7.2.1 Children's Centre Child Protection Policy |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This Policy Compliments the West Yorkshire Consortium Inter Agency Safeguarding Procedures and does not replace them.
This chapter informs staff, parents, volunteers and visitors of the Centre's commitment to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children and young people.
This Chapter relates to all the childcare services and activities within the Centre including those of the Neighbourhood Nursery 0 to 5's
Contents
1. Child Protection - our Promise to Parents
The Children's Centre/Nursery believe that all children, without exception have the right to be protected from abuse, regardless of gender, ethnicity, ability, sexuality or beliefs.
For the purpose of this policy a child is anyone under the age of 18 years.
The Centre's intentions are simple; it wants to create an environment that is safe and secure for all who access our facility and to protect a child, wherever possible, in and out of the setting.
This policy applies to all staff, students, and volunteers and all are required to read, understand and work towards it.
The law states that everyone working with children and young people should help them:
- Stay Safe
- Be Healthy
- Enjoy and Achieve
- Make a Positive Contribution
- Have a Good Standard of Living
These are the five outcomes identified by the Government in its Every Child Matters agenda, which all professionals are working towards to improve the lives of children.
1.1 How do you know your child will be safe whilst at our Children's Centre/Nursery?
The Centre follow a very rigid recruitment and induction process. All staff are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), in order to maintain a high level of security.
Any new member of staff is involved in an induction period in order to ensure they are capable of maintaining the Centre's high standards.
The Centre encourages volunteers and students to gain experience at the setting, but not to the detriment of your child's safety. These persons are never left unattended with children, they are supervised by a qualified, CRB checked member of staff at all times whilst in the presence of any children.
Wherever possible even students and volunteers have CRB checks as well.
All staff are aware of the Student Placement Procedure and Volunteering Procedure.
The Centre prides itself on its partnership with parents and this policy is available for parents at all times and information is included in the parent information pack.
1.2 What about visitors?
The Centre follow a very strict visitor's policy to ensure the nursery remains safe and secure. The Centre has security buzzers installed and no unidentified person will be allowed access to the nursery. Also all visitors must sign in on arrival so the Centre has a record of who is in the building at all times.
The Centre regularly review contracts for contact/security information and all staff are aware of who is allowed to collect a child and any passwords needed. Whilst the Centre endeavour to support parents/carers please be aware that in the case of absent parents/carers we cannot refuse them should they demand to collect their child if there is no court order to state otherwise.
The Centre can however delay collection whilst we contact the contract holder. Please refer to our Security and Collection Policy.
There are three main elements to the Centre's Child Protection Policy:
- Prevention
This applies to a positive atmosphere in the Centre, the curriculum and support and awareness raising for children and parents. - Protection
By following agreed procedures, ensuring that the recruitment and selection of staff is thorough and appropriate and staff are trained and supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to child protection concerns. - Support
This applies to the effective supervision and management of staff and the support given to staff children and parents in situations of abuse.
The Centre staff recognises that for young children, high self-esteem, confidence, trusted adults and positive behaviour approaches, helps prevention.
The Centre will therefore:
- Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel secure and are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
- Provide a key worker system, which will give the children an opportunity to build a relationship with a particular adult, and that adult will have a key responsibility for the child's well being. The key worker along with other workers will also provide opportunities for the parents of that child to express any concerns or difficulties.
- Provide a curriculum, which is appropriate to the children's understanding and addresses issues of assertiveness, self-esteem and positive behaviour, and promotes the Every Child Matters outcomes for children.
- Ensure that the environment welcomes the contributions of parents and establishes open and effective working relationships and partnerships. Parent representatives will have a key role in supporting parents in expressing their views.
- Ensures that all family support activities (Centre based & Outreach) are underpinned by the principles and procedures contained within this policy.
- Ensure that every effort will be made to establish effective working relationships with other agencies and professionals, in line with the national framework, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' revised 2005.
The Centre does not operate in isolation; child protection is the responsibility of all adults and especially those working with children.
2. How to Tell if a Child is being Abused
It is important that every person working with children are alert to the possibility that a child may have been abused and know how to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse.
There are 4 main types of abuse and all staff are trained in how to identify each one. They are fully aware of what signs/symptoms to look for and how they relate to each type of abuse.
Here is a brief description of each one:
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse involves hitting, shaking, burning, poisoning, throwing, suffocating or anything else that causes physical harm to a child.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse involves the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child, which could cause long lasting ill effects on the child's emotional development. It can involve telling a child they are worthless or unloved or causing the child to feel frightened or in danger (for instance through witnessing violence) or exploiting or corrupting a child.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse involves enticing or forcing a child to take part in sexual activities (Whether or not the child is aware of what is happening) or encouraging a child to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. This can include both physical and non- physical contact. It may involve a child looking at or taking part in the production of pornographic material or watching sexual activities.
Neglect
Neglect involves the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physiological needs, which may result in damage to the child's health and development. It can involve failing to provide food, clothing or accommodation or failing to get medical help when needed.
It is recognised that, statistically, children with behavioural difficulties and disabilities are most vulnerable to abuse. Staff who work in any capacity, with children with profound and multiple disabilities, sensory impairment and / or emotional and behaviour problems will need to be particularly sensitive to signs of abuse.
It must also be recognised that in a home environment where there is domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or a parent/carer is experiencing mental illness or has a learning disability, children may be vulnerable and families may need additional support or protection.
3. Definition of Significant Harm and Child in Need
Under the Children Act 1989 a child is considered to be in need if their health or development will be impaired without the provision of services. Such services can be provided by Children's Social Care but often services can be provided by a range of agencies working together to identify and meet a child's needs.
Significant harm is the threshold which determines the need for statutory intervention in a child's life by Children's Social Care. The Local Authority has a duty to make enquiries to inform future plans where it believes a child is suffering or likely to suffer from significant harm. This is under Section 47 of the Children Act and are known as Section 47 enquiries. All agencies have a duty to share information about the child with Children's Social Care when such enquiries are being made.
To determine whether or not harm is significant is difficult to assess but would include such things as the severity, frequency and duration of the harm and the impact this is likely to have on the child's health and development.
4. The Child Wellbeing Model and the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
This model has been developed to ensure that children and families get the right level of support according to their needs. It is Wakefield's version of the Common Assessment Framework. For more details about the model can be found at the Wakefield website/Census.
The model identifies 4 levels of need and what the family can expect to happen at each level.
Level 1
Universal services which all children will receive by virtue of their age. This would include for example schools, health services, youth services.
Level 2
This is where there are concerns about a child's health and development such that the child requires some additional services to ensure they can achieve their full potential. This could be due to a disability, for behavioural reasons or because the parenting is being compromised for any reason e.g. due to the ill-health of a carer, financial difficulties, housing issues or because they have recently separated from a partner.
Level 3
This is where a number of agencies have concerns about the child's development due to a range of reasons including those listed for level 2 which would require agencies to work in a multi-agency way to meet the child's needs.
Level 4
This is where concerns have continued to increase or a single extremely serious incident has occurred which would lead to the need for child protection procedures to be instigated.
5. Procedures
5.1 What to do if there are concerns about a child's wellbeing
Where a member of staff has concerns about the welfare of a child, whether this is due to a single event or a number of concerns over time, the child wellbeing procedures must be implemented. If a pre-assessment checklist, Common Assessment Framework or Child wellbeing meeting is undertaken then this information should be emailed to the CAF coordinator. When it is a new referral and indications are that a file will be opened (I.e. it is not a one-off involvement) the Pre-CAF must always be completed and the 'start-up' form on the CWB website must be sent to the CAF coordinator.
Decisions regarding what action to take when the welfare of a child is at stake are never easy and should always be discussed with a line manager or someone who has responsibility for supporting you in this respect. The following people can be consulted to assist you in deciding what course of action to take:
- Your Line manager or deputy
- Your Child protection officer
- Your area social worker
- Your Early Years Area Manager
If you have concerns about the welfare of a child:
If at any time you believe that the child is suffering from significant harm then you must follow the child protection procedures Section 5.2 of this Procedure.
Step 1
Discuss any thing unusual regarding a child with your manager to decide whether a pre-CAF should be completed. This is a tool to help you as a professional decide whether a more in depth assessment of a child's needs should be undertaken. If your manger is not available any of the following should be consulted: named child protection worker, area manager or area social worker. There is a named child protection officer whose role is to provide support and guidance to staff around child protection matters. The child protection officer's name can be found at the front of this document. They should be consulted at all levels of the Child wellbeing model. If after completing the Pre-CAF it is indicated that a CAF should be completed go to step 2 below. A Pre-CAF must be completed for ALL children's Centre families unless the involvement is one-off support. (E.g. transport to an appointment.) If the children's centre is going to have ongoing involvement where a file will be opened the Pre-CAF must be completed. This form is to assist you in deciding whether a CAF should be completed. Nurseries should also consider undertaking a Pre-CAF where they have opened a file on a child.
Step 2
The CAF Common Assessment Framework is a tool to assist you and the family in identifying their needs and developing an action plan to meet those needs. You may need to call on the assistance of the Area Social worker to assist you in completing this form and in developing a suitable action plan. Before undertaking the CAF this should be discussed and agreed with the parent or carer. If they do not wish for a CAF to be undertaken then this should be noted on the child's file and no further action taken at this time. If concerns about a child continue to increase then it may eventually be necessary to refer to Social Care Direct. This needs to be discussed with the family and they should be encouraged to see the benefits for their child of the CAF.
The CAF should be reviewed regularly and updated, providing a measure of the progress a family has made.
Step 3
If concerns continue a Child Wellbeing Meeting (CWB) should be called. This must always be in consultation with your manager, who may wish to discuss with the Area social worker. The social worker can assist in convening the CWB meeting and in where insufficient expertise exists in the nursery they may chair it.
The lead professional role must be identified at the meeting and it is possible that this could be someone from the nursery. See the Child wellbeing procedures for more detail about this role.
Review meetings with the family and all professionals concerned should be called on a regular basis to update the plan and monitor progress.
Step 4 - Significant harm
If concerns continue or a member of staff becomes aware that a child may have been abused or neglected they have a duty to take action. They must consult with the child protection officer, if they are not available then they must consult with one of the other people listed above. Follow the procedures Section 5.2
Record all actions you have taken, including who you have spoken to as described in the recording policy.
NB: Doing nothing is not an option
5.2 What to do if you believe that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm
If you believe a child may be suffering from Significant Harm consult one of the people listed above.
If after discussing the matter you still have concerns then contact Social Care Direct. SCD can offer advice about whether something constitutes significant harm, whether a child well being meeting should be held, whether to inform parents and can signpost you to other services which may help.
It is important to share as much information with parents/carers as possible but only where this will not put the child at further danger. If you are unsure whether to share the information with parents then seek advice from social care direct.
On occasions SCD get very busy and there may not be a social worker available to take your call. If the referral constitutes significant harm make this very clear when contacting them, tell them it is a child protection referral so that they can prioritise it accordingly.
If a CAF has not been completed, complete the inter-agency referral form available on the Wakefield website under SCD, if a CAF has been completed this can be faxed to SCD on 01924 303455.
If you have not had time to fill in the referral form or CAF and the matter is urgent or constitutes significant harm have the following information to give over the phone:
- The child's name and address, date of birth, carers details including phone number
- Names and addresses and telephone numbers of any other significant adults e.g. an absent father
- Names and addresses of any other children who live in the same household
- Names and addresses of any siblings who may live elsewhere
- Ethnic origin
- Whether an interpreter is required
- Names of other professionals involved with the family
- Details of concerns which have led you to make the referral
Do not delay in making a referral if you do not have available all the information.
If you have concerns that a child may be in immediate danger contact the police on 0845 6060606.
If you have given details over the phone your referral must be sent in writing (using the CAF or inter-agency referral form) within 48 hours of the phone call.
SCD will get back to you within 24 hours of the referral to let you know the outcome. If they don't do this you should ring them back after 3 days to establish what has happened.
5.3 What to expect from Children's Social Care
SCD will assess the information you give them and check to see if the child is known on their database. They will usually collect information from other agencies to see if they also have concerns about the child, this is why it is useful to let SCD know of any agencies you know are involved with the family.
From this they will advise you if they think the thresholds for intervention has been met. If not they will suggest that you undertake a child wellbeing meeting, CAF or signpost you to other services which may be able to help.
If they consider that it has met the threshold for intervention an Initial Assessment will be undertaken. This assessment should take no more than 7 working days from the decision being made to undertake one. From this a plan of action agreed to support the child. This may include involvement of the Children Centre or NNI. They may however decide that a more in depth assessment is needed. This is known as a Core Assessment. This has to be undertaken within 35 working days of the decision being made.
Where a child is believed to be suffering or at risk of suffering from significant harm and Section 47 Enquiries have supported this, a Child Protection Case Conference will be called within 15 working days of the S47 enquiries. You should be asked to attend the case conference and if you haven't received an invite contact SCD or the social worker and ask to be included.
If it is decided the child is at risk of continuing significant harm then they will be made the subject of a Child Protection Plan. The nursery and Children's Centres may be included in the plan, if so their role should be clearly identified. If you are unsure what your role is ask the Case Conference chair for clarification. You should receive a copy of the Child Protection Plan within a few days of the Case Conference. Contact the social worker if you have not received these.
After the Conference the plan will be monitored through the Core group. You may be asked to join the Core group in which case you should receive minutes of those meetings.
5.4 Recording
The recording system laid out in the recording policy will be adhered to by all staff members. All contacts regarding concerns about a child will be recorded on the child's file, where one exists and consideration should be given to opening a file if this has not been done.
5.5 What to do if a child alleges that they have been abused
Children involved in any allegations made will be treated with sensitivity and be comforted and reassured. Be aware that the allegation may result in a criminal investigation, therefore ensure that you don't affect the evidence by putting words into the child's mouth. Let the child tell their story uninterrupted, with as little prompting as possible.
In circumstances where a child makes an allegation of abuse the member of staff present will:
- Listen fully to all the child has to say
- Make no observable judgement.
- Ask open-ended questions that encourage the child to speak in their own words.
- Ensure the child is safe and not left on its own.
- Make no promises that cannot be kept such as telling them no one will be told about what they are saying.
- Ensure a detailed incident form is filled out and the manager and the child protection officer are fully informed.
5.6 Children who go missing or don't attend
In the majority of cases the decision not to attend the nursery and Children's Centre lies entirely with the parents and lack of attendance would not be a cause for concern. However where concerns exist regarding a child's welfare, lack of attendance may be a cause for additional concern. This is especially the case if the child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan or has a Child In Need or child well being plan.
In such cases it is important to contact other workers who may be involved in the plan, especially the child's social worker, Children Centre Parent Support Workers, Nursery worker and Parent Support Advisors.
In such circumstances it should be recorded in the child's file when they have or have not attended and who was informed of this.
In some cases lack of engagement from a family may add to existing concerns such that a referral to SCD should be considered. In such cases discuss with your manager and/or Area social worker for advice. If neither of these are available than SCD can also be contacted for advice on whether or not a referral would be appropriate.
6. Training and Support
All staff will be trained in basic child protection. Training courses will be available to all Staff through the Family Services, in- house and external training plans. All Staff will be required to attend basic child protection training. A record of Child Protection, Staff development and training will be kept on the staff appraisal and supervision records in line with the Staff Supervision Procedure.
7. Confidentiality
Staff and other adults who work with the children in the Centre need to fully understand and respect issues of confidentiality, particularly in the context of child protection. The only purpose of confidentiality in this respect is to protect the child.
Children must not be given a guarantee that disclosures will be kept confidential - this is misleading and dishonest, as any disclosure or suspicion of harm must be referred to the relevant people. Similarly parents should be made aware of the issues, which cannot be kept confidential, e.g. which have implications of harm to a child.
Where a number of concerns have been raised about a child a file will be opened in line with the recording policy and parents informed that the file exists. They can access to this file, however any third party information should be removed. The file will be kept in a locked filing cabinet and if information is held on a computer it will be password protected. See Data Protection and Confidentiality Procedure - to follow
Information must only be shared with others on a 'need to know basis', however the overriding principle is the safety of children, 'It is assumed that in all instances where there are concerns about a child's safety it is better to share the information than not' WMDC working together to safeguard children. It is the responsibility of the Nursery Manager to monitor the recording of concerns, and amend/update information.
When a child leaves the Nursery the records are kept securely. Guidelines regarding the length of time that these records should be kept are, at the time of writing not available.
Students who are on placement at the Centre for very short periods or who are work experience students, will not be directly involved in the daily recording, however they will be encouraged to share comments about any relevant observations they have made.
Photographs of children must never be taken without the parents permission.
Staff will be made aware that any breaches of confidentiality would be viewed very seriously and dealt with through the departmental disciplinary procedures.
8. Supporting Children
The Centre Staff recognise that children who have been abused or have witnessed violence may find it difficult to develop a sense of self worth or to view the world in a positive way. Whilst in Nursery their behaviour may be challenging and difficult to handle or they may exhibit other behaviours, such as sexualised behaviour, which the adults around them may feel uncomfortable with and struggle to understand.
It is recognised that all children need to experience a sensitive and consistent approach; this is even more crucial in cases where children are having difficulties and struggling to understand traumatic events.
The Centre Staff will support these children through:
- A curriculum which encourages self-esteem and confidence
- Promoting a positive, supportive and secure environment, which demonstrates a respect and value for children and their rights?
- A consistent approach, which recognises and separates the cause of behaviour from that which the child displays.
- A commitment to develop productive, supportive relationships with parents, whenever it is in the child's interests to do so.
9. Safe Centre, Safe Staff
9.1 General principles
The abuse of children can arouse many difficult feelings for staff and it should be recognised that staff can be at different stages in their understanding and awareness. The Management of the Centre will ensure that members of staff are supported through any difficulties they may have, by providing both regular formal supervision and informal support if required, and training and development opportunities.
The staff team is aware that young children will need physical comfort at times. It would be inappropriate to deny young children this if they require it. However any physical contact should be 'child led' and appropriate to the child's needs, e.g. a child seeking comfort after a fall, distressed on separation from parent, ill or distressed over some other incident. No member of staff should ever seek comfort from a child to meet their own needs. Comfort should be in the form of hugs, holding hands, sitting a child on the knee. For a variety of reasons, some children may find being touched uncomfortable or distressing. It is important for staff to be sensitive to a child's physical reaction and to act appropriately.
Staff members need to be aware that where children have been sexually abused, they may exhibit sexualised forms of behaviour, e.g. seeking overly familiar physical contact with children and adults, excessive masturbation. Staff will need to be very sensitive to the needs of all the children in this situation and will receive training and support in order to handle any incident appropriately.
In relation to the above, staff need to ensure that they do not place themselves in vulnerable situations. It must also be recognised that children are abused in Institutions, e.g. schools, nurseries, residential establishments etc. To address both the vulnerability of staff and children, the Centre will operate the following procedures:
- When children need their clothes changing due to them soiling, wetting or becoming wet or dirty through falling or being involved in messy play, the staff will ensure that another member of staff knows that they are about to undertake the task.
- The door to the bathroom/ toilet will not be locked and should be kept slightly ajar, whilst preserving the child's privacy.
- A list of all the children's names will be situated in the Nursery changing area which will indicate any intimate task carried out on a daily basis. Staff will tick this under the appropriate name and task and initial it. The Nursery Manager or deputy will monitor the use of this form. Parents/carers will be informed when a child has had to be changed.
- Occasionally children complain of soreness or pain in genital areas, which requires immediate attention, if this occurs it must be recorded on the above sheet and the child's parent informed. No cream should be applied without first seeking the Parent/carer's permission.
- If Staff discovers marks or bruising on a child, they should refer this to the nursery manager, so that appropriate action can be taken.
9.2 Safe recruitment of staff
- Volunteers in the nursery will be police checked. They will also be made aware of their role and responsibilities in relation to the children, i.e. they will not take sole charge of individual children, and this includes taking the children out of the Centre or into rooms on their own. Volunteers will not change children's clothes or nappies. Volunteers will not have access to children's personal information or files.
- In line with departmental policy, all staff will hold, or be working towards a professional qualification and have a current Criminal Records Bureau check. The recruitment process will include the checking of Independent Safeguarding Authority, references and qualifications.
- The safe recruitment procedures identified by the WDSCB will be followed. This includes ensuring all references are taken up and checked, any gaps in employment are explained satisfactorily, all employment checks as described above are completed.
9.3 Allegations against members of staff
If an allegation is made about the conduct of a member of staff then the Nursery Manager must be informed. If the allegation is about the Nursery Manager then the Area Manager must be contacted. The Wakefield Safeguarding Children Board has clear procedures regarding allegations against a professional and these must be followed. These can be found at the West Yorkshire Consortium Procedures website
Important Contacts
West Yorkshire Consortium Procedures website
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