or abuse committed on our premises or elsewhere). Notifications to Ofsted are made as soon as is reasonably practicable, but at the latest within 14 days of the allegations being made.
Contact details for the local National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) are also kept.
We ensure that all parents know about our Complaints Policy which explains how to raise concerns, including those about the behaviour or actions of staff or volunteers within the setting, or anyone living or working on the premises occupied by the setting, which may include an allegation of abuse.
We follow the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board, when responding to any complaint that a member of staff or volunteer within the setting, or anyone living or working on the premises occupied by the setting, has abused a child.
We ensure that all staff and volunteers know how to raise concerns about a member of staff or volunteer within the setting. We respond to any concerns raised by staff and volunteers who know how to escalate their concerns if they are not satisfied with our response.
We respond to any disclosure by children or staff that abuse by a member of staff or volunteer within the setting, or anyone living or working on the premises occupied by the setting, may have taken, or is taking place, by first recording the details of any such alleged incident.
We also report any such alleged incident to Ofsted, as well as what measures we have taken. We are aware that it is an offence not to do this.
We co-operate entirely with any investigation carried out by children’s social care in conjunction with the police.
Where a member of staff or volunteer has been dismissed due to engaging in activities that caused concern for the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults, we will notify the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) of relevant information, so that individuals who pose a threat to children (and vulnerable groups) can be identified and barred from working with these groups.
We are committed to promoting awareness of child abuse issues and to empowering young children, promoting their right to be strong, resilient and listened to.
We seek out training opportunities for all adults involved in the setting to ensure that they are able to recognise the signs and signals of possible physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse (including child sexual exploitation) and neglect and that they are aware of the local authority guidelines for making referrals.
We ensure that designated persons receive training in accordance with that recommended by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, at least every two years and refresh their knowledge and skills at least annually.
We ensure that all staff know the procedures for reporting and recording any concerns they may have about the provision.
We ensure that all staff receive updates on safeguarding via emails, newsletters, online training or discussion at staff meetings at least once a year.
We introduce key elements of keeping children safe into our programme to promote the personal, social and emotional development of all children, so that they may grow to be strong, resilient and listened to and so that they develop an understanding of why and how to keep safe.
We create within the setting a culture of value and respect for individuals, having positive regard for children’s heritage arising from their colour, ethnicity, languages spoken at home, cultural and social background.
We ensure that this is carried out in a way that is developmentally appropriate for the children.
We believe in building trusting and supportive relationships with families, staff and volunteers in the group.
We make clear to parents our role and responsibilities in relation to child protection, such as for the reporting of concerns, information sharing, monitoring of the child, and liaising at all times with the local children’s social care team.
We will continue to welcome the child and the family whilst investigations are being made in relation to any alleged abuse.
Where a child’s social care worker has set a Child Protection Plan, we follow it in relation to the setting’s designated role and tasks in supporting that child and their family, subsequent to any investigation.
Confidential records kept on a child are shared with the child’s parents or those who have parental responsibility for the child in accordance with the Confidentiality and Client Access to Records procedure and only if appropriate under the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.