Slides 1-5
Lecturer a Child Protection Trainer. Works as a nurse.
Expecting a new Ofsted framework from Jan 2012, linking behaviour and safety together.
Not usually authority figures that children disclose to.
Education Act 2002 first piece of legislation that set out our responsibility for children protection. Also 1989 act that set out how information should be shared about children.
Supposing you picked up a phone in the reception and it’s social services doing a child protection investigation and they wanted to know background details- you should contact the designated person for child protection in your school. Never give out this information but also be aware that there may be a legitimate reason for them wanting this information and that there is a deadline for that person (e.g. the end of the school day and whether or not the child should be allowed to go home with a parent).
'Information Sharing Pocket Guide’ can be downloaded. (Dept for Schools, Children..). See Safeguarding Subject file.
Legal Duties incumbent on teachers: see slide number 4. Important responsibility is to always involve families/parents unless it puts the child at greater risk.
In the case of suspected Sexual Abuse and Munchausen’s Syndrome, you would not alert the family if you suspected them of abuse and are going to make a referral. They do have to be told, but the timing of it is up to the police and social services.
It is a requirement for schools to have a Child Protection designated person. It is ‘Best Practice’ is to have a Deputy as well.
- ECM and Laming Enquiry culminated in 2004 Children’s Act were a result of Victoria Climbié case.
Social workers do not have rights of entry to property (even with a court order). Only the police do.
Shared responsibility to listen to children who might not have English as a first language. Outside translators not members of the family!
Essence of the Children Act 1989: Children always comes first (the ‘paramouncy principle’). Identifies Children in Need, children who need additional resources to fulfill their potential. Partnership and sharing information between the agencies. Danger of people being in their professional silos and not sharing.
Definition of ‘significant harm’. There is a comparison with other people in the same circumstances.
Worked through ‘Making Judgements’ worksheet at the back of the slides print-outs.
Recommendation that Working Together to Safeguard Children should be rewritten by end of 2011 by a lady conducting a review. Sir Michael Bishard, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment: this is the document that Ofsted bases their framework upon, so important to look at it.
Independent Safeguarding Body and Criminal Record Bureau will be merged into a non-governmental body over next couple of years. CRBs only provide a snapshot and is not full-proof (they might be getting away with it).
‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’. On the Department of Health website/Department of Education (see Safeguarding subject folder for this)
Another important one is the London Child Protection Procedures- download this too (http://londonscb.gov.uk/procedures/).
Other signs of physical abuse: burst blood vessels in the eye (indicates shaking); 'mittens and socks' red lines (indicates hot water treatment); bite-marks, friction burns (indicates being dragged across carpet/tied up) and perfectly circular burns (indicates cigarette burns).
Other signs of neglect: obesity, lack of supervision, being involved in gang activity, being away from home a lot and unaccounted for.
Other signs of sexual abuse: complaining of stomach aches and frequent visits to the toilet, pregnancy with no identified boyfriend, unexplained gifts.
Emotional abuse: important to note that this overlaps all other forms of abuse. Cases of any other kind of abuse without some emotional trauma are unheard of.
In cases of suspected abuse, always go to the designated officer first:
a. they may have more pieces of the jigsaw than you,
b. you are less experienced than them,
c. they will be the ones talking to the parents/family.
Early intervention is crucial and you may find that you need to interrupt the designated person to report this.
Common barriers to sharing worries include:
1. fears that you may be wrong,
2. doubts about children's truthfulness (although more often than not children are honest in these cases),
3. anger and distress,
4. a child's attempt to bind you to secrecy,
5. uncertainty of procedures and consequences,
6. there may be other reasons for a child's behaviour,
7. not wanting to interfere in family life.
There is a 'Golden Moment' (Albert Wu), a term more often used to describe medical mispractice (That Golden Moment exists on the heels of an adverse event: the time to disclose, to communicate with the patient, or, in the case of Margaret Murphy, the family, about what went wrong, to answer questions, to listen to the patient/family‟s experience, to express sorrow and condolences, to take responsibility for the error, and to compensate.)
In safeguarding, it is the moment when a child chooses to disclose something. Should they choose not to disclose it, they may never do so. If you express shock, distress or any strong, outward emotions, a child may miss this golden moment.
In summary,
1. don't promise confidentiality,
2. don't delay action in response to a disclosure,
3. don't pre-judge what you are told or make assumptions,
4. don't be afraid of being wrong or be concerned about starting an investigation,
5. at the earliest opportunity make a written record.
If you act in the best interests of the child then you should be protected from legal action (otherwise, teachers would be too afraid to come forward about anything).
Safeguarding training is obligatory every 3 years.
You should know where procedures are kept in school (something Ofsted may check).
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