Safer Working Practices: good for pupils, good for staff

1. Safer Working Practices: good for pupils, good for staff Deborah Steele Schools Advisor (Child Protection) Wiltshire Council January 2012

2. Why are we here today? • Strong commitment from School’s senior management to safer practice • To understand why a shared understanding of safer practice is important, reflecting guidance, policy and procedure • To ensure that safer practice is firmly embedded in this school’s culture and practice • To develop strategies to support safer practice • To think about what already exists in this school, and what else needs to happen

3. Win-win • Good for pupils • Good for staff • Good for the School

4. Drivers for change • Death of Victoria Climbie 2000 • Death of Lauren Wright 2000 • Every Child Matters: Staying Safe • S.175/157 Education Act 2002 • Soham - Bichard recommendations • Experience from allegations against staff

5. s.175 Education Act 2002 Statutory duty for schools “to safeguard and promote the welfare of children” (s.157 Education Act – same provision for independent schools and academies)

6. Every Child Matters: the 5 outcomes • Be healthy • Stay safe • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic well-being

7. Multi-agency working • Children Act 2004 • Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) – Multi-Agency Child Protection Procedures

8. Government Guidance • Working Together: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (Government Depts 2010) • Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (DfES 2007) • Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults Who Work with Children and Young People in Education Settings (DCFS March 2009)

9. Elements of safe practice

10. Focus on prevention • Recruitment:‘weed out’ / reject unsuitable people • Induction, training and support for staff: reduce risk of staff unwittingly making themselves or pupils vulnerable • Culture of openness and challenge: bring to light instances of poor or inappropriate practice

11. Safer practice: some key principles • Welfare of the child is paramount • Transparency • professional reason for any action

12. Openness and challenge: • Supported by polices, procedures and training • Government guidance on Safer Practice • School’s Code of Conduct for Safe Practice • Whistle-blowing policy • Procedure for dealing with allegations against staff

13. Openness and challenge: • Appropriate and inappropriate conduct • Professional reason for all conduct • All staff responsible for safeguarding all children and young people

14. Allegations against staff • Chapter 5 Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007 • www.swcpp.org.uk– multi-agency child protection procedures • Wiltshire Council procedures

15. What next? • Embedding safer practice in the school’s culture and practice • Ensuring that the Code of Conduct is a well-understood working tool, not more ‘wallpaper’ • Identifying any additional staff training or support needs and making provision for them

16. What next? • Embedding safer practice in the school’s culture and practice • Ensuring that the Code of Conduct is a well-understood working tool, not more ‘wallpaper’ • Identifying any additional staff training or support needs and making provision for them

17. Focus on prevention • Recruitment:‘weed out’ / reject unsuitable people • Induction, training and support for staff: reduce risk of staff unwittingly making themselves or pupils vulnerable • Culture of openness and challenge: bring to light instances of poor or inappropriate practice