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Safeguarding and Child Protections Procedures

“Because of their day to day contact with individual children during the year, teachers / key workers and other nursery staff are particularly well placed to observe the outward signs of abuse, changes in behaviour or failure to develop.”

(Working Together under the Children Act 1989)

1. PURPOSE

1.1 An effective whole safeguarding and child protection policy is one which provides clear direction to staff and others about expected behaviour when dealing with child protection issues. An effective policy also makes explicit our commitment to the development of good practice and sound procedures. This ensures that child protection concerns, referrals and monitoring may be handled sensitively, professionally and in ways, which support the needs of the child.

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 Rose Buddies Childcare takes seriously its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people in its care. “The welfare of the child is paramount” (Children Act 1989).
2.2 Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 places a statutory responsibility on the governing body to have policies and procedures in place that safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are pupils of the school (DfES/0027/2004)
2.3 There are three main elements to our child protection policy;

a) Prevention through the creation of a positive nursery atmosphere and the teaching, and pastoral support offered to pupils.

b) Protection by following agreed procedures, ensuring staff are trained and supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to child protection concerns.

c) Support to pupils who may have been abused.

2.4 This policy applies to all pupils, staff, volunteers, stakeholders and visitors to Rose Buddies Childcare.

2.5 Rose Buddies Childcare recognises it is an agent of referral and not of investigation.

Safeguarding action may be needed to protect children and learners from:

neglect
physical abuse
sexual abuse
emotional abuse
domestic abuse
bullying, including online bullying and prejudice-based bullying
racist, disability and homophobic or transphobic abuse
gender-based violence/violence against women and girls
radicalisation and/or extremist behaviour
child sexual exploitation and trafficking
the impact of new technologies on sexual behaviour, for example ‘sexting’ and accessing pornography
Unintentional neglect linked to SEN needs
substance misuse
issues that may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity and youth violence
domestic violence
female genital mutilation (FGM)1
forced marriage
county lines, cuckooing, toxic trio, breast ironing/flattening, spirit possession (see Appendix B, Appendix C, Appendix D, Appendix E, Appendix F)
fabricated or induced illness
poor parenting, particularly in relation to babies and young children
other issues not listed here but that pose a risk to children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children, learners and vulnerable adults from deliberate harm, neglect and failure to act. It relates to broader aspects of care and education, including:

children’s and learners’ health and safety and well-being, including their mental health
meeting the needs of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
the use of reasonable force
meeting the needs of children and learners with medical conditions
providing first aid
educational visits
intimate care and emotional well-being
online safety (including online exploitation) and associated issues
appropriate arrangements to ensure children’s and learners’ security, taking into account the local context.

1 Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation (2016) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-agency-statutory-guidance-on-female-genital-mutilation)

3. NURSERY POLICY

We recognise that for our pupils, high self-esteem, confidence, supportive friends and clear lines of communication with a trusted adult helps to prevent abuse.

Our Nursery will therefore:

a) Establish and maintain an environment where pupils feel safe and secure and are encouraged to talk, and are listened to.
b) Ensure that pupils know that there are adults within the nursery who they can approach if they are worried or are in difficulty.
c) Pupils in Eton Class have a ‘Worry Box’ where there can express their worries.
d) Include in the curriculum activities and opportunities, which equip pupils with the skills they need to stay safe from abuse.
e) Include in the curriculum material which will help pupils develop realistic attitudes to the responsibilities of adult life, particularly with regard to childcare and parenting skills.
f) Ensure that wherever possible every effort will be made to establish effective working relationships with parents and colleagues from partner agencies.

4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 All adults working with or on behalf of children have a responsibility to protect them. There are, however, key people within the Nursery and the Local Authority who have specific responsibilities under child protection procedures. The names of those carrying out these responsibilities for the current year are listed on the Key Contacts at the start of this policy pack. Staff, leaders and managers recognise that children and young people are capable of abusing their peers (see Peer on Peer Abuse Policy) Staff educate children and parents about keeping safe and online risks through NSPCC teaching resources including online safety and PANTS activities (https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/teaching-resources/) (https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule/underwear-rule-schools-teaching-resources/) Leaflets and Stranger Danger Posters are displayed and sent to parents.
4.2 It is the role of the Designated Child Protection Coordinator to ensure that all of the child protection procedures are followed within the nursery, and to make appropriate, timely referrals to Thurrock Social Care Services in accordance with Nursery procedures. If for any reason the Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator (see Key Contacts) is unavailable, a Deputy Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator will act in their absence (see Key Contacts). Additionally, it is the role of the Designated Child Protection Coordinator to ensure all staff employed including temporary staff and volunteers within the nursery are aware of the nursery’s internal procedures, to advise staff and to offer support to those requiring this.
4.3 The Managers of Rose Buddies Childcare are responsible for ensuring that the nursery follows safe recruitment processes. As part of the nursery’s recruitment and vetting process, enhanced DBS The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formally CRB), DfES List 99 and other statutory lists and local intelligence checks will be sought on all staff that have substantial and unsupervised access to children.

4.4 The Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator provide parents, staff and all stakeholders information detailing any changes to the policy and procedures; training undertaken by all staff.
4.5 Representatives from the Education Safeguarding Service (01375 652535) are available to offer advice, support and training to the nursery’s Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator.

5 SIGNS OF SAFETY

Signs of safety is the new approach to Child Protection that Thurrock introduced from April 2018. SoS is an innovative, strength based, safety-organised approach. Created by Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards in Western Australia during the 1990s. It is now used in at least 17 different countries across Australasia, North America and Europe.

It’s principles are to:

Understand the position of each family member.
Find exception to the maltreatment (solutions that have worked in the past).
Discover family strengths and resources.
Focus on goals.
Scale safety and progress
Assess willingness, confidence and capacity.

To contact SoS email: iscp@thurrock.gov.uk

OR for further information visit the below sites: