It is our obligation to report concerns and put the interest of the child first. This policy and procedure is inline with the guidance of the local safeguarding partners. Consisting of 3 partners - local authorities, chief officers of police and clinical commissioning groups. If we have a concern regarding a child’s safety or welfare then agencies with statutory responsibilities must be notified without delay. We would contact the Children’s Social Care Professional Helpline (Hampshire Safeguarding Childrens Partnership) at Hants Direct on 01329 225379 to seek advice or guidance/report a concern regarding a child. If it is an emergency and a child is in immediate danger we would call 999.
If yourself as a parent has a concern then you should report to the Children’s Reception Team at Hants Direct on 0300 555 1373 (direct line, out of hours) or 0300 555 1384, to get through during 8.30am - 5.00pm. This is also known as Children Services.
We keep up to date with child protection issues and relevant legislation by taking regular training courses and by reading relevant publications. We update our training every two years. As well as training we also attend regular webinars. We have read and understood the safeguarding and welfare requirements of EYFS. We have also read the national statutory guidance document 'Working Together' to Safeguard Children 2018 + 2023 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' consultation document and 'What to do if you are Worried a Child is being Abused' - Advice for Practitioners 2015. We have also read and understood the 'Ofsted safeguarding guidance' – Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills settings and the document Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services We understand that child abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, neglect, domestic or a mixture of these. We are aware of the signs and symptoms of these.
Recognising abuse is an important duty we undertake to ensure we are protecting children from abuse. We are not responsible for diagnosing or investigating child abuse. We do have a clear responsibility to be aware of and alert to any signs of concern.
Please note: it is important we consider every aspect of a childs life that may impact their wellbeing rather than limiting it to just one area. Therefore it is critical that when accessing the needs of children we consider the wider context (Contextual Safeguarding).
Physical
* Unexplained bruises, cuts and grazes * Frequent broken bones * Unusual shape
bruise marks * Bite marks * Unusual scolds and burns * Child feels worthless *
Low self esteem and feelings of isolation * Poor health * Poor interaction skills *
Developmental delay * Fear of others * Child is in pain
Emotional
* Extreme eating habits * Deliberately hurting themselves to gain attention *
Depression * Anxiety * Aggression * Withdrawn * Low self esteem *
Developmental delay * Sickness
Neglect
* Parents fail to make appointments * Poor concentration * Parents difficult to
contact * Child talks about being isolated and left alone * Child seems abnormally
hungry and steals food * Child talks about taking on responsibilities unexpected
for their age span * Feel unworthy * Hungry * Unhygienic * Low self esteem * Poor
health
Sexual
* Vaginal discharge * Bloodstains * Difficulty sitting down or walking * Showing
distress when needing to pass urine or have a bowel movement * Frequent urinal
or genital infection * Having frequent accidents * Injuries such as bruises and
scratches that don’t appear accidental particularly around the genital areas *
Difficulty urinating or having bowel movements * Itching or pain in genital or anal
area * Feelings of worthlessness * Sexually transmitted disease * Blood in urine
or faeces * Insecure * Difficulty sitting down or walking * Infections
Bullying
* Unexplained cuts bruises or scratches * Plays alone * Complains of physical
aliments * Loss of appetite * Trouble sleeping * Nightmares * Anxious * Low self
esteem * Bed wetting * Developmental delay * Poor interaction skills * Withdrawn
* Anxiety * Depression * Nightmares * Sickness
We follow the procedures outlined in the confidentiality policy. We aim to share all information with parents but in some instances, where we are worried about a child’s well being, then we may have to refer concerns without discussing this with them.
We work together with parents to make sure that the care their child receives is consistent – please refer to my Working with Parents policy.
Children will only be released from our care to the parent/carer or to someone named and authorised by them. A password might be used to confirm identity if the person collecting the child is not previously known to us. Children will not be released into the care of anyone that we have reason to believe is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Parents must notify us of any concerns they have about their child and any accidents, incidents or injuries affecting the child. We will record these and ask parents to sign.
Unless we believe that it would put the child at risk of further harm, we will discuss concerns with a child’s parent if we notice:
If a child tells us or gives us reason for us to believe that they or another child is being abused, we will:
If an allegation is made against either of us, any member of our family, any other adult or child within our setting we will report it to The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) on 01962 876364.
In all instances we will record:
It is not our responsibility to attempt to investigate the situation.
Little Explorers understands that children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities can face additional safeguarding challenges. Additional barriers can exist when recognising abuse and neglect in this group of children. This can include:
We will do everything we can to work towards overcoming these barriers.
To protect ourselves as childminders from any allegations of abuse we:
If an allegation was to occur then we would follow the procedure detailed below:
Contact: LADO- Local Authority Designated Officer on 01962 876364 (straight away).
Contact our Liability Insurance and contact Ofsted (within 14 days).
It is important that Ofsted are informed of any allegations regarding an adult within 14 days at the latest. This should be done after a referral is made about a concern regarding a child if advised to do so by children’s services. Ofsted can be contacted on 0300 123 1231. We must notify Ofsted of any allegations of abuse that are alleged to have taken place while the child is in our care, including any allegations against us, any members of the family, or other adults or children in my home who have had contact with minded children.
We would report to the Professionals Line if we became aware of any of the following: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (This is illegal within the UK and is also illegal to take someone from the UK to undergo this procedure). Fabricated and induced illnesses, multiple/organized abuse or internet abuse.
We would inform Local Authorities if we was to care for a child under a Private Fostering Agreement as this can often increase their vulnerability.
It is our duty to monitor patterns of children’s absence that could indicate safeguarding concerns.
Under the Hampshire Bruising Protocol it is our duty to report any bruising in nonindependently mobile babies and infants (NIMBIs) to the Children’s Social Care Professional Helpline at Hants Direct on 01329 225379.
Peer on peer abuse features physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse of a child/young person by their peers. It can affect any child, sometimes-vulnerable children are targeted. It is influenced by the nature of the environments in which children/young people spend their time - home, early years settings, school, peer group and community - and is built upon notions of power and consent. Power imbalances related to gender, social status within a group, intellectual ability, economic wealth, social marginalisation etc, can all be used to exert power over a peer.
Peer on peer abuse involves someone who abuses a ‘vulnerability’ or power imbalance to harm another, and have the opportunity or be in an environment where this is possible. While perpetrators of peer on peer abuse pose a risk to others they are often victims of abuse themselves.
The above information is based on information in Practitioner Briefing: What is peer on peer abuse? MsUnderstood Partnership (2015).
We are aware of:
Infant oral mutilation (IOM)
As part of peer on peer abuse we are aware of infant oral mutilation (a primitive tradition involving the taking out of an infants healthy teeth. This can lead to the transmission of bloodborne diseases & even death. This is an illegal practice - we would inform social services & police immediately if we suspected any signs of IOM.
County Lines
This is the general term to describe gangs or organise criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs. Children are exploited to move, store & sell. Offenders will often use intimidation, violence & weapons to ensure compliance of victims. This is illegal and would be reported immediately if suspected.
Grooming
Inappropriate adult behaviour towards children which are indivators of sexual abuse where we would respond apprpriatly & promptly.
What actions would we take if we were to witness peer on peer abuse within Little
Explorers?
Little Explorers act to minimise the risk of peer on peer abuse by ensuring we
provide a safe environment, promote positive standards of behaviour, have
effective systems in place where children can raise concerns and provides
safeguarding through the Early Years Foundation Stage. This may include
targeted work with children identified as vulnerable or being at risk and
developing risk assessment and targeted work with those identified as being a
potential risk to others.
We recognise that children may abuse their peers physically, sexually and emotionally; this will not be tolerated. We also recognise that children who abuse others are also likely to have considerable welfare and safeguarding issues themselves.
Peer to peer abuse may be a one off serious incident or an accumulation of incidents. Staff may be able to easily identify some behaviour/s as abusive however in some circumstances it may be less clear. In all cases the member of staff should discuss the concerns and seek advice from the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
When an allegation is made by a child against another child, members of staff should consider if the issues raised indicate that the child and /or alleged perpetrator may have emerging needs, complex/serious needs or child protection concerns and follow the process outlined in Section 4. Taking Action on Concerns.
Any suspicion or allegations that a child has been sexually abused or is likely to sexually abuse another child (or adult) should be referred immediately to Children’s Social Care or the Police. Whenever there is an allegation of abuse made against a child, the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and other appropriate staff will draw together separate risk assessments and action plans to support the victim and the perpetrator. Where Children’s Social Care is involved or an early help assessment commenced, this will be agreed as part of a multiagency plan.
Our children do not have access to the Internet whilst in our setting however all Early Years settings have a duty to ensure that children are protected from potential harm both within and beyond the learning environment.
Any incidents that do arise will be dealt with quickly and according to policy to ensure that children and staff continue to be protected.
We aim to offer valuable guidance and resources to parents, staff and children. Even though our children do not access the internet within our environment it is accessible to them in a range of environments, due to this we have emailed all parents some useful links to help promote internet safety. It is important we ensure parents understand how they can provide a safe and secure online environment for their children within the home environment and when out and about. We aim to raise awareness amongst staff and parents/carers of the potential risks associated with online technologies, whilst also highlighting the many educational and social benefits. This policy includes the use of personal devices by parents, children and staff, such as mobile phones or iPads/tablets which are brought into an early years setting.
If you have any concerns regarding Internet safety or would like any advise then please ask.
Little Explorers takes responsibilities towards the care of the children and the world they will be entering as adults very seriously. Radicalisation is something, which parents, staff and children need to be aware of and understand the risks, which it poses to young children. We are also aware of the signs and indicators of extremism or radicalisation. Any concerns regarding Radicalisation/Extremism should be reported to the Children’s Reception Team at Hants Direct on 0300 555 1384, the out of hours contact number is 0300 555 1373.
We recognise our responsibilities in alerting our children to the dangers of vulnerable children being drawn into terrorism and ensuring staff recognises that there are signs, which might indicate this. Since 2010, when the Government published the Prevent Strategy, there has been an awareness of the specific need to safeguard children, young people and families from violent extremism.
There have been several occasions both locally and nationally in which extremist groups have attempted to radicalise vulnerable children and young people to hold extreme views including views justifying political, religious, sexist or racist violence, or to steer them into a rigid and narrow ideology that is intolerant of diversity and leaves them vulnerable to future radicalisation.
The current threat from terrorism in the United Kingdom may include the exploitation of vulnerable people, to involve them in terrorism or in activity in support of terrorism. The normalisation of extreme views may also make children and young people vulnerable to future manipulation and exploitation. Little Explorers is clear that this exploitation and radicalisation should be viewed as a safeguarding concern.
The Counter-terrorism and Security Act, 2015 places a duty on authorities ‘to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. These duties should promote British values as a means of “building children’s resilience to radicalisation”.
We are aware of the Department for Education telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable staff and governors to raise concerns relating to extremism directly. Concerns can also be raised by email to [email protected]
We understand that mobile phones are an everyday part of life for parents and Child minder’s and with that in mind have laid out my procedure for their use:
We request that you do not use your mobile phone whilst dropping off and collecting your child/children.
Any visitors to the setting will also be asked not to use their mobile phone.
If your child has a mobile phone, games console etc with camera facilities that they wish to bring into the setting please let us know. This is so that we can work together for the safety of all children in attendance and ensure appropriate access to material when using the internet.
In order to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 we have registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data controller. This allows us to store digital images on an SD card device/computer.