Tuesday 17 th September, 2013

1. Tuesday 17th September, 2013 Early Years and Schools’ safeguarding briefing for new designated child protection co ordinators

2. The aims of this briefing are to:- • Understand your role and responsibilities • raise awareness of key legislation and guidance • Increase your understanding of the referral process and what makes a good referral • Help you to recognise and overcome barriers to disclosure • Update you on the allegations and complaints procedures • Equip you to support staff effectively

3. What do you think? • Safeguarding? • Child protection?

4. Child Protection Intimate Care Restraint Staff Conduct Anti Bullying Policies Curriculum Safeguarding Attendance Managing Allegations Against Staff Behaviour Management Safe Built Environment Whistle blowing Health and Safety Safe Recruitment and Selection

5. Where does child protection sit? Child Protection Assessment Framework . SAFEGUARDING .

6. ‘Significant harm’ • Ill treatment or impairment of health or development • Development can be physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural • Health can be physical or mental • Can be a single traumatic event or a series of events over time

7. Definition of Safeguarding Safeguarding is: • protecting children from maltreatment; • preventing impairment of children’s health or development; • ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances. Working Together 2013

8. But ultimately ….. • To support you to help keep children safer

9. Areas of responsibility • Referrals • Training • Raising awareness

10. Dealing with a concern… • All staff should be given two key messages:- 1.) record 2.) share

11. Response to a disclosure Do • Listen carefully and take it seriously • Stay calm, however shocked you may be • Reassure the child • Explain what you will do next • Report it urgently to the DCPC • Record the disclosure fully

12. Response to a disclosure Don’t • Ask leading questions • appear shocked or angry • Make judgements • Promise anything you can’t deliver • Confront an alleged abuser • Promise that you won’t tell anyone

13. Next steps…….over to you • Reassure the individual who has alerted you • Clarify information (this may involve speaking again to the child / children) • Consider the new information, alongside any previous chronology • Seek advice (if needed) • Speak to parents * • Make an informed decision about whether to refer to social care • Ensuring actions and outcomes are recorded and feedback given to staff involved

14. *Speaking to parents/carers • If a child discloses physical or sexual abuse, where the alleged abuser is either a family member or someone resident within the household, the school must consult the Duty Social Worker before informing parents, unless the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan in which case schools must contact the allocated Social Worker. The relevant Social Worker will advise the school when, and by whom, parents will be informed.

15. When do I contact social care? • If you are worried about a child/ children you can phone and speak to someone for advice or for reassurance that you are taking the appropriate action. • If you suspect a child is being abused or you have a disclosure of abuse you must contact social care to make a referral. Bringing on board, rather than passing on

16. What happens when you call 466903? Family Contact Point 5 advice and information officers Initial information gathering CHIN and lower level concerns Child protection cases

17. Referral Forms • What has changed today that means we have decided to make a referral? • What information will help the Referral Team? • Is the information clear and descriptive, with clear dates and times. • Is the information subjective? • Is there any supplementary information which could be attached?

18. Some recent data about referrals 2012/2013 6,421 contacts to referral team 1,632 referrals (1st time increase in three years) 75% of referrals went to initial assessment (67%) 556 core assessments completed 185 referrals went to section 47 enquiries

19. 94 of these 185 went to conference. • Currently have 171 children on a CP plan

20. EY and Schools safeguarding Advisers • Ceri McAteer – 465740 • Cmcateer@swindon.gov.uk • Sarah Turner – 465737 • Sturner2@swindon.gov.uk

21. Thinking about a child/teenager in your life that you feel a worried about: What are you Worried About? What’s Working Well? What Needs to Happen? STEP THREE STEP ONE: START HERE, BACK AND FORWARDS What has happened, what have you seen, that makes you worried about this child/teenager? What do you like about ___ what are his/her best attributes? Having thought more about this problem now, what would you need to see that would make you satisfied the situation is at a 10? Who are the people that care most about ___? What are the best things about how they care for ____? What would ___ need to see that would make them say this problem is completely sorted out? When you think about what has already happened to ____ what do you think is the worst thing that could happen to ____ because of this problem? What would ___ say are the best things about his/her life? Who would ___ say are the most important people in his/her life? How do they help ___ grow up well? What do you think is the next step that should happen to get this worry sorted out? Are there things happening in ____’s life or family that make this problem harder to deal with? Has there been times when this problem has been dealt with or was even a little better? How did that happen? On a scale of 0 to 10 where 10 means this problem is sorted out as much as it can be and zero means things are so bad for the young person you need to get professional or other outside help, where do you rate this situation today? (Put different judgment numbers on scale for different people e.g., you, child, teacher etc). 0 10 STEP TWO: JUDGMENT

22. Escalation Policy Occasionally situations arise when workers within one agency feel that the decision made by a worker from another agency on a child protection or child in need case is not a safe decision. Disagreements could arise in a number of areas, but are most likely to arise around: • Levels of Need • Roles and responsibilities • The need for action • Communication 5 stages

23. Training • Ensure DCPC and deputies refresh training every 2 years • All staff every 3 years - register • Induction safeguarding training for new staff • Safer recruitment – Statutory Head and at least one Governor, manager of setting • Allegations – Good practice for Head and Chair or manager, owner, or chair of committee of a setting • CPCs – attendance and provision of report

24. Training Swindon LSCB provide multi-agency child protection training • Online calendar • Online booking form • Annual conference • Requirements

25. Raising Awareness • Policy – how do we ensure all staff are kept up to date • Easily accessible • Copies of transfer files

26. School/Settings Safeguarding audit • School governing bodies/EY settings are required to carry out an annual review of their school’s/setting’s safeguarding practice and to provide information to the LA about how the duties set out in the statutory framework for early Years and DfE guidance (‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education’) have been discharged.

27. Safeguarding Staff • Code of Conduct • Whistleblowing policy • Positive Handling • Allegations against members of staff

28. Code of conduct • All staff should have read the school’s /setting’s code and have signed to say they have read it, understood it and agree to the statements it contains. • Whistleblowing policy – reporting concerns How are concerns about staff recorded?

29. Positive Handling and the Use of Reasonable force • School/setting should have their own policy • Restraint should be used only rarely • All staff and volunteers working in the school/setting should be made aware of protocols • All incidents of the use of force by staff should be formally recorded • Complaints of inappropriate handling should be treated under child protection procedures • Uplands School provides Team Teach training on behalf of the LA

30. DfE statutory guidanceUpdated April 2013 • Quick resolution should be a clear priority • Suspension should not be the default option • Allegations found to be malicious should be removed from personnel records • Unsubstantiated or unfounded should not be referred to in employer references

31. Swindon guidelines • Head teacher/manager would take the lead on this, unless they are subject of allegation, then Chair of Governors/owner/Chair of Committee would take on the responsibility. • Settings-LADO to be first point of contact, then EYSA • Schools’ Safeguarding Adviser to be first point of contact • Initial information will be recorded (see handout) • Adviser to confirm actions with LADO and feedback to school • No further action by LADO (School to consider how the matter should be dealt with under employers’ procedures eg complaints / disciplinary) * • Allegations management/ strategy meeting/discussion

32. Safer recruitment • Deter • Reject • Prevent • Detect Little Stars

33. DBS checks - Regulated activity • Unsupervised activities: teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children or provide advice / guidance on well-being or drive a vehicle only for children • Work for a limited range of establishments with opportunity for contact. (Not work by supervised volunteers) • Done regularly

34. Regulated activity cont’d • Relevant personal care or health care by or supervised by a professional • Registered child minders and foster carers

35. If your organisation works with children / young people and a member of staff is dismissed because they harmed a child, or you would have done so had they not left, you must refer this information to the DBS (formerly ISA). • An organisation which knowingly employs a barred individual to work with children in regulated activity will be breaking the law. • A person will be breaking the law if they work or volunteer or try to work or volunteer and are barred from working with children and young people in regulated activity.

36. DBS Update On 17th June the DBS launched the ‘Update service’ • Individuals can choose to subscribe for an annual fee of £13 • Service will keep DBS certificate up to date and portable • Employer will be able to go online and check Registered bodies will not be sent a copy of the DBS certificate.

37. Schools’/ EY Safeguarding Adviser • Termly briefings (2 dates to choose from) • Termly safeguarding newsletter (x6) • Advice and support via telephone / e mail • Allegations • Feeling safe survey(schools only) • Monitoring

38. Monitoring of child protection • School/setting safeguarding audit outcomes • School/setting safeguarding audit visit (3 yearly cycle) • Attendance at CPCs and provision of reports • Leads meetings • Referral forms

39. Further Information • South West Child Protection Procedures accessed at www.online-procedures.co.uk/swcpp/ • LSCB web site at www.swindonlscb.org.uk

42. Websites • www.earlyyearschildcare.org