Keeping Children Safe Child Protection Update for Schools Ben Whitney Independent Education Welfare Consultant and Trainer

Keeping Children Safe Child Protection Update for Schools

Ben Whitney

Independent Education Welfare Consultant and Trainer

www.ben-whitney.org.uk

Content

ATTITUDES AND FEELINGS

LAW, POLICY AND GUIDANCE

IDENTIFYING ABUSE

E-SAFETY AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

STAFF BEHAVIOUR POLICY AND ALLEGATIONS

ACTIONS ARISING


Some scary questions!

• Is abuse happening more than it used to?• Is it true that children sometimes make it up?• Why do so many cases go wrong?• What do I have to do if I am suspicious or concerned?• What if I refer something that turns out to be a false alarm?• Can I trust social workers and other agencies?• Am I allowed to touch children?• What if a child makes an allegation against me?• Is child abuse really my problem?


Taking care of yourself

Child abuse is a very sensitive and emotive subject.

We may have had difficult or abusive personal experiences as a child or have problems as parents.

IF THIS TRAINING RAISES ANY PERSONAL ISSUES OR UNRESOLVED MEMORIES, PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND SEEK HELP AND ADVICE AFTERWARDS

Recognising our feelings and attitudes

‘The child protection system works pretty well in keeping children safe’

Some more examples

What difference does my opinion make?


A sad reality

• Child abuse is real and it happens here• It can happen in any family, race or community• Or to children of any age, male or female• Or in places like churches, schools and clubs• Children often don’t tell• Abusers can be very clever and deceitful

BUT, together we can do something about it


How did we get to here?



Key Documents

• S.175/157 Education Act 2002 (Lauren Wright)

• Laming Report (2003) –Victoria Climbié and “Baby Peter” Review (2009)

• Bichard Inquiry (2003) following the Soham murders

• Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures (from 2006)

• “Working Together to Safeguard Children” (2013)

• DfE Circular “Keeping Children Safe in Education” (2014)


Education Act 2002

s.175 (s.157 Independent schools and Academies etc.)

“The governing body of a maintained school (and LA and FE) shall make arrangements for ensuring that their functions relating to the conduct of the school are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children who are pupils at the school”

Schools ‘must have regard’ to current DfE Guidance and there is an expectation that they should not depart from it. This effectively makes following child protection procedures a legal requirement on each individual member of staff.


New DfE Guidance April 2014‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’

1. Safeguarding information for all staff

2. The management of safeguarding

3. Safer recruitment

4. Allegations against staff

‘Governing bodies should ensure that all staff read at least Part 1 ’.

‘Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School and college staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating. Schools and colleges ..... should work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm’. (para. 4)

Inspection expectations

There is no longer any separate rating for safeguarding

BUT

“There can be no issue of greater importance to parents and carers, or to schools, than the safety of their children. Safeguarding remains high on the inspection agenda, and will continue to do so.”

Inspectors will normally speak to children about any issues that make them feel unsafe in or outside school. Any safeguarding concerns raised by parents about the school will be taken very seriously.


Local Safeguarding Children Boards

• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children requires effective coordination in every local area. The Children Act 2004 requires each local authority to establish a Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)

• This is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each area, including ALL schools, will cooperate to safeguard and promote welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do

• Duty to carry out Serious Case Reviews if things go wrong.

• Education representatives should disseminate information and support schools


Every child is everyone’s responsibility

No one agency can protect children but agencies must work in partnership, promoting their safety and welfare, whether a teacher, health worker, volunteer or social

worker.

Any comments or questions so far?

DVD or other resource



Categories of abuse s.47 “Significant harm”

• Physical abuse• Emotional abuse• Sexual abuse• Neglect

• HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?• WHAT ARE THE ‘SIGNS’?

• Research suggests that as many as 1 in 6 children experience what we would now define as abuse. Children with disabilities are at greater risk because of their increased vulnerability.

• But how do we define and hope to recognise it?

Scenario exercise

Rank the statements in order of concern

Which require some immediate action under child protection procedures?

Which might need some other action?

What more information might you need to make a decision?

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 *feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child’. (*Fabricated and Induced Illness)

(Over 25,000 girls are through to be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation. Associated especially with some E. African and Middle Eastern cultures, but not exclusively. Usually carried out by a family member or other community member, sometimes without parents’ knowledge).

Emotional abuse

‘Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment 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,

• developmentally inappropriate expectations

• interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability

• over-protection and limitation of exploration and learning

• preventing the child participating in normal social interaction

• seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.

• causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger

• the exploitation or corruption of children’.

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.

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).

Women can commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children’.

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. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, (including exclusion from home or abandonment)

• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger

• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)

• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child's basic emotional needs’.

Lisa’s story

I‘ve never got on with my step-dad. He’s always preferred my sister because she’s prettier than me. Every so often it all blows up and he just shouts at me and makes me feel frightened. Last night he came into my room. He’d been drinking all night. There was some stuff on the floor – he knocked me across the room and told me I was nothing but trouble. I hit my head on the cupboard and bruised my shoulder and arm. It’s not the first time he’s been like that with me. Mum knows about it and tries to stop him but I think she’s afraid of him after what he did to her over Christmas.

What kinds of abuse may be relevant here? How is Lisa feeling? How would you feel on hearing this story? What would you do?


The highest risks of ‘significant harm’:

LA duty to investigate (s.47)• Children physically injured, assaulted, burned etc. or at risk of it

including FGM and Fabricated and Induced Illness (“doing”) • Excessive neglect of children’s needs for physical, social or emotional

care (“not doing”)• Sexual abuse and preparation for it (‘grooming’)• Witnessing domestic violence/abuse (risk of physical/emotional abuse)• Persistent parental substance misuse (risk of neglect)• Children at risk of abuse by someone they know rather than their

immediate family , including those in a position of trust• Children at risk of abuse by other young people• Children under 18 at risk of sexual exploitation, including coerced or

violent sexual ‘relationships’, trafficking, forced marriage • Adults who may put children at risk or engage in behaviours such as

using child pornography, contacting children via the internet, violent offenders or those with past convictions etc.

Why sharing information is so important

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5gD7g3FHWA


E-safety

21. Adults understand the risks posed by adults or young people who use the internet to bully, groom or abuse children and have well-developed strategies in place to keep children safe and to support them in learning how to keep themselves safe. Leaders oversee the safe use of electronic and social media when the children are on site and take action immediately if they are concerned about bullying or risky behaviours.

Ofsted Guidance for Inspectors September 2014

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, CEOP, has published materials for schools to use to address e-safety issues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WriTyc-uW-M Secondaryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE Primary

Cases in Rotherham, Oxford, Rochdale and elsewhere where the sexual (and physical) abuse of teenage girls was seen as a ‘lifestyle choice’ by Social Care and the Police, but which were subsequently found to be serious and organised criminality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh7A_odTAR0 Whitney’s story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6vYbZSUL5U Jay

Sexual exploitation

WhatsApp, Snapchat, Chatroulette, Tinder, Bender, Mylol etc.,These dating sites may have age limits (13 and over) but they are easy to get round. May be used by those who do actually know each other to flirt, or to enable actual contact with adults. Not just used by the vulnerable. Parents have no idea they are doing it.

What should I do?

• Be observant but not intrusive: a watchdog not a bloodhound! It is NOT your job to ‘investigate’ abuse

• Don’t promise confidentiality (or break it if you have to)• Keep an open mind - listen rather than speaking yourself• Make the child feel comfortable in your presence• Reassure them that they have done nothing wrong• Accept their language, even if it is unconventional• Be patient if the child is hesitant• Make notes straightaway (afterwards) but do not ask the child to

write down or sign anything

• Then tell whoever needs to know - immediately. • Who is that? What is the school’s procedure?


What happens next?

• The Designated Senior Member of Staff will advise you on how to proceed. Is this a child protection issue?

• They may make an immediate referral to Children’s Services or they may ring and ask for advice. (They may know more about the family than you do)

• If a referral is required, you may need to speak to the duty officer/social worker about what you have seen or heard. Hand in any signed and dated notes that you have made

• The concern may be passed back because it does not meet the threshold of concern

• If so, re-refer if the concerns persist• Make sure it is clear whether parents are to be informed

and if so by whom?• NEVER ACT ALONE. SEEK ADVICE.


Why don’t more children disclose?

Even in today’s climate, it is thought that only about a quarter of abuse cases come to light at the time.

Why do you think this is?

Why don’t more children disclose?

• They may not realise that they are being abused• Threats and coercion by the abuser or love for them• Fear of the consequences, for themselves and for the

abuser/wider family• A fear that they will not be believed• Communication or learning difficulties• Embarrassment and a sense of shame or guilt• Lack of opportunity or knowledge of where to go• Nobody listened/noticed

It is everyone’s job to at least try to overcome these obstacles


Wider welfare issues

Not all concerns about children should be classed as “child protection” issues. A referral may not be appropriate. You also need to be aware of:

• Arrangements for Children “in need” under s.17 • Potential risk as well as current reality• Agreed local thresholds for intervention• Use of the Common Assessment Framework or

equivalent

BUT: If a concern relates to actual or possible abuse, local child protection procedures MUST be followed.DO NOT deal with these concerns yourself.


An even sadder reality


Revised DfE Allegations Guidance Part 4 KCSIE April 2014

• An inter-agency process if child protection issues are involved, NOT just an internal disciplinary procedure for the employer to deal with.

• The Local Authority Designated Officer should ALWAYS be consulted in any case where:

‘a child may have been harmed,

an offence may have been committed or

there is behaviour that suggests the individual may pose a risk of harm to children’.

• Strategy Meeting will be called if further action is required. The LADO will advise on how to manage the three strands: the child’s welfare; the employer’s responsibility and possible criminal proceedings


How can we prevent such things happening?

FOR DISCUSSION:

Schools now must have a Staff Behaviour Policy or Code of Conduct. What should it cover?

What are some of the potential situations in which an allegation of abuse might arise and which could have been prevented? What can be done to prevent ‘false’ allegations arising AND to deter and detect those who do pose a genuine risk?



Where we want to be

• Better outcomes for children (more achievement because they are safe)

• Improved quality of child protection services

• Higher professional standards

• Lower risk/more prevention

• Joined-up solutions to joined-up problems