Safeguarding Children: Basic Awareness

1. Safeguarding Children: Basic Awareness Jill Jinks Education Welfare Service

2. Key Aims • Safeguarding - Protecting children from abuse and neglect - Preventing impairment of health and development • Promoting Children’s Welfare - Helping them achieve their potential - Ensuring they grow up safe and adequately cared for

3. “The support and protection of children cannot be achieved by a single agency........ Every service has to play its part. All staff must have placed upon them the clear expectation that their primary responsibility is to the child and his/or her family (Lord Laming: Victoria Climbie Inquiry)

4. Victoria was known to • 3 housing departments • 4 social services departments • 2 GPs, 2 hospitals • An NSPCC-run family centre • 2 police child protection teams • A childminder • Faith-based organisations

5. Climbie inquiry messages: • Accountability needs to be clear • Information must be recorded • Communication is crucial • Staff need regular training • Responsibility to protect children from significant harm is the duty of all

6. Every Child Matters - Five outcomes for children • Stay safe • Be healthy • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic well-being

7. Child Protection in Education putting it all in context The Children’s Act 1989 • Victoria Climbie Inquiry/Laming Report • Lauren Wright • Every Child Matters • The Children’s Act 2004 • Education Act 2002: Section 175 • Baby Peter

8. Baby P

9. What should be in place in School • A designated person for Safeguarding • A copy of LSCB guidelines • An up to date school Safeguarding Policy • Well known procedures for handling concerns of abuse of pupils • Support for staff • A listening and supportive environment • Regular Safeguarding training for staff

10. Every Child Matters • Schools provide the key to early identification, intervention and prevention • School staff have more knowledge of the child/family than most other professionals • School staff are in a position to notice behaviour which may indicate abuse or inadequate care

11. Common Assessment Framework • Helps build up a whole picture of child’s needs • Supports early intervention • Improves multi-agency working and use of common language • Improves evidence based referrals

12. Assessment Framework Triangle PARENTING CAPACITY DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS • Health • Education • Emotional and Behavioral development • Identity • Family and social relationships • Social presentation • Self-care skills • Basic care • Ensuring safety • Emotional warmth • Stimulation • Guidance and boundaries • Stability CHILD Safeguarding and Promoting Welfare FAMILY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS • Family history and functioning • Wider family • Housing • Employment • Income • Family’s social integration • Community resources

13. Of 11 million children in England..... • 235,000 seen as Children in Need • 200,000 live with Domestic Abuse • 60.000 are Looked After • 37,000 are subject of a Care Order • 29,000 subject of a Child Protection Plan • (Lord Laming: A Progress Report)

14. In any group of 50 children....... • At least 7 are likely to go home to families which they do not experience as loving • As many as 10 may be a carer for parents with health or social problems • 2-3 will be in fear of violent outbursts... • 2-3 will be returning to a life of regular beating and denigration

15. Abuse and Neglect “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”

16. The Myth...

17. Who abuses children? • Abusers can be any age • Abusers can be male or female • Abusers are from any community or background • Abusers can be parents of other children • Abusers can work in a caring profession

18. Children’s needs and any risk of harm to them may change over time. Abuse is a continuum, not an isolated event. Think about: • the context- • the intention- • the effect on the child …. is it significant?

19. Categories of Child Abuse CHILD ABUSE is various acts of omission or commission on the part of carers that result in unmet needs of children Physical Abuse Emotional Abuse Sexual Abuse Neglect

20. Physical Abuse ‘Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child whom they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using terms such as factitious illness.

21. Emotional Abuse ‘Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction

22. ... Emotional Abuse • It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

23. Sexual Abuse ‘Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person 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 (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways’

24. 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, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs’

25. Stress Factors and Vulnerability • Social exclusion/isolation • Parents with drug and alcohol abuse • Mental Health of primary carer • Parents with Learning Disability • Domestic Abuse

26. Protective Factors • Friendship is a key protective factor and children with good social emotional skills develop greater resilience. • Parental interest in their child’s education throughout life has an impact on attainment and may be a more powerful force than family background and parent education levels • (Ending Child Poverty: HM 2008)

27. ‘Any potentially abusive incident has to be seen in context to assess the extent of harm to a child and appropriate intervention. Often, it is the interaction between a number of factors which serve to increase the likelihood or levels of significant harm’

28. If a Child Tells…. Do: Listen carefully Take it seriously Reassure the child that they are right to tell Explain what will happen next Record the child’s words, the time and date Don’t: Ask leading questions Make promises you cannot keep Jump to conclusions Speculate or accuse anybody

29. How to respond to suspicions of Child Abuse Behaviour, comment or report gives rise to concern Remain calm, stop and listen, observe, record Never promise to keep It a secret Do not ask leading questions Consult your local procedures: Discuss with Child Protection Designated Teacher Practitioner refers to SCS and follows up in writing within 48 hours No further CP action. Although may need to act to ensures services provided Seek support for yourself

30. Consent Obtain consent wherever possible Exceptions to obtaining consent are: . If it might place the child at risk of harm . If you are at risk . Sexual Abuse . Fabricated or induced illness

31. Sharing Information • Disclose information necessary to achieve CP objective • Only share with the people who need to know • Be prepared to justify disclosure without consent and document reasons • If in doubt, seek advice

32. Section 17 - Child in Need SCS has the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children SCS intervention is OPTIONAL Information may be requested from agencies, agencies may refuse without parental consent. Section 47 – Child in need of protection Child at risk of significant harm. SCS has the duty to investigate – maybe joint with police. SCS intervention is compulsory, as is strategy meeting. Information maybe requested from agencies without parental consent. Sections 17 and 47 of the Children Act 1989.Referrals to specialist children’s services are dealt with under 2 different sections

33. Child Protection Referral ASSESSMENT / INVESTIGATION POSSIBLE OUTCOMES NO FURTHER ACTION CHILD REMOVED SERVICES OFFERED CASE CONFERENCE

34. Remember! • The safety and welfare of the child must always come first • The worst thing you can do if you are concerned about a child is to do nothing • You are important - and you can make a difference

35. Remember……………… • Any child can be abused • 90% of children are not abused ………..but most child abuse is preventable if the will to do so is there

36. Reference and Resources • Working Together: www.dfes.gov.uk • What to Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused : www.dh.gov.uk • London Child Protection Procedures www.alg.gov.uk • Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk • Every Child Matters • www.everychildmatters.gov.uk