Daiglen School

Child Protection Policy

This policy relates to all staff and governors. It is reviewed annually and is agreed by the whole staff and by the Governing Body. It is discussed with parents at the annual new parents' evening.

The policy is available to: all staff (permanent, temporary, supply or otherwise), advisers/inspectors, parents (on the school website) and The Daiglen School Governors. Copies of the policy are kept in the office, the Head teacher's room and the staff room.

Policy statement

Our main priority is to the child and we believe that all children have the right to be protected from abuse, which, in this policy, means any kind of neglect, non-accidental physical injury, sexual exploitation or emotional ill-treatment.

The Daiglen School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. To that end we will follow the SET (Southend, Essex and Thurrock) Child Protection procedures (located in the staff room) and take account of guidance issued by the DSFC:

The School will take all reasonable measures to:
  • ensure that we practise safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children in accordance with guidance given in "Safeguarding Children: Safer Recruitment and Selection in Education Settings"
  • raise awareness of child protection issues and equip children with the skills they need to keep them safe
  • develop and then implement procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse
  • develop and implement procedures which promote this policy, and remedy any weaknesses or deficiencies in our arrangements without delay
  • support children who have been abused in accordance with his/her agreed child protection plan
  • Ensure every member of staff, including temporary and supply staff and governing body knows the name of the designated senior person responsible for child protection and their role.
  • Ensure all staff understand their responsibilities in being alert to the signs of abuse and responsibility for referring any concerns to the designated senior person responsible for child protection.
  • Ensure that parents have an understanding of the responsibility placed on the school and staff for child protection by regularly informing parents of this policy.
  • Notify social services if there is an unexplained absence of more than two days of a pupil who is on the child protection register.
  • Develop effective links with relevant agencies and co-operate as required with their enquiries regarding child protection matters including attendance at case conferences.
  • Keep written records of concerns about children, even where there is no need to refer the matter immediately.
  • Ensure all records are kept securely, separate from the main pupil file, and in locked locations.
  • Develop and then follow procedures where an allegation is made against a member of staff.
Designated Person

 The School has appointed Mr T French as the designated person to be responsible for matters relating to child protection and welfare and his deputy is Mrs V Griffiths. If the Designated Person is unavailable or is himself the subject of a complaint, his duties will be carried out by the Deputy and in her absence, the Head teacher. The Nursery Manager, Mrs J Davis, takes lead responsibility for safeguarding children within the EYFS setting and liaising with local statutory children's agencies as appropriate. The Designated Person, his Deputy and the Nursery Manager have each undertaken appropriate multi-agency training and will attend refresher training at 2-yearly intervals.

The role of the Designated Person is to:
  • be the first point of contact for parents, pupils, teaching and non-teaching staff and external agencies in all matters of child protection.
  • advise and act upon all suspicion, belief and evidence of abuse reported to him.
  • keep the Head teacher informed of all actions unless the Head teacher is the subject of a complaint. In this situation, the Designated Person should consult with the Chair of Governors or in his absence, the deputy Chair of Governors.
  • co-ordinate the child protection procedures in the School.
  • maintain an ongoing training programme for all staff, ensuring that this is updated every three years.
  • monitor the keeping, confidentiality and storage of records in relation to child protection.
Responsibilities of all staff

 Every employee of the School is under a general legal duty to:
  • protect children from abuse
  • be aware of the School's child protection procedures and to follow them.
  • know how to access and implement the procedures, independently if necessary.
  • keep a sufficient record of any significant complaint, conversation or event.
  • report any matters of concern to the Designated Person.
  • undertake appropriate training, including refresher training.
Signs of abuse

 Possible signs of abuse include (but are not limited to):
  • unexplained changes in behaviour or school performance or behaviour which stands out from the group as either being extreme model behaviour or extremely challenging behaviour, excessive attention-seeking or excessive dependence
  • bruising, which may be especially apparent when changing for swimming or PE. There is no reasonable or consistent explanation for injury; the injury is unusual in kind or location; there have been a number of injuries; there is a pattern to the injuries.
  • delayed development, dirty or inadequate clothing, hunger, loss or gain in weight.
  • reluctance to go home.
We recognise that because of the day to day contact with children, school staff are well placed to observe the outward signs of abuse. The school will therefore:
  • Establish and maintain an environment where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk, and are listened to.
  • Ensure children know that there are adults in the school whom they can approach if they are worried.
  • Include opportunities in the PSHCE curriculum for children to develop the skills they need to recognise and stay safe from abuse.
Procedures

Initial complaint - Guidance for staff:

The following points give guidance on how to deal with a child who makes an allegation:
  • The child should be listened to but not interviewed or asked to repeat the account. Avoid questions, particularly leading questions.
  • The child should not be interrupted when recalling significant events.
  • All information should be noted carefully, including details such as timing, setting, who was present and what was said, in the child's own words. The account should be obtained verbatim or as near as possible.
  • Care should be taken not to make assumptions about what the child is saying or to make interpretations.
  • Listened to means just that; on no account should suggestions be made to children as to alternative explanations for their worries.
  • Reassure the child but do not give a guarantee of absolute confidentiality; explain the need to pass the information to a Designated Person who will ensure that the correct action is taken.
  • The written record of the allegations should be signed and dated by the person who received them as soon as practicable and handed to the designated person who will keep it securely.
Preserving Evidence:

All evidence (for example, scribbled notes, mobile phones containing text messages, clothing, computers) must be safeguarded and preserved.

Reporting:

All suspicion or complaints of abuse must be reported to the Designated Person, or if the complaint involves the Designated Person, to the Deputy or in her absence to the Head teacher.

Action by the Designated Person

The action to be taken will take into account:
  • The procedures published by Essex Child Protection Committee
  • The nature and seriousness of the suspicion or complaint. A complaint involving a serious criminal offence will always be referred to the SSD or the police without further investigation within the School.
  • The wishes of the pupil and parents. However, there may be times when the situation is so serious that decisions may need to be taken, after all appropriate consultation, that override their wishes.
  • If the Designated Person is concerned that disclosing information to parents would put a child at risk, he or she will take further advice from the relevant professionals before making a decision to disclose.
  • Duties of confidentiality, so far as applicable.
  • The lawful rights and interests of the school community as a whole including its employees and its insurers.
  • If there is room for doubt as to whether a referral should be made, the Designated Person may consult with the SSD or other appropriate professionals without identifying the family. However, as soon as sufficient concern exists that a child may be at risk of significant harm, a referral will be made without delay. If the initial referral is made by telephone, the Designated Person will confirm the referral in writing to SSD within 24 hours. If no response or acknowledgment is received within three working days, the Designated Person will contact Social Services again.
  • In the case of a child in the EYFS, the designated person will inform Ofsted within 14 days of any allegation of serious harm or abuse and of the action taken in respect of these allegations.
Referral Guidelines

 A referral to an external agency such as the Essex Social Services Department (SSD), the child protection unit of the police (CPU) or the NSPCC will not normally be made where: the complaint does not involve a serious criminal offence and a referral would be contrary to the wishes of the pupil and his/her parents; and the case is one that can be satisfactorily investigated and dealt with under the School's internal procedures, the parents being kept fully informed, as appropriate.

However, if during the course of the internal procedures, it appears that the situation is more serious, the Designated Person will again consider whether a referral should be made according to the guidelines above.

Whether or not the School decides to refer a particular complaint to the SSD or the police, the parents and pupil will be informed in writing of their right to make their own complaint or referral to the Social Services Department or the Child Protection Unit of the police and will be provided with contact names, addresses and telephone numbers, as appropriate.

Staff Code of Conduct

All staff are expected to adhere to a code of conduct in respect of their contact with pupils and their families. Children will be treated with respect and dignity and no punishment, detention, restraint, sanctions or rewards are allowed outside those detailed in the schools' Behaviour Policy. Whilst it would be unrealistic and undesirable to preclude all physical contact between adults and children, staff are expected to exercise caution and avoid placing themselves in a position where their actions might be open to criticism or misinterpretation.

Staff should be guided by the following advice:
  • Avoid whenever possible unobserved situations of one to one contact with a child. If they are unavoidable, always keep a door open and try to ensure you are within the hearing of others.
  • Do not offer to transport children alone in your car without seeking advice and telling another colleague that this is what you propose to do.
  • Do not engage in or allow any sexually provocative games whether based on talking or touching or engage in 'horseplay' involving children.
  • Never make suggestive remarks or discriminatory comments to a child.
  • When supervising children changing their clothes for sport or for any other reason be aware that children may be uncomfortable with you seeing them when they are not fully dressed. Give children as much privacy as is possible and practical in these situations.
  • Do not engage in inappropriate electronic communication with children.
  • Avoid 'favouritism' and singling out 'troublemakers'.
Allegations of Child Abuse made against a Member of Staff

 The law states that children who report that they have been abused by a member of staff must be listened to and a written dated report should be made of the allegations within 24 hours.

Children may allege that they have been struck or roughly handled (physical abuse), been the subject of improper suggestions, a sexual act or an attempted sexual act (sexual abuse) or been verbally bullied, picked upon, unfairly criticised, intimidated or maligned (emotional abuse).
The operational procedure is designed to ensure allegations of abuse of children by employees are handled in a consistent and appropriate manner, in accordance with the both Child Protection and Personnel Regulations. Teachers cannot promise confidentiality to pupils who make allegations. They should report the matter immediately to the Headteacher, Mrs Bradfield. If the allegation is against Mrs Bradfield, it should be reported to the Chair of Governors, Mr Allison.

The following action will be taken:
  • Mrs Bradfield/Mr Allison will obtain written details of the allegation, signed and dated, from the person who received the allegation (not from the child who made and/or was the subject of the allegation) and record any information about times, dates, locations and names of potential witnesses.
  • Mrs Bradfield/Mr Allison will explore whether there is sufficient substance in an allegation to warrant a full investigation and whether a referral to The Essex Child Protection Team should be made. This may include interviewing other staff or pupils.
  • Where an allegation or complaint is made against Mrs Bradfield, the Designated Person will report to and consult with the Chair of Governors, or in his absence the Deputy chair.
  • It should be borne in mind that if a child has made an obviously false allegation, this may well be a strong indicator of abuse elsewhere which requires further exploration. The best way for this to be achieved is through an inter-agency referral in order that any underlying causes can be teased out.
  • If a child makes an allegation that is considered to be a potential criminal act, Mrs Bradfield will inform Social Services of the allegations
  • Suspension may occur in the following circumstances
    1. Where a child is at risk
    2. Where gross misconduct proceedings are in question
    3. Where a suspension is necessary to allow the conduct of the investigation to proceed unimpeded.
The employee is advised to contact their union as a matter of utmost urgency

The school will report to the Independent Safeguarding Authority within one month of leaving the school, any person (whether employed, contracted, a volunteer or student) whose services are no longer used because s/he is considered unsuitable to work with children.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Address for referrals is PO Box 181, Darlington, DL1 9FA (tel 0300 123 1111)

Volunteers

Volunteers will work under the direct supervision of an established staff member and will be subject to the same code of conduct as paid employees of the school. Volunteers will at no time be given responsibility of the personal care of pupils.

Allegations Against Pupils

A pupil or pupils against whom an allegation of abuse has been made may be suspended from the School during the investigation and the School's policy on behaviour, discipline and sanctions will apply. Staff should be aware that bullying can develop into physical or sexual abuse - as can idiosyncratic punishments introduced by individuals and should ensure that school practices counter and monitor bullying and misuse of discipline.

Monitoring

The Designated Officer will monitor the operation of this policy and its procedures and make an annual report to the Governing Body.

When a pupil leaves the school, due to a family move or any other reason, all efforts will be made to identify the school to which they are being admitted and ensure that their educational records are sent without delay to that school if the school requests them. If requested by Social Services or the new school requests them child protection records will be sent under a confidential cover.

MB March 2009