SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURE
POLICY STATEMENT
The responsibility for safeguarding children belongs to everyone. All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity, have the right to protection from abuse. Each child deserves the opportunity to learn and develop in an environment that is both safe and secure and at Groombridge Preschool we strive to achieve this, setting out the procedures we will follow if we suspect any child is at risk of being harmed or has been harmed.
Our policy is to be used in conjunction with PAN East Sussex County Council Safeguarding Children September 2015 (currently under review) and Working Together to Safeguard Children - July 2018 guides, devised to support settings in promoting the safeguarding of children, and in helping them through the process.
CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING POLICY
This policy was adopted on 1 September 2019
This policy will be reviewed to reflect amendments published by PAN Sussex as and when they are occur
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Jeannette White - 01892 861113
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Becky Randall - 01892 861113
Chair
Sophie Richards
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
Amanda Glover - 07825 782793
Safeguarding Officer and Assistant Local Authority Designated Officer (SPoA)
Sue Giles - 07543 237465
Referrals into Early Help and Social Care - SPoA
01323 464222 0-19.SPOA@eastsussex.gov.uk or Emergency Duty Service (after hours, weekends and public holidays) - 01273 335905/6
Designated Doctor Safeguarding Children
01424 758012
Designated Nurse Safeguarding Children
01424 735664
Specialist Practitioner for Child Death
01273 513441
Designated Nurse Looked After Children
01323 446999
CONTENTS - Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
1 Introduction
2 Roles and Responsibilities
3 Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedure
4 Reporting Concerns and Record Keeping
5 Dealing with a Disclosure Made by a Child – Advice for all Members of Staff
6 Procedure for Managing Allegations of Abuse Made Against Staff Members and Volunteers
7 Safer Workforce and Managing Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers
8 Staff Induction, Training and Development
9 Confidentiality, Consent and Information Sharing
10 Whistleblowing and Complaints
11 Site Security
12 Policy Review
13 Unauthorised Absence
14 FGM
15 Prevent
16 Peer on Peer Abuse
17 Safeguarding Children Continuum of Need
18 Discussing concerns with the Family and the Child – Advice for the DSL
19 Early Help for Children and Families
20 Safer Recruitment
21 Use of Reasonable Force
22 E-Safety and Mobile Phones
1 INTRODUCTION
Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility and everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play. The welfare of the child is paramount and the Chairs, Committee and staff will ensure that our pre-school will safeguard and promote the welfare of our pupils, working with other agencies to ensure that we have robust arrangements to identify, assess and support those children who are suffering or likely to suffer harm.
All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse. All suspicions and allegations of abuse or poor practice will be taken seriously and responded to robustly.
Pre-school staff members are aware of specific safeguarding issues and are alert to any risks. Chapter 8 of the Pan-Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures https://sussexchildprotection.procedures.org.uk/page/contents - has detailed information about specific issues such as child sexual exploitation, fabricated or induced illness, female genital mutilation, children who harm other children, private fostering, etc, and the local procedures to respond to risks.
All staff and committee members are familiar with “Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and “PAN Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures”.
2 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
It is every member of staff’s duty to be involved in the safeguarding and welfare of our children and ensure all staff are aware of the signs and symptoms to look out for in all areas of abuse. The pre-schools’ lead person with overall responsibility for child protection and safeguarding is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The Supervisor will ensure that the policies and procedures adopted by the Chair and Committee are fully implemented and that staff and Committee are also familiar with Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and the Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures. All staff will be familiar with the Continuum of Need and will attend face to face Level 1 Practitioner Safeguarding training with refresher e-learning annually. The DSL and DDSL will have up to date Level 2 ESCC Designated Safeguarding Leads Training for Childcare Settings every two years and refresher e-learning in the intermittent year.
Designated Safeguarding Lead - Jeannette White
Deputy Designated Safegarding Lead – Jane Rance.
3 CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING PROCEDURE
We will follow a structured procedure in line with Pan-Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures and Keeping Children Safe in Education: 2018, which will be followed by all members of the pre-school community in cases where there are welfare or safeguarding concerns..
In line with the procedures, the Children’s Social Care Single Point of Advice (SPoA) will be notified as soon as there is a significant concern, or where a level 3 referral is required and Ofsted will then be informed.
The names of the DSLs will be clearly advertised in the pre-school, with a statement explaining the pre-school’s role in referring and monitoring welfare and safeguarding concerns. This statement will be personalised, to reflect the exact set up in your particular pre-school. All parents receive a copy of the East Sussex County Council Child Protection Regulations letter at point of registration.
We will ensure all parents and carers are aware of the responsibilities of staff members to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and act in the best interests of children by publishing the policy and procedures on our website and by referring to them in our introductory pre-school materials.
4 REPORTING CONCERNS AND RECORD KEEPING
The Preschool have a robust system for recording safeguarding records of child protection and welfare concerns including incidents and allegations in accordance with the East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Board Guidance, Keeping Safeguarding Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns, Guidance for Early Years Settings, Pre-schools and Colleges April 2019..
Attendance patterns are reviewed and responded to under safeguarding arrangements.
We will continue to support any pupil leaving the pre-school about whom there have been concerns by ensuring that all appropriate information is forwarded under confidential cover to the pupil’s new pre-school within 5 working days. When a pupil is due to transfer to another pre-school the DSL will consider if it would be appropriate to share any information with the new pre-school or school in advance of the pupil leaving.
When a new pupil joins our pre-school, and there is a record of safeguarding or welfare concerns, we will ensure that this information is shared appropriately with the DSL, the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and the Designated Teacher for LAC, as necessary.
5 DEALING WITH A DISCLOSURE MADE BY A CHILD – ADVICE FOR ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF
If a child discloses that he or she has been abused in some way, the member of staff or volunteer should follow this guidance.
Listen to what is being said without displaying shock or disbelief and only ask questions for clarification
Accept what is being said and allow the child to speak freely. Do not put words in the child’s mouth
Reassure
Inform the DSL without delay.
6 PROCEDURE FOR MANAGING ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE MADE AGAINST EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT STAFF MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS
Allegations sometimes arise from a differing understanding of the same event, but when they occur they are distressing and difficult for all concerned. We will take all possible steps to safeguard our children and to ensure that the adults in our pre-school are safe to work with children.
If an allegation is made or information is received about an adult who works in our pre-school which indicates that they may be unsuitable to work with children, the member of staff receiving the information should inform the Supervisor immediately. Should an allegation be made against the Supervisor, this will be reported to the Chair of Directors. In the event that neither the Manager nor Chair of Directors are not contactable immediately, the information must be passed to and dealt with by either the member of staff acting as Deputy or the Deputy DSL. The Manager or Chair of Directors will follow the flowchart located on the safeguarding door in the setting. No member of staff or the Board of Directors will undertake further investigations before receiving advice from Single Point of Advice or LADO. After informing LADO or SPoA, Ofsted should also then be informed immediately. Any member of staff or volunteer who does not feel confident to raise their concerns should refer to the flowchart and contact SPoA.
7 SAFER WORKFORCE AND MANAGING ALLEGATIONS AGAINST STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
All individuals working in any capacity at our pre-school will be subjected to safeguarding checks in line with the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education: Statutory Guidance for Pre-schools and Colleges, June 2019.
We will ensure that agencies and third parties supplying staff provide us with evidence that they have made the appropriate level of safeguarding checks on individuals working in our pre-school. All relevant members of the Committee involved in the recruiting process will have completed current safer recruitment training. Staff may refer to our Safer Recruitment Policy.
8 STAFF INDUCTION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
All new members of staff, will be given an induction which includes the following:
ensure all staff know what to do if you are concerned a child is being harmed or at risk of being harmed
ensure all staff fully understand and know how to implement the Safeguarding Policy when an allegation is made against staff members
complete face to face Practitioner Safeguarding training
complete First Aid Training
ensure all staff are aware of the Collection Policy
ensure all staff have completed Prevent Duty e-training
ensure all staff have completed FGM e-training
9 CONFIDENTIALITY, CONSENT AND INFORMATION SHARING
We recognise that all matters relating to safeguarding and child protection are confidential. The Manager or the DSL will disclose any information about a pupil to other members of staff in the best interests of the child.
In order to safeguard and protect children from harm we shall confidentially share information with other professionals. We must be sharing any concerns we have with parents at an early stage, unless this would put a child at greater risk. All staff members have a professional responsibility to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children. We will develop and promote effective working relationships with other agencies, including agencies providing early help services to children, the police and Children’s Social Care.
10 WHISTLEBLOWING AND COMPLAINTS
The preschool will promote a culture that enables all staff members to raise, without fear of repercussions, any concerns they may have about the management of safeguarding in the pre-school. We will ensure that all staff members are aware of their duty to raise concerns, where they exist, about the management of safeguarding and child protection, which may include the attitude or actions of colleagues. If necessary, they will speak with the Manager, the chair of the Committee or with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). Should staff not feel able to raise concerns they can call the NSPCC whistleblowing helpline on 0800 028 0285. All staff to refer to the Preschool’s Whistleblowing Policy.
11 SITE SECURITY
All staff members have a responsibility to ensure our buildings and grounds are safe and secure and for reporting concerns that may come to light. A Daily risk assessment is completed with all areas checked before each session commences to include the safety of the hall, kitchen, all exits and the outside areas. All staff are aware of the Risk Assessment and the Premises and Security Policy.
12 POLICY REVIEW
The Safeguarding policy and the procedures will be reviewed every academic year with any amendments issued by PAN Sussex being made immediately. The DSL will ensure that staff members are made aware of any amendments to policies and procedures.
13 UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE
All staff should be aware that when children are missing, particularly repeatedly, this can act as a vital warning sign of a range of safeguarding possibilities including abuse and neglect. Early intervention is necessary to identify the existence of any underlying safeguarding risk and to help prevent the risks of a child going missing in future. The pre-school must inform the local authority of any pupil who fails to attend regularly, or has been absent without the pre-schools permission for a continuous period of 10 pre-school days or more. All staff should be aware of the pre-school’s unauthorised absence and children missing from education procedures.
14 FGM
FGM comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs and it is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse. It is our mandatory duty to report any concerns we have regarding FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) as described in the FGM Act 2003 (as amended by the Serious Crime Act 2015). We will follow the procedural information in the Mandatory Reporting brochure attached to this Policy.
All preschool staff will complete e-learning at https://www.fgmelearning.co.uk
15 THE PREVENT DUTY
Under Section 29 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2015, Ofsted require the Preschool to have a duty of care in identifying ‘children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation. There is no single way of identifying whether a child is likely to be susceptible to an extremist ideology, radicalisation can occur through many different methods, social media and the internet but it is possible to protect vulnerable people from extremist ideology and intervene to prevent those at risk from being radicalised. Staff will be alert to changes in children’s behaviour and should use their judgement in identifying children who might be at risk of radicalisation and act proportionately which may include the DSL or DDSL making a referral to the Channel programme. Channel is a programme which allows pre-schools to make referrals if they are concerned that an individual might be vulnerable to radicalisation. Guidance on Channel is available at: Channel Guidance, and a Channel awareness e-learning programme is available for staff at: Channel General Awareness.
All staff have a duty to be aware of the Prevent Duty and will carry out e-learning at https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.u/m/screen1 as part of the induction process with regular refreshers.
16 PEER ON PEER ABUSE
Children can abuse other children which is generally referred to as peer on peer abuse and can take many forms: bullying, sexual harassment and physical abuse. All reports of peer on peer abuse will be reported to the DSL and recorded on the safeguarding files for each child involved. The DSL will analyse the information and take action as necessary and record the outcome. The pre-school will always make a referral to the police and/or children’s social care if the incident involves sexual violence or sexual harassment.
17 SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN CONTINUUM OF NEED
The Safeguarding Children Continuum of Need has been developed so that everyone working with children in East Sussex has a common language for understanding the needs and risks surrounding children and their families. All members of staff are familiar with it and it is displayed prominently on the safeguarding door in the setting. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff should always act in the best interests of the child and discuss with the DSL or deputy DSL. Concerns should be acted upon immediately. If in exceptional circumstances the DSL or Deputy DSL are not available, staff should seek advice from SPoA.
18 DISCUSSING CONCERNS WITH THE FAMILY AND THE CHILD – ADVICE FOR THE DSL
In general, you should always discuss any concerns the pre-school may have with the child’s parents unless you believe that this would place the child at greater risk of significant harm. If you make a decision not to discuss your concerns with the child’s parents or carers this must be recorded in the child’s safeguarding file with a full explanation for your decision. Advice should be sought in the first instance from SPoA.
You do not need the parents’ consent to make a referral if you consider the child is in need of protection, when you make your referral, you should agree with Children’s Social Care what the child and parents will be told, by whom and when.
19 EARLY HELP FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Some parents may need additional help from our pre-school or other services such as the NHS. Providing help early is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later.
Potential children needing extra help could be disabled or have specific needs, present challenging family circumstances for the child such as substance abuse, adult mental health problems or domestic abuse;
Referring to the continuum of need, we shall work with other agencies to provide the additional support for our families. If the family does not consent to an early help service and we make a judgement whether concerns for the child may escalate, we will contact the Children’s Social Care Single Point of Advice for a consultation with a qualified social worker.
20 SAFER RECRUITMENT
Our pre-school has robust recruitment and vetting procedures to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children.
Our job advertisements and application packs make explicit reference to the preschool’s commitment to safeguarding, compliance with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), disclosure of any convictions, cautions, court orders, reprimands and warnings that may affect their suitability to work with children and disclosure of whether they have any children’s services involved at home.
Staff or Committee members who are carrying out the interview process should have carried out relevant Safer Recruitment training.
21 THE USE OF ‘REASONABLE FORCE’
There are circumstances when it will be appropriate for staff to use reasonable force to safeguard children. The term ‘reasonable force’ covers the broad range of actions used by staff that involve a degree of physical contact to control or restrain children. This can range from guiding a child to safety by the arm, to more extreme circumstances such as breaking up a fight or where a young person needs to be restrained to prevent violence or injury. ‘Reasonable’ in these circumstances means ‘using no more force than is needed’. When managing incidents of positive handling the pre-school will liaise with the LADO, where it is thought that the physical intervention may lead to an allegation, inform Ofsted and record the incident in the Reportable Incident Record Book.
22 e-SAFETY AND MOBILE PHONES
The Preschool use the internet as a tool for children in our setting to investigate and learn more about the world via the interactive wipeboard, iPads and laptops. We have a duty to ensure that children are protected from potential harm when accessing the internet at pre-school by staying e-safe. The e-Safety Lead will ensure that all devices have the necessary parental controls established in order to prevent access to any harmful, illegal or inappropriate content and that they have no email access. All iPads are password protected and are only used by the children with adult supervison. Emails from the setting are only sent and received on the Supervisor and Administrator’s addresses.
Staff cannot bring their personal mobile phones into the setting. Staff may leave the setting in order to make or receive urgent calls or alternatively use the Preschool land line. Staff should refer to the mobile phone policy.
This policy is known, agreed and implemented by all staff.
This policy is known and make available to all parents.
This policy was reviewed November 2020