Child Protection Training and Corporate Parent Duties

1. Child Protection Training and Corporate Parent Duties

2. During this session we will explore: • Key documents and resources in relation to Child Protection • The specific role of Education Services • Our values and attitudes • Look and listen: • Child abuse and neglect • Vulnerability and risk factor • The categories of abuse • Record • Report • Corporate Parent duty

3. Key Documents • National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2014) • The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 • Child Protection, Corporate Policy and Procedure (2017) • Codes of conduct and professionalism

4. Education and Multi-agency resources • Exemplar education policy • 3 page guides for reference • CPC Multi-agency materials • Training materials for Child Protection Co-ordinators • www.aberdeengettingitright.org.uk/child-protection • Education Lead lstopani@aberdeencity.gov.uk

5. General roles for all in Education Services • Maintaining a safe environment for children • Teaching children how to stay safe and who can help them • Making children aware of their rights • Being a trusted adult who children can turn to for help and who will take them seriously • Identifying when children may need help at the earliest opportunity • Understanding the steps to be taken where there are concerns • Working in partnership with others to Get it Right for Every Child

6. Values and Attitudes Values Basic notions about what is right and wrong – these influence our behaviours and attitudes and are stable and enduring. Values are influenced by genetics, parents/families, peers, national culture and environment. Attitudes Influenced by your values but can change. They are changed by moods, learning and personal experience.

7. So when does a wellbeing concern become a child protection concern? When there is a likelihood of risk of significant harm “’Child Protection’ means protecting a child from child abuse or neglect. Abuse or neglect need not have take place, it is sufficient for a risk assessment to have identified likelihood of significant harm, abuse or neglect.”

8. What is harm? Harm means the ill treatment or the impairment of the health or development of the child, including, for example, impairment suffered as a result of seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another. In this context, ‘development’ can mean physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development and ‟health‟ can mean physical or mental health.

9. So what is significant harm? Significant harm can result from a specific incident, a series of incidents or an accumulation of concerns over a period of time. It is essential that when considering the presence or likelihood of significant harm that the impact (or potential impact) on the child takes priority and not simply the suspected or reported abusive behaviour. Significant harm is likely to have an impact on the child’s development.

10. So when does it become significant harm and a Child Protection issue? To understand and identify significant harm, it is necessary to consider: • the nature of harm, either through an act of commission or omission; • the impact on the child’s health and development, taking into account their age and stage of development; • the child’s development within the context of their family and wider environment; • the context in which a harmful incident or behaviour occurred; • any particular needs, such as a medical condition, communication impairment or disability, that may affect the child’s development, make them more vulnerable to harm or influence the level and type of care provided by the family; • the capacity of parents or carers to meet adequately the child’s needs; and • the wider and environmental family context.

11. In order to know how best to proceed you will need to assess the risk

12. So what is child abuse and neglect? ‘Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting, or by failing to act to prevent, significant harm to the child. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. Assessments will need to consider whether abuse has occurred or is likely to occur’

13. Vulnerability / risk factors None of these factors in themselves constitute abuse but they do increase the risk • Social exclusion • Teenage pregnancy • Domestic violence • Parental alcohol/drug misuse • Parental mental ill health • Disability • Poverty • Parental history of abuse and neglect

14. Categories of Abuse • Physical abuse • Sexual abuse • Emotional abuse • Physical neglect

15. Harm outside the home • Child Sexual Exploitation • Child Trafficking • Online and Mobile Phone safety • Children and young people who put themselves at risk • Underage sexual activity • Forced Marriage • Concealed pregnancy

16. Physical Abuse ‘Physical abuse is the causing of physical harm to a child or young person. Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning or suffocating. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child they are looking after’

17. Sexual abuse ‘Sexual abuse is any act that involves the child in any activity for the sexual gratification of another person, whether or not it is claimed that the child either consented or assented. Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of indecent images or in watching sexual activities, using sexual language towards a child or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways’

18. Emotional abuse ‘Emotional abuse is persistent emotional neglect or ill treatment that has severe and persistent adverse effects on a 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. It may involve the imposition of age - or developmentally - inappropriate expectations on a child. It may involve causing children to feel frightened or in danger, or exploiting or corrupting children. Some level of emotional abuse is present in all types of ill treatment of a child; it can also occur independently of other forms of abuse’

19. Neglect ‘Neglect is the 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. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or to ensure access to appropriate medical (including dental) care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or failure to respond to, a child’s basic emotional needs. Neglect may also result in the child being diagnosed as suffering from „non-organic failure to thrive‟, where they have significantly failed to reach normal weight and growth or development milestones and where physical and genetic reasons have been medically eliminated. In its extreme form children can be at serious risk from the effects of malnutrition, lack of nurturing and stimulation.

20. What outward signs might indicate physical abuse / sexual abuse / emotional abuse / neglect? • Activity • What should you look and listen for that may be an indicator of what might be happening to a child or young person?

21. Behavioural factors that may indicate abuse Suddenly aggressive or withdrawn Self destructive Chronic non-attendance Over-reaction to mistakes Dislikes physical contact Depressions Loss of self-esteem Compulsive stealing Constant tiredness Poor personal hygiene Overtly sexual Changes in appetite Startled responses Incontinence

22. Look and listenNever introduce new ideas, only use the words from the child.If they retract you must still take action Look out for the child who: • Has unexplained bruising or injury • Is afraid to go home • Is hungry , tired or unclean, • Is left unattended • Has too much responsibility for themselves or others • Knows too much about sex drugs or alcohol for their age • Has too much money or unexplained expensive gadgets • If a child wants to talk to you then make yourself available to them and provide a private space where they can talk without fear of being overheard Listen to the child who tells you; • they are abused or neglected • feels worthless or inadequate • they are misusing drugs or alcohol • about violence at home • about concerns about other children

23. What to do • Record what you have heard, seen or been told • Record am/pm statutory attendance on the system no later than 9:30am and within 30 mins of the afternoon session • Record LAC and Child Protection status accurately

24. What to do if you suspect Report • Follow the child protection procedures for your establishment, without delay advise ( add the name of the CP lead to this slide) Police Scotland 101 JCPT 01224 306879/7 Out of Hours 01224693936

26. To access this drive In your browser (Google Chrome where possible) type: Tinyurl.com/abdncpt2017 Please complete evaluations

27. Raising Awareness of Your Role as a Corporate Parent In-Service Day

28. Corporate Parenting – It’s Everyone’s Job! Scottish Government vision: Improvements in experiences and lives of looked after children and care leavers will be achieved through corporate parents working together, in partnership with children, young people and families, to promote their interests, uphold their rights, and safeguard their wellbeing.

29. What does it mean to be Looked After? Children who are looked after may be: • looked after at home subject to a compulsory supervision order • in a kinship or foster placement • In a residential placements, secure care • children affected by disability who have a legal status of being looked after. We often refer to our looked after children, young people and care leavers [up to 26th birthday] as ‘care experienced’.

30. 24 Organisations

31. What does it mean to be a Corporate Parent? Every Corporate Parent is expected to fulfil the Corporate Parent duties in their own way, consistent with their own purpose and functions. These duties include: • being alert to matters which adversely affect the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers; • assessing the needs of those children and young people for the services and support they provide; • promoting the interests of those children and young people; • seeking to provide opportunities which will promote the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers; • taking action to help children and young people access such opportunities and make use of the services and support provided.

32. What should Education colleagues do to support these children and young people? Assist care experienced children and young people to achieve their full potential and ensure they have the same opportunities as their peers by for example: • Promoting attendance • Making additional arrangements, as appropriate, to support their learning • Supporting their wellbeing This means working in partnership with parents/carers and other Corporate Parents to support them to develop positive relationships with adults, feel safe and be encouraged to achieve.