Child Protection Training

1. Child Protection Training www.steve-jones.org (blog) Steve Jones Regional Training Officer for Methodist Movement Part of NIGHTCHURCH Community – Exeter Cathedral Previously Youth Work Adviser and Children’s Work Adviser for CofE – Devon. Also been involved in teaching in secondary and primary sectors and in church leadership / planting and developing a coaching and training business.

2. SPLAT !!! – to get your bodies going

3. Why Bovver ????

4. Intro – What we’re going to cover • Theology of Child Protection • History of Child Protection • Definitions of Abuse • Government Guidelines and appropriate responses • Best practice • Disclosure • Case Studies • Referrals + Risk Assessments • Homework

5. A theology for Child Protection Jesus’ perspective on children • Mark 10 v 13-14 • Luke 9 v 48 • Mark 10 v15-16 • Matthew 21 v 15-16 • Matthew 18 v6-7

6. A theology for Child Protection Jesus’ perspective on children • He’s accessible to them Mark 10 v 13-14 • He welcomes children – they can know Him Luke 9 v 48 • He commands us to follow his example Mark 10 v15-16 • He loves hearing their praise Matthew 21 v 15-16 • He commands us to protect them Matthew 18 v6-7 THAT’S WHY WE BOVVER !!

7. History of Child Protection • 1889 First Children’s Act – Violence and employment of Children • Various acts for Protection of Children developed from national tragedies • 1908 The Children's Act 1908 established juvenile courts and introduced the registration of foster parents. The Punishment of Incest Act made sexual abuse within families a matter for state jurisdiction rather than intervention by the clergy.

8. Social services gradually formed and developed over the 20th century – became lead agency for government policy • Especially 1989 and 1999 Children’s Acts. Government produced13 guidelines called “Safe from Harm” • In January 2003, Lord Laming published his report into the death of child abuse victim Victoria Climbié, which found that health, police and social services missed 12 opportunities to save her • Every Child Matters and Youth Matters Policy Documents – one theme is for more working in partnership to prevent such things as happened to Victoria. (more about referring and partnering later.)

9. Church’s Response • All major denominations created a policy document and invested in advisors. • Independent churches and others have Churches Child Protection Advisory Service. www.ccpas.co.uk • Patchy • Champion the cause !!

10. Some misconceptions • Abuse doesn't happen in churches and certainly not in this one. • Christians don't do that sort of thing. • When you become a Christian your past is forgotten as well as forgiven. • Abuse only occurs in 'poor' families.

11. Reality bites • Many abusers find the Church to be a ‘soft target’. • Child Protection is not a bureaucratic hindrance; it is a necessary response to the risks faced by today’s young people. • Abuse against young people is a serious matter and scars for life. • You need to know what to look out for and how to respond.

12. Definitions of abuse • Organised, Multiple • Physical • Emotional • Neglect • Sexual • Spiritual

13. Organised or Multiple Abuse • This is defined as abuse involving one or more abusers and a number of related or non-related children and young people. • The abusers concerned may be acting in concert to abuse children, sometimes acting in isolation, or may be using an institutional framework or position of authority to recruit children for abuse.

14. Physical Abuse - discuss • “Deliberately inflicted physical injury (non-accidental injury (NAI)) to a child, including poisoning” Signs can include: • Circular burns from a cigarette or match-heads • Bruising – especially multiple bruises at various stages of healing • Frequent and/or unexplained injuries • Black eyes, especially both eyes at the same time • Fingerprint bruises • Bite marks • Unconvincing or inconsistent explanations of injuries

15. Physical Contact - Safeguarding • Keep everything public • Touch should always relate to the young person’s needs… • Touch should be age + culturally appropriate & initiated by the young person • Avoid touch which is, or may be thought to be, sexually stimulating • The child always has the right to decide • Monitor each other – Dave - Glasgow

16. Emotional Abuse – discuss • The persistent or severe emotional ill-treatment or rejection of a child by having no feeling of warmth, care or concern for the child. This will include ridiculing, scape-goating, bullying. All child abuse involves some emotional ill-treatment.

17. Emotional Abuse cont… Signs may include • Regression in behaviour • Nervousness • Sudden under achievement • Attention seeking • Running away • Aggressive behaviour towards others

18. Neglect • The persistent or severe neglect of a child, sufficient to seriously endanger health or development, e.g. failure to provide adequate food, shelter, supervision, etc.

19. Neglect cont… Signs may include: • General poor state of health • Being dirty • Wandering streets • Comments about being at home alone • Comments about being hungry

20. Sexual Abuse • ‘Sexual abuse is defined as the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities they do not comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent, or that violate the social taboos of the family roles.’ (Kempe & Kempe).

21. Sexual Abuse cont… This may include…. • Incest • Pornography in the photographic, video or internet form • Heterosexual or homosexual activity • Satanic practices and all other forms of sexual exploitation

22. Sexual Abuse cont… Safeguards – Publications and Websites • All named photographs of people must have the signed consent of the person concerned. Photos of under 18s must have the signature of a parent or guardian. • Photos of groups can be published without parental consent, as long as names are not given on the photo. • No one under 16 can be interviewed or photographed without parental consent.

23. Sexual Abuse cont… Signs may include: • Allegations made by the child • Pre-occupation with sexual matters • Sexual activity through words, play or drawings • Severe fears and phobias • Being sexually provocative with adults

24. Spiritual Abuse - discuss Sometimes called religious or pastoral abuse. “Occurs when someone uses their power within a framework of spiritual belief or practise to satisfy their own needs at the expense of others.” It has two main facets 1) A church/group leader who has unhealthy power over individuals or even whole congregations 2 ) Accepted doctrine of a church/group that directly or indirectly controls and oppresses its members through peer pressure etc.

25. Signs may include … • parrot fashion repetition of doctrine • not confident to make own decisions • nervous in company of leaders ?? • apathy through history of disenfranchisement • stunted spiritual growth

26. QUIZ / TEST TIME !!!

28. Guideline 1 • Adopt a policy statement on safeguarding the welfare of children

29. Guideline 2 • Plan the work of the organisation so as to minimise situations where the abuse of children may occur For example arrange that as far as possible an adult is not left alone with a child or young person where there is little or no opportunity for the activity to be observed by others.

30. Guideline 2 • Ensure that all workers do not meet a child or young person off centre premises without a parent or other adult being present. • Always have two adults present with a group particularly when it is the only activity taking place on the premises • Never take a group off premises with fewer than two adults • Think about the premises. e.g. dark unsupervised path to enter the centre. • Where young people are transported arrange as far as possible to have more than one passenger in the vehicle.

31. Guideline 2 • When transporting young people by car or minibus the vehicle must comply with current legislation on transporting children

32. Guideline 2 • Residentials – cautions by both the visiting group and host group. Sleeping arrangements should not require a young person and an adult to share the same bedroom. • Over familiarity – a word of caution • Taking children to the toilet • Picking up children after an activity • Be positive, put measures into place for you to build an appropriate relationships with parents.

33. Guideline 3 • Introduce a system whereby children may talk with an independent person • Display the number of child line (0800 111) or similar organisations on a notice board that is regularly seen by the young people.

34. Guideline 4 • Apply agreed procedures for protecting children to all paid staff and volunteers • Each church is required to apply their denominational procedures

35. Guideline 5 • Give all paid staff and volunteers clear roles • Abuse of young people is most easily concealed where there is confusion among adults about roles and responsibilities • A declaration must be signed by all

36. Guideline 6 • Use supervision as a means of protecting children • Regular opportunities should be made for workers to meet together and plan the work, to share experiences, to receive training and talk about their relationships with the children. • Leaders of groups should take the opportunity to observe in action other leaders for whom they are responsible.

37. Guideline 7 - Recruitment • Treat all would-be paid staff and volunteers as job applicants for any position involving contact with children • Procedure for short term/casual work (paid or voluntary) require completion of application form.

38. Guideline 8 - Recruitment • Gain at least one reference from a person who has experience of an applicant’s paid work or volunteering with children

39. Guideline 9 - Recruitment • Explore all applicants’ experience of working or contact with children in an interview before appointment

40. Guideline 10 - Recruitment • Find out whether an applicant has any conviction for criminal offences against children Of course this is not the most effective way of preventing abuse - only a small number of abusers are convicted. Convicted abusers have admitted that they constantly seek new opportunities to abuse. All situations which involve work with children are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that all convictions must also be declared.

41. CRB’s • The aim of Disclosure is to enhance public safety and to help employers and voluntary organisations to make safer recruitment decisions. • To be seen as a TOOL to support the work and mission of the church • Contains information about all convictions ‘spent’ & ‘unspent’, plus cautions, reprimands and police warnings using the NPC. Will also involve checking government lists and special intelligence.

42. Guideline 11 - Recruitment • Make paid and voluntary appointments conditional on the successful completion of a probationary period

43. Guideline 12 • Issue guidelines on how to deal with the disclosure or discovery of abuse • All workers should make themselves aware of the procedures for dealing with alleged child abuse, abuse disclosed to them, or if they discover evidence that abuse has taken place.

44. Responding to a disclosure A disclosure is an unprompted statement of actual or likely abuse. All disclosures must be acted upon (whether you believe them or not is irrelevant). Your child protection policy will outline the procedures for informing Social Services. You should follow Social Service’s advice.

45. When abuse is disclosed to you….. • Accept what the child or young person says, keeping calm and looking at them directly • Let them know that you need to tell someone else. Do not promise confidentiality • Even when a child or young person has broken a rule, they are not to blame

46. Let the child or young person know what you are going to do next and that you will let them know what happens • Make notes as soon as possible, writing down exactly what was said and when he/she said it. • Record dates and times of these events and keep the handwritten record.

47. REPORTING ABUSE A. Record facts as told by the child B. Do not ask leading questions C. Do not guarantee confidentiality to the child D. Explain what you are going to do E. Do not inform the parents at this stage F. Safety of the child is paramount G. If the child is in immediate danger contact the Police

48. Procedure to be followed for the reporting of Child Abuse Information to be shared – don’t carry it alone • In the first instance with your church’s child protection person • (every church should have one, known by all) ... They will take it forward not you ...

49. Guideline 13 • Train paid staff and volunteers, their line managers or supervisors and policy-makers in the prevention of child abuse