Safeguarding : Working Together to Safeguard Children 2011

1. Safeguarding: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2011 Cheselbourne village School (Update session) 16th November 2011 Alison Gadd Children’s Services Safeguarding Trainer Safeguarding Officers- Angela Burr & Ginny Daniells 01305 221122

2. Objectives By the end of the session you should be reminded of: • Your legal responsibilities • How to recognise abuse and neglect • What to do if you are worried about a pupil’s welfare • How to work safely

3. Child Protection Training • Supports your school’s child protection procedures and other safeguarding policies, which you must read • Often deals with sensitive issues – look after yourself • Keep a sense of proportion • Questions and contributions are welcome but we will not discuss specific cases, which are confidential

4. Safeguarding in Schools: Best Practice • Rigorous safeguarding policies and procedures in place, written in plain English, compliant with statutory requirements and updated regularly; in particular, clear and coherent child protection policies. • Child protection arrangements that are accessible to everyone, so that pupils and families, as well as adults in the school, know who they can talk to if they are worried. • Excellent communication systems with up-to-date information that can be accessed and shared by those who need it. • A high priority given to training in safeguarding, generally going beyond basic requirements, extending expertise widely and building internal capacity. • Robust arrangements for site security, understood and applied by staff and pupils. September 2011

5. Case studies What should you do? What do you think should happen next? • Maisie • Ryan • Christopher • Mrs X 10 minutes

6. Why are we here? • NSPCC counsellors referred a record 16,385 serious cases to Social Care/Police in 2010/11 • This was a 37% rise from the previous year • 67 Serious Case Reviews between April & September 2010 concerned 93 children, 39 of whom died • The tendency was to overlook the roles played by fathers & male partners. Risks were noted, but not the useful information they sometimes had. NSPCC & Ofsted April 2011

7. Why are we here? • 42,300 children were the subjects of a child protection plan in England at 31 March 2011 - DfE (39,100 at 31/03/10- an increase of 8%) • In Dorset 346 children are the subjects of a child protection plan (30th Spetember 2011) Sept 2008 172 plans Nov 08 Baby P first reported in the media Mar 2009 225 plans (Lord Laming’s report published) Sept 2009 331 plans Mar 2010 346 plans April 2011 305 plans • 293 Dorset children are ‘Looked After’ – 141 because of abuse and neglect- 48.1% (30th September 2011)

8. Safeguarding is everyone’s business Baby M ‘…a family where there were interacting risk factors which were indicative of increased risk to the children’ ‘The failure of agencies to act, assess or proactively share information combined with the limited parenting capacity of the vulnerable parent of a child with a potentially life threatening condition resulted in tragic consequences’ Child C Baby C ‘This was a ‘difficult’ family to work with. Both parents were adept at complying with professionals just enough to allow a false sense of security to prevail’ Family S3 ‘The floor and fittings in the bathroom were covered in human and animal excrement and other rooms were in a foul state cluttered with furniture and possessions. The house as a whole smelt strongly of urine’

9. Why are we here? Every week, (on average), in England and Wales one child is killed by his/her parents or carers NSPCC 2009

10. LAUNCH OF NSPCC HELPLINE MOBILE PHONE TEXTING SERVICE • The NSPCC Helpline has launched a mobile phone texting service which will allow members of the public to contact the Helpline by texting 88858. • The public can send a text anonymously if they wish at no cost to themselves. On receipt of the text the Helpline will send an immediate automated confirmation response and then a specific response to their enquiry from a Helpline practitioner within three hours.

11. A reminder of yourlegalresponsibilities

12. Key legislation for all agencies The Children Act 1989 • Catalyst for numerous changes and modernisation for the protection and support of children • The paramountcy principle • Partnership with parents • Duty on agencies to co-operate in the interest of children Children Act 2004 • Came out of the Victoria Climbie inquiry • Legislation supporting ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ – To be repealed….”The Big Society” • Duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (Section 11)

13. Key legislation for schools • Education Act 2002 Sect 175 – Requires LAs and the governing bodies ofmaintained schools (and FE institutions) to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are carried out with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils (same duty applies to independent schools – sect 157) They must also have regard to relevant guidance issued by the Secretary of State ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education’ is the key guidance (Jan 2007)- Under review This section came about as a result of the death of Lauren Wright

14. Every school must have.... • Child Protection procedures (what to do if….) that everyone has read • Procedures for: - managing allegations against staff (Under review) - safer recruitment and selection - ‘whistle blowing’ • A DSP (Designated Senior Person for Child Protection) and at least one deputy, trained in inter-agency working • A nominated governor for child protection (Who is yours?) • Training for all staff and volunteers

15. Policies, legislation, structures and procedures are, of course, of immense importance, but …. It is the robust and consistent implementation of policies and procedures which keeps children and young people safe The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report The Lord Laming, March 2009

16. ‘The extent of the failure to protect Victoria was lamentable…there were failures at every level and in every organisation’ Lord Laming ‘…lots of times, often, she (Lauren) was covered with lots of small bruises and with major bruises about once a month. These included black eyes, bruising on her face and scratches across her back” Class teacher ‘Baby Peter’s horrifying death could and should have been prevented’ Second Serious Case Review Haringey 2009

17. Child Abuse and Neglect

18. Do not make assumptions Children who are abused are..... any child, any age, any background People who abuse children can be.... anyone However, some children are more vulnerable to abuse than others.....

19. What constitutes abuse and neglect? “Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger for example, via the internet. They may be abused by an adult or adults or another child or children” 2010 Under Review: Due Summer 2012

20. Categories of abuse – A reminder Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Emotional Abuse Neglect

21. Taking action

22. Munro Report- Part Two (February 2011) • The child protection system is a multi‐professional, multi‐agency operation requiring all who work with children, young people and families to consider the effectiveness of their work • The child protection system should be child‐centred, recognising children and young people as individuals with rights, including their right to participation • The complexity of the world means that uncertainty and risk are features of child protection work and that risk management cannot eliminate harm, only reduce its occurrence

23. Case study • Maisie

24. Taking action – where there is no disclosure or evidence of abuse • If you have any concerns about a child, it is important to share them with - the class teacher (if appropriate) and - the DSP (Have you got a concern form?) • Other people might also be worried (or there might be an explanation for the child’s behaviour) • Make sure a discussion with the DSP is recorded, including the outcome

25. Neglect and emotional abuse • Can be difficult to identify • Try to work with parents/carers • Remember to record concerns • Consider a CAF if more than one agency involved • Abuse does not consist of a single incident but is chronic and on-going

26. Children and Significant Harm • In Dorset 346 children were the subjects of a child protection plan on 30 September 2011, in the following categories*: BoysGirlsUnborn • Neglect 151 80 69 2 • Emotional abuse 122 62 59 1 • Physical Abuse 37 23 14 0 • Sexual abuse 36 12 24 0

27. Family and environmental factors • Domestic violence • Substance misuse • Mental ill health • Fathers hostility • Criminal convictions • Patterns of hostility • Patterns of compliance • History of neglect • Previous child death • Poverty • Poor living conditions • Frequent house moves • Accidents Practice/professionals and agency factors Child factors and Experiences • Very young babies • Illness in babies • Older child hard to help • Sexual exploitation • Going missing • Bullying • Suicide • Disability • Chronic illness Agency context • Capacity • Organisational climate • Preoccupation with thresholds • Professional anxiety • Reluctance to act • Professional challenge • Supervision • Ethnicity challenges • Understanding neglect • Dealing with neglect • ‘start again syndrome’ • Communication • Keeping track of families • Child not seen/heard

28. ‘Family S3’ • Recognition of neglect as child abuse • Understanding that having to provide ‘significant compensatory care’ for a child should trigger a child protection referral to Social Care • Questioning ‘what must it be like to be a child in this household?’ and the importance of seeing the child in the family home to inform assessments • Understanding that because the family is ‘unconventional’ or lives in a rural setting does not make neglect more acceptable • Importance of accurate record keeping and taking account of history when making decisions • Need to take advice and escalate concerns through management structures when other agencies do not act

29. Responding to a disclosure of physical or sexual abuse

30. Case studies • Ryan • Christopher

31. Taking action: You Should..... • Listen carefully • Clarify the facts if necessary, using open questions (remember TED), but do not interrogate or ask more than you need to • Re-assure the young person, if required • Pass on the information only to those who need to know

32. Common pitfalls You should not • Promising to keep secrets • Asking too many questions • Asking the child to repeat the disclosure to anyone else • Making judgments about whether s/he is telling the truth, even if the s/he has been untruthful in the past or has made previous allegations • Asking the child or witnesses to write a ‘statement’ • Informing parents/carers

33. Case study • Mrs X

34. In conclusion • Education staff have a crucial role to play in helping identify welfare concerns and indicators of possible abuse or neglect at an early stage • Over 60% of referrals to Dorset Social Care come from education staff

35. Any Comments or Questions ?