Transcript Early Years Safeguarding Briefing November 22nd 9.30

Early Years Safeguarding Briefing
January 28th 9.30-12.00
Ceri Mcateer – EY Safeguarding Adviser
[email protected]
Tel: 465740
This is an information sharing
session and does not count as
update training
• Welcome
• Housekeeping
• Aim of the session: To provide
safeguarding updates and
information to CP Leads and
managers of settings.
Child Protection for Early Years
Practitioners
28th January 2013
Anouska Inns
Referral Team
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Responsibilities of Professionals in Early
Years Setting
• All practitioners have a responsibility to put the
welfare of children first and to keep updated on
local child protection policies and procedures
• Early Years Practitioners should have access to
child protection policies and procedures
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The Local Picture in Swindon Referral
Team October 2012
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0 Looked After Children
10 Children subject to a CP Plan
150 Contacts to the Referral Team
130 Initial Assessments
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Guidance
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Working Together 2010
www.swcpp.org.ukww.swindonlscb.org.uk
Eileen Munroe Report
LSCB Websites
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Swindon Contact Details
• Referral team
01793 466903
• EDS
01793436699
• LSCB website
www.swindonlscb.org.uk
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Factors
• Factors that make parents more likely to
abuse
• Factors that make children more vulnerable
to abuse
• Children with disabilities
• Domestic Violence/Abuse
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Child Abuse and Significant Harm
Children Act (Section 47) 1989
• Ill treatment or the impairment of a child’s
physical health, or mental health or their
development
• ‘Development’ means physical, intellectual,
emotional, social or behavioral development
• ‘Health’ means physical or mental health
• ‘Ill treatment’ includes sexual abuse and forms of
ill treatment which are not physical
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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. Neglect may occur during
pregnancy as a result of maternal substance
abuse.
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Continued
• Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer
failing to:
• provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including
exclusion from home and abandonment);
• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or
danger;
• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of
inadequate care-givers); or
• ensure access to appropriate medical care and treatment.
• It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a
child’s basic emotional needs.
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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
fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately
induces, illness in a child.
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Sexual abuse
• Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child
or young person to take part in sexual activities,
not necessarily involving a high level of violence,
whether or not the child is aware of what is
happening. The activities may involve physical
contact, including assault by penetration (for
example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts
such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and
touching outside of clothing.
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• They may also include non-contact activities, such
as involving children in looking at, or in the
production of, sexual images, watching sexual
activities, encouraging children to behave in
sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child
in preparation for abuse (including via the
internet). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by
adult males. Women can also commit acts of
sexual abuse, as can other children.
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Emotional Abuse
• Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional
maltreatment 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 include not giving
the child opportunities to express their views,
deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of
what they say or how they communicate. It may
feature age or developmentally inappropriate
expectations being imposed on children.
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Continued
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. It may involve seeing or
hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve
serious bullying (including cyber 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.
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What happens when you pick up
the phone or you have a concern
about a child?
• Consultation – advice and information
• Referral – making a formal referral
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Introducing the Team
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Referral duty team consist of:
Three Advice & Information Officers
Three Social Workers
One Duty Manager
Suspicion of Abuse –Ask Yourself Some
Questions before making a referral
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What information do I have?
Do I have any evidence?
What do I see?
Has the child disclosed to me about abuse?
Injuries and explanation don’t add up?
Is this child’s behaviour or appearance causing me
concern?
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Evidence of Abuse? What do you do?
• Inform the child’s parent or carer you will be
contacting social care (unless you feel the child is
at risk by doing so)
• Be clear about your reasons for referring
• Contact social care ( all verbal referrals must be
followed up in writing within 24/48 hours)
• Record all your findings, discussions with social
care and actions accurately
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Completing the ReferralForm
(RF1)RF1
• Ideally complete the referral form with the parent
(ring referral team to advise you if you don’t feel
you should let parents know)
• Attach any CAF’s that have been completed
• Be clear with the information you have. Who,
what, why, when, how. Try to keep information
factual
Completing the RF1 (con..)
• Fax or email RF1 to the Referral Team
(463003). Please phone in advance to advise
the team that this is on it’s way
• Contact numbers of parents are required on
the RF1
• Let Ceri McAteer know of any child
protection concerns on 465740
• RF1
Referral Made What Happens Next?
• Social care will make a decision within 24 hours
of the action to be taken – Could be
advice/signposting/CAF/TAC
• The information you provide may form the first
part of the Initial Assessment which must be
completed within 7 (10) working days
• If your concerns meet the criteria, Section 47
investigation will commence
• Strategy discussion will take place with other
agencies as appropriate
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Summary
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Child protection is your responsibility
You are accountable for your own actions
Access training for you and your staff
Know where the policies are and keep them
updated
• Contribute to CP conference even if you cannot
attend
• If in doubt seek advice from the named
professionals or Social Care
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Keeping Child Protection Records
• “Working Together to Safeguard Children”2010
states “staff have a crucial role to play in helping
identify welfare concerns and indicators of possible
abuse or neglect at an early stage”
• Good record keeping is essential for two main
reasons;
1. It helps settings identify causes for concern at an
early stage.
2. It helps settings to monitor and manage
safeguarding practices
What records should be kept?
• A record should be made of any concern or
suspicion that gives staff cause for concern as
well as any disclosure or allegation made.
• Even if the information does not appear to be
significant at the time, it may contribute to a
“jigsaw” picture of abuse that should not be
ignored.
How to record concerns
• Records should be factual, using the child’s own
words.
• Professional opinion can be given as long as it is
supported by fact eg Jack appeared angry because he
was kicking the table.
• Staff should make a written account of any concerns
regarding the welfare or well-being of a child. Sample
disclosure incident form
• If a copy of the pro forma is not available, record
concerns on a piece of paper, these can be
transferred onto the pro-forma at a later date, both
copies of the record should be retained.
How to record concerns (continued)
• All recorded concerns should be shared with the CP
Lead as soon as possible, this may be verbally at first
and in writing as soon as possible after.
• If there hasn’t been a specific incident that has made
you concerned try to be specific about what makes
you feel worried
• Avoid specialist jargon or acronyms that other
agencies may not understand eg ASD, SENCO.
• It is important to record what actions result from the
information.
• Never promise a child that you will keep information
they share with you confidential.
How CP files should be stored
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Separate from other records securely
The file should have a front sheet
The file should have a chronology
The file should be started as soon as a setting
has concerns.
• The CP file should contain all reports, notes,
conference minutes etc relating to that child.
• There should be a reference on
developmental file to CP file, this can serve as
a reminder when files are being transferred
Access to CP Files
• Any child/parent of child has a right to access files
unless to do so would put the child in further danger
or prejudice a criminal investigation.
• It is good practice to share all concerns /reports with
parents (unless there is a valid reason not to do so)
• All information should be shared with Children’s
Social Care, Police and Health as appropriate
• CP information should not normally be shared with
non-statutory agencies eg solicitors unless advice has
been sought.
Transfer of Files
• When a child leaves your setting, files should be
transferred to new setting within 14 days. A
photocopy of the files should be sent, separate from
other files in an envelope marked confidential. See
“Transfer of information” form.
• If a child with CP concerns leaves a setting without
informing you of where they are going inform referral
team immediately
• If a child leaves and there are CP records but no
social care involvement retain records for a period of
5 years.
• Guidance on how long records should be retained.
Monitoring of files
• Settings should monitor their own CP files.
• They should be checking for a front sheet and
chronology.
• A reference to CP files on general files.
• Cross reference to other family members.
• The quality of information recorded ie legibility,
detail, times dates etc.
• The accuracy of recording concerns.
• Details of staff involved
• Actions taken and outcomes
• Copies of any referrals
Local and National Updates
Websites
• www.earlyyearschildcare.org
New training session for CP
Leads/Managers
• “New Child Protection Lead’s briefing”Looking at the role of the Child Protection
Lead - Tuesday 5th February 1.00-3.30pm
Disclosure and Barring Service
• The CRB and ISA have now merged into a new
body called the DBS. It will not represent a
change to the services which you receive, it
just means that they will be provided by one
organisation rather than two
• https://www.gov.uk/crb-criminal-recordsbureau-check
Portable criminal records checks
(being introduced shortly)
• Employees and volunteers will be able to apply just
once to the DBS for a criminal records check
certificate and then go online for an instant check to
find out if their current certificate is still valid.
• This will avoid the need for individuals to apply for
multiple checks.
• The service will be free for volunteers
• http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/mediacentre/news/portable-crb-checks
Legal requirements for administering
medication in registered childcare
• You must have a written policy on giving medication
• If a parent/carer asks you to administer medicine they must
give you written permission (for each medicine, not every
time it is given)
• “medicines should not normally be administered unless
prescribed by a doctor, dentist or pharmacist”- the word
“prescribed” has been interpreted to include medicines
“recommended “by any of these people and would include
over the counter medicines such as those for fever relief,
teething gel etc
• A record must be kept every time a medicine is administered
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Legal requirements for administering
medication in registered childcare
• Medication should only be administered when requested to
do so by a parent and only if there is a health reason to do so
• Medicines containing aspirin should only be administered
when prescribed by a doctor
• It is good practice to get parents to sign medicines form when
you inform them what medicines have been administered
• Specific medical training may be required before
administering some medications eg injections
• Asthma inhalers do not need specific training but written
instructions must be obtained from parent
• http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/factsheet-childcaregiving-medication-children-registered-childcare
Huw Ford – SBC IT Manager
• E Safety
Evaluation
Thank you for coming. I hope you
have found the session useful.
Please fill out an evaluation form
before you leave.