Safeguarding Children and Young People Level 2

Safeguarding Children and Young PeopleLevel 2 Catherine Powell Consultant Nurse Safeguarding Children Karen Littlewood Named Nurse Safeguarding Children Linda Jenkins Specialist Practitioner Safeguarding Children

Learning Outcomes: Level Two • Be familiar with national guidance and local procedures and appreciate own role and responsibilities and those of others in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children • Demonstrate an awareness of the safeguarding roles of parents and carers and recognise factors that can impact on parenting capacity • Understand statutory requirements governing consent, confidentiality and information-sharing • Know when and how to respond to immediate safety issues in relation to a particular child and other children within the household • Be aware of the impact of aggression, anger and violence from carers on practice and know how to manage this • Be able to seek advice and report concerns ensuring that any barriers are addressed • Be able to communicate effectively and develop working relationships with other practitioners and professionals, children and families • Know who to share information with, when and how to record information relatedto assessment, planning, intervention and review • Understand and be able to make an effective contribution through report writing and verbal communication to multi-disciplinary case planning and review meetings

Safeguarding Children: a new focus • Protecting children from child maltreatment • Preventing impairment of their health and development and ensuring they are well cared for • Overarching aim to make sure children & young people reach their potential and enter adulthood successfully …..

‘Child abuse consists of anything which individuals, institutions, or processes do or fail to do which directly or indirectly harms children or damages their prospects of safe and healthy development into adulthood.’ National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse (1996) Neglect Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Emotional Abuse’ What is child maltreatment?

Thinking about maltreatment • Building definitions of harm

Social Care (Social Services) Police NSPCC Social Care may also be the lead agency in supporting children in need Health, Education & Third sector have a duty to inform lead agencies if they have concerns about a child and to contribute to S47 inquiries and S17 provision Section 47 single or joint agency inquiry Section 17 Working Together to Safeguard Children

Definition of significant Harm s31(9) Children Act 1989 • Harm means ill treatment or the impairment of health or development, including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another s31 (10)Children Act 1989 • Where the question of whether harm suffered by a child is significant turns on the child’s health and development, his health or development shall be compared with that which could reasonably be expected of a similar child

Definition of a Child in Need s17 Children Act 1989 • those children whose vulnerability is such that they are unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their heath and development will be significantly impaired without the provision of services, plus those who are disabled

Thinking about risk What do you think increases the risk of child maltreatment?

ChildMaltreatment-recommendations from NICE Guidelines July 2009 Consider Suspect

Child Maltreatment Step 1: Listen and observe Step 2: Seek an explanation Step 3: Record Step 4: Consider, suspect or exclude maltreatment (with guidance) Step 5: Record from NICE guidelines 2009

Group Work Parental behaviours and impact on children

Feedback

BREAK TIME

“It is what is done with information, rather than its simple accumulation that leads to more analytical assessments and safer practice” (Brandon et al 2008 Biennial Analysis of SCR 2003-05)

What gets in the way of professional assessment? • Professionals tendency towards justification and reassurance that all was well, • Sympathy for the parents can lead to the expectations being set too low • Not acceptable to do nothing when a child may be in need of help Three key messages from Laming (2009)

Just Do it!(Laming 2009) • Constant vigilance • Open & inquisitive approach • Always reassess - there may be new or cumulative incidents or change of circumstance • Check the basics e.g. household composition • Challenge colleagues in other agencies • Alert for factors which may interact to increase risk • Understand when safe to work early low level safeguarding • Know when to refer • (adapted Brandon et al 2008 Biennial Analysis of SCR 2003-05)

Your professional assessments • It is important to record all you see and do • You need to state your concerns clearly and who you spoke to about them • You need to date and sign the entry and ask your manager to do the same • YOU are responsible for ALL your actions • If you are asked to share info & you are unsure about doing so seek advice from your manager or safeguarding lead ASK FOR ADVICE FROM THE SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN TEAM

Group work Record keeping

Messages from ‘Baby P’ • Be aware of who is in a household where there are children/and the nature of relationships • Be alert to indicators of abuse & neglect, especially the implications of bruising and of head injuries (Laming has previously referred to 'respectful uncertainty') • Be aware of the importance of reassessment, where additional factors come to light & the need to consider how risk can be compounded

Messages from ‘Baby P’ (continued) • Be clear in stating concerns & professional opinion in referrals to children's social care • Be involved in multi-agency discussions • Involve named and designated professionals in cases of concern (including copying in medical reports) • Be aware that parents may offer a positive picture that is more apparent than real • Distinguish FACT from parental explanations/assumptions

LSCB & lessons from serious case reviews Multi agency working and planning; (MARAC; MAPPA); strategy meetings; CP conferences Interagency communication & workforce training Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) Portsmouth Children’s Trust Working Together

Seven golden rules for information sharing • Remember the Data Protection Act is not a barrier to sharing information • Be open and honest with the person from the outset • Seek advice where in doubt • Share with consent where appropriate and where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to share (unless there is sufficient need to override the lack of consent) • Always consider the safety and well-being of the person and others • Ensure information is accurate and up to date, necessary, shared with the appropriate people, in a timely fashion and shared securely • Record the reasons for the decision – whether it is to share or not

Likely outcome if information is shared Likely outcome if information is not shared Information sharing decision making • Decisions require informed judgement • Consent is the key to successful information sharing (Even where the law does not demand it, operating with consent is good practice)

Safeguarding Supervision is time to: • allow you space to rethink • be supported • be challenged

Supervision sessions support • practice making it robust and consistent with LSCB and organisational procedures • practitioners understand their responsibilities in this context • child-centred working • identification of risk to child’s health & well being • practitioner to make a health contribution to multi-agency child protection planning

Manager/team leader Named and Designated Professionals Children’s Social Care Attend training events DO NOT ACT ALONE PCT Child Protection Policy LSCB Procedures Government guidance How to get help

Any Questions?

Trainers Note – Child Maltreatment exercise Aim of exercise: • Facilitating participants in building a picture of significant harm (s47) & making a differentiation between significant harm and a child in need (s17) Activity Divide group into 2: • one half works on s47 • the other works on s17 • use flipchart work - then swap groups • then Feedback to whole group Conclusion of exercise Discuss that if the child is NOT at risk of significant harm i.e. s17 child in need of support then health, education & third sector services will plan care together and social care do not investigate under s47

Trainers Note – Exercise Thinking about risk Aim of exercise • For participants to consider risk and impact on child Activity • Looking at 3 circles dimension of interlinking risks from AMH/SM/DV/Poverty/Disabilities etc and consider escalation of risk in these circumstances • Also draw out points such as - poor school attendance - not bringing child to health or dental appointments - involving child in parents care needs TRAINER TO USE FLIPCHART TO DRAW 3 CIRCLES OVERLAP TO DESCRIBE INTER LINKS BETWEEN ISSUES AND BUILD RISK PICTURES

Trainers Notes Exercise “Impact of parenting behaviours on children” Aim of exercise To explore the nature of maltreatment and the impact on children and young people Instructions for exercise Using the headings and sheets • Sexual abuse • Physical abuse • Emotional abuse • Neglect Consider the statements on parent/carer actions and behaviours and in groups discuss the types of behaviours you may see in a child where particular adult actions and behaviours exist Finish exercise by handing out completed sheets for each abuse category

Trainers Note –Records Exercise Aim of exercise To examine the entries from the records & answer the following questions; • Are you clear about the identity of people mentioned in record entries • Are all concerns clear? • Is fact distinguished from opinion? • Can you tell if practitioners opinion differ from parents explanations? • Is there a clear outline of analysis of events and subsequent risk? • Is there a plan to address the risks with services offered? • Are there any growth charts attached? • Chronology in file? • Beware of any assumptions made in statements

Safeguarding Children and Young People Level 2