Develop and Implement Policies and Procedures to Support the Safeguarding of Children

Outline the current legislation that underpins the safeguarding of children and young people within own UK home nation. The current legislations for safeguarding children are: The United Nations Convention on the rights of the child 1989 (UN 1989) was ratified by the UK on the 16th December 1991. It includes children’s rights to protection from abuse, the right to express their views and be listened to, and the right to care and services for disabled children or children living away from home. Although different British governments have said that it regards itself bound by the Convention and refers to it in child protection guidance, it has not become part of the UK law. There is no single piece of legislation that covers safeguarding children and young people in the UK; different laws and guidelines cover different parts of the UK-England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NSPCC 2010 pg1) EYFS (2012).

Child protection- being alert to any issues of concern in a child’s life at home or elsewhere, Suitable people- following the safer recruitment policy when employee staff, Staff qualifications, training, support and skills- to ensure staff have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge and clearly understand their roles and responsibilities, staff child-ratios- staffing arrangements must meet the needs of all children and safety at all times, safety and suitability of premises-premises and outdoor areas are fir for purpose they must be safe for children and secure Children’s act (2006) - Child’s commissioner for England, duty on local authorities and their partners e.g. police health services to cooperate in promoting the well-being of children and young people and have arrangements that safeguard and promote welfare, local safeguarding board, revised legislation for physical punishment, it is now an offence to hit a child if it causes mental harm or leaves a lasting mark. CAF helping to identify individual needs, revised information for sharing information data protection act 1998.

What to do if you worried a child is being abused- guidance that brings together the content from working together to safeguard children and the framework for assessment of children in need and their families 2000 Working together to safe guard children (2013) - Sets out guidelines of how individuals and organisations should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and how practitioners conduct the assessment of children. Every child matters (2003) one of the most important policy initiative and development programmes in relation to children and children’s services it states that every child no matter what their background has the right for support in being healthy, being safe, being able to enjoy and achieve, make positive contributions and achieve economic well-being The Education Act 2002 - This sets out the responsibilities of Local Education Authorities (LEAs), Governing bodies, head teachers and all those working in schools to ensure that children are safe and free from harm.

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Evaluate how national and local guidelines policies and procedures for safeguarding affect day to day work with children and young people National legislation and guidance influence the development of local policies and procedures that affect everyday work with children and young people. Policies must cover the protection of all children and young people under the age of 18 and the content of the policy must be reviewed annually and any amendments recorded. The Education Act 2002 poses a duty on education authorities to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people. All settings must have a safeguarding policy which should have main safeguarding officers named on it. All childcare practises must ensure that all staff, students, outside agencies has a DBS (Disclosure and barring service). All staff must be fully trained in safeguarding children and have the opportunity to receive further training to develop their knowledge. Staff need to be aware of the procedure for recording concerns and incidents if a child discloses information. Read also under what circumstances should a company's management team give serious consideration

We need to make a record of exactly what the child said in their own words and pass all the information over to the safeguarding officer, who will ensure the management is informed and all details recorded are kept confidential and stored in secure place. We ensure confidentiality is of paramount and that only information is disclosed about a child we are concerned about to another member of staff is on a need to know basis. We will inform the appropriate outside agencies of our concerns and what information we have recorded from the child. We all ensure that we handle the situation with the child as sensitively as possible but we never promise them that we will not tell anyone else. Daily risk assessments are essential for the safeguarding of children in my setting we ensure risk assessments are carried out daily before any child enters the nursery, each room has their own individual risk assessments to do which will be carried out throughout the day to ensure safety at all times. All risks assessment checks are recorded on sheets in the room.

Every borough will also have a local safeguarding board (LSCB) which were established by the children’s act 2004. They are the key system in every locality of the country for organisations to come together to agree on how they will cooperate with one another to safeguard and promote welfare of children. To ensure that work is carried out in an effective manner the LSCB coordinate the work of local agencies to provide a more optimistic outcome in regards to children’s safeguarding. South Tyneside works in line with the Every Child Matters programme which states that each child has a right to;

• be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well being

Raise awareness of safeguarding issues in the community by conducting seminars with a designated safeguarding officer for all School, child minders and nursery settings. Monitor the success of the work that is done by the local agencies to guarantee that all practitioners and managers have a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures, policies and requirements. To identify multi agency success where there are concerns with regards to safeguarding issues. To assist with the recognition of training needs.

Explain how the processes used by own work setting comply with legislation that covers data protection, information handling and sharing In my nursery setting all information gathered about each individual child who attends the setting is kept safe and secure in a locked filling cabinet and on a system called parenta which is pass worded and only accessible by the manager and deputy manager. The information collected is documented on a registration form which is filled in by the parent which will contain information about the child’s name, date of birth, religion, parent’s details and contact numbers and emergency contact details. Information update sheets are sent out yearly to ensure the nursery has the correct details and parents are reminded to update their child’s records if their circumstances change e.g. change address, change of phone number.

If a child is on the child protection register all information and correspondence from any meetings are kept in the child’s personal file and the information is only available to the manager, designated safeguarding officer and other outside agencies that may be involved. No child’s personal file every leaves the premises unless the child requires hospital treatment which requires the manager and a member of staff to take the child to hospital if they cannot contact their parents (section in registration form which parent give permission for nursery to take child to hospital if they cannot contact them). The nursery keeps all information on the child as long as they attending the nursery when a child leaves the nursery all information is deleted from the computer and their file is kept out the back in locked secure room, any other information will be shredded.

Be able to support the review of policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people. Investigate why inquiries and serious case reviews are required and how sharing of findings affects practice All settings have a duty to safeguard and support children, staff, Parents and carers during their inspection process. This enables the recommendations within the SCR offer the opportunity to examine current practices, what’s happening and how it happened within the setting or externally. Practitioners are able to pass on all information in the meeting’s agenda and if anything in the review reflects a settings practice that would help them improve their safeguarding practice can be identified and ways that the improvements can be implemented.

Serious case reviews (SCR) will be required in situations where a child has died (including suicide) due to known or suspected abuse or neglect, was seriously harmed or suffered life threatening injuries. SCR are not enquires into how the child died or was seriously harmed as they state they are for the corners and criminal investigators to determine. The purpose of the SCR is: “To establish what lessons are to be learned from the case about the way in which the local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard children and promote the welfare of children Identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result; Improve intra and inter-agency working;

Better safeguard and promote the welfare of children.” (taken from the LSCB) Over recent years there has been to major deaths of children which have been highlighted by the media which prompted media frenzy and a major scrutiny of child protection procedures. One was the death of Victoria Climbe in February 2000 who suffered more than 128 injuries when she died, although she had been in contact with health, police and social services on several occasions and taken to hospital twice and yet the abuse had gone undetected Then 2008 Baby P (Peter Connelly) died after suffering extensive internal and external injuries over a nine month period even though he had seen several times by professionals and was subject to a child protection plan, although social services were not aware that Baby P mam had a new boyfriend and that him and his friend were largely responsible for the injuries he sustained and his death A more recent case was Daniel Pelka in 2012 that was starved by his mother and her boyfriend; they also looked him in a small box room with just a mattress on the floor for him to sleep on. Daniel was subjected to being held under water till unconscious and regularly beaten.

Daniel’s mam told lies to his school about him being treated for a rare eating disorder and that not to give him any food. When poor Daniel eventually passed away he only weighed just over a stone and a half and had suffered many injuries including the head injury which caused his death. Social service had become involved with the family in 2010 after Daniel had broke his arm so how did the abuse go undetected for so long. Daniel could of still been alive today if people had of done their jobs properly.

Identify the policies and procedures required in the work setting for safeguarding children and young people. The policies and procedures which are required in a setting are:- Safeguarding and child protection- Should contain Name of organisation, designated officer, current legislations, and obligation of staff responsibilities to safeguard children. That all children should be treated with respect. How the company recruits and selects adults whether paid or voluntary. How staff are to respond to any concerns and allegations appropriately, how to record and monitor any concerns, which outside agencies are available and a list of contact numbers. About staff training on safeguarding, review date of policy. Employment and recruitment- helps a nursery in planning, monitoring and carefully undertaking recruitment. It states the recruitment process for employing new employees, advertising, applications, short listing, interviewing, references, pre-employment checks , DBS , induction.

Whistle blowing- Allows adults to voice their concerns, made in good faith and without fear, policy should meet the terms of the public interest disclosure act 1998. Should state staff responsibilities of bringing matters of concern to the attention of a senior management member. Camera and mobile phones- Should contain information about mobiles must be turned off while inside of the nursery, they are not to be used on the premises, only nursery mobile to be used on outings, that anyone who is seen using a mobile phone should be reported to the manager, nursery cameras are only to be used to take photographs of the children for the purpose of recording a child’s learning, photographs must be deleted from the camera after printed, cameras have be locked away at the end of the day. Social networking- Informs staff that nothing is allowed to be posted on social networking sites that could be construed to have impact on the nursery’s reputation, anything that may offend any other member of staff or parent’s using the nursery, if staff choice to let parents view their page then the relationship must stay professional at all times. That if staff fail to comply with this policy they may face disciplinary action.

Develop the process for reviewing the process for safeguarding policies and procedures. Policies and procedures should be reviewed on a yearly basis unless any legislations change in the time frame for reviewing. They should be relevant to the work place you work in. In my setting the policy states the designated safeguarding officer (which will be updated if they leave), that all staff make every effort to safeguard children, it states how and who to contact in outside agencies and inside work place, what should be recorded, it adhere to local and national guidance, it states the nursery will follow the procedures set out in the EYFS 2012, all staff must have a DBS. It is the manger and Area manager duty to ensure they are kept updated and that all staff/students etc are well informed of the policy and any changes made.

Evaluate the impact of a child/young person’s centred approach to safeguarding on policies and procedures. A child centred approach is essential in safeguarding children as Every child is different and unique and it also gives you first hand information and facts from the child about their feelings in their current situation especially if they have formed a strong bond with the adult they are opening up to and more importantly that the adult is aware of the child’s live. It is important that the child is aware that there are people out there who are there to help and support them through any decisions they make and what is going to happen next so they are aware of what actions are being taken and that their wishes will be taken in to account during the process.

As the Every child matters states that every child/ young person has five outcomes for their well-being:- “Being healthy- enjoying good physical and mental health and living healthy lifestyle Staying safe:  being protected from harm and neglect and growing able to look after look after themselves Enjoying and achieving:  getting the most out of life and developing broad skills for adulthood Making positive contributions:  to the community and to society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour” (taken from the every child matters).

Liaise with different organisations as part of the development or review process of policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people. There are many outside organisations that a setting can work with: Police: their role is to investigate crimes which may have put or at risk of putting children in danger. Policemen have the power and responsibility to be able to secure a child under police protection if they feel a child is at risk. Social services:-Their role is to work alongside other agencies and has the duty to assess the requirements for and plan services for children in need as a whole NSPCC:  Help settings understand the effectiveness of the policy and procedures they have in place, they help identify safeguarding needs or audit the practice. They offer tailored services designed around best practice and consistent with UK legislations and guidelines LSCB: - Help develop policies and procedures for safeguarding based on national guidelines, which can include the procedures on checking on the suitability of people applying to work with children and ensuring the children’s workforce is properly supervised. They provide training courses for staff to keep up to date with safeguarding knowledge which will help implement keeping policy and procedures up to date.

Be able to implement policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young children. Support the implementation of policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people. The implementation of policies and procedures for safeguarding is paramount within my nursery setting I ensure that staffs are given a copy of the procedure on a regular basis where they have to evaluate themselves on what they think safeguarding is and making sure they implement it on daily basis. In staff meetings we go through the policy together as a team to discuss anything we may think may need adding to it. Our safeguarding officer after attending training courses will hold a meeting with all staff members to discuss any new additional information or any changes in the legislations.

As a manager I carry out safeguarding checks on a regular basis and check on the room daily check sheets that the staff are carrying out their job role correctly by doing their safeguarding checks throughout the day. I ensure adult child ratios are adhered to at all times within each playroom. When advertising for a new employee I follow all steps of the safer recruitment part of the policy to ensure the suitable candidate is given the post. Around the nursery will display signs of no mobile phones to be used anywhere in the nursery if a parent uses their phone they are kindly asked to put their phones away or could they please go outside with them. We ensure the staff/students have up to date DBS and their disclosure numbers are documented on the single central record data base.

Mentor and support other practitioners to develop the skills to safeguard children and young people. Mentoring and supporting practitioners is essential it allows you to help other practitioners in their learning and lets you pass on your knowledge and skills. It enables you to express the importance of safeguarding children and young people and how it should be implemented on a daily basis within the work setting. By carrying out daily safeguarding checks on the nursery it encourages the staff to do their safeguarding checks as well. As a manager I have devised a in-depth safeguarding checklist which has to be carried out three times a week I have recently took my deputy manager around the nursery while I was carrying out this audit so she could observe what I was looking for and how to document things that were not being done, this was to ensure if I was absent at any time that she was able to do this in my absence. Be able to lead practice in supporting children and young people’s wellbeing and resilience justify how promoting wellbeing and resilience supports the safeguarding of children and young people

Promoting a child’s wellbeing and resilience we are building on their self esteem and confidence which gives them a sense of self worth which enables them to learn what is right and what is wrong and that people will listen to what they have to say. This will allow them to let people know what they know is right and be able to say no if they feel in danger. When children know that they are being safeguarded it allows them to be independent accepting mistakes and able to disclose information and confidently share their feelings about what makes them happy and what makes them feel uncomfortable. It enables looked after children to be able to achieve and reach their full potential

Review how children or young people’s resilience and wellbeing are supported in own work setting. In my setting we support a child’s resilience and wellbeing by understanding how young children develop within their families and community and address their needs at the earliest possible time. We ensure that children feel safe and secure at all times, and give them the emotional support they need to allow them to express their feelings openly. We ensure children are listened to and their views taken into consideration and involve them in any decisions that are made which may affect them. We build on a child’s strengths and promote resilience. We promote opportunities for a child to value their diversity and celebrate them. We will provide any help needed as early as possible and consider what the short term and long term needs may be, and what support can be offered to the children and families, any information that we may need to share with other relevant professionals is kept confidential. We ensure we have a competent workforce to promote children’s well-being.

Support others to understand the importance of well being and resilience in the context of safeguarding. In our setting we support the staff to understand the importance of well-being and resilience by reviewing the safeguarding policy on a regular basis, we send the policy out to staff on a regularly basis with a separate sheet at the back and we ask the staff to fill this is so we can see what they think the importance of it is. We also hold regularly staff meetings which safeguarding is always on the agenda. We provide staff with all relevant safeguarding training and any other relevant training courses.

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