POLICY. Safeguarding. Issued December 2012

Transcription

1 POLICY Safeguarding Issued December 2012

2 Document information Title Safeguarding Policy Reference number 1/2/9/1 Supersedes Policy issued March 2010 Date of issue December 2012 and updated November 2013 Review date December 2014 Review by & lead member of staff AD (Pupil and Family Services) Prepared by Safeguarding Manager Consultation Agency Consultative Committee Implementation Supply / distribution Other relevant approved documents Impact Assessment Authorised by Immediately upon receipt Available as a read-only document on the SCE Web plus one hard copy to each school & setting SCE Procedures for dealing with allegations against staff This document has been equality assessed in accordance with the MoD Equality Analysis Template Director of Education

3 SCE SAFEGUARDING POLICY 1. Definition 1.1 SCE uses the Ofsted definition of safeguarding which has been adopted from the Children Act 2004 and is summarised as follows: Preventing impairment of children s and learners health or development. Ensuring that children and learners are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care. Undertaking that role so as to enable those children and learners to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully. Reference Safeguarding in schools: best practice September 2011, Reference No , Ofsted 1.2 SCE therefore works to the wider context of safeguarding which includes child protection but encompasses all aspects of a child s world which affect their overall safety. 2. Principle 2.1 SCE is fully committed to the welfare principle which underpins the Children Acts 1989/2004. This requires that all practice is informed by the best interests of the child being paramount. Safeguarding work can present challenges and dilemmas. Applying the welfare principle is vital to resolving many of the uncertainties which staff can experience. 3. Duty 3.1 SCE accepts the duty created by Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 which is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 4. Procedures 4.1 All MOD organisations work to the Joint Service Protocol 834 which is available through the search facility on: Local commands issue procedures as appropriate (for example in Germany SOBF(G) 3351) which cover local inter agency arrangements regarding child protection and safeguarding. SCE is fully committed to all MOD protocols and procedures. 5. Child protection (Identification/reporting) 5.1 Child protection is one area that is most frequently associated with safeguarding. Child protection is part of safeguarding and promoting welfare and refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. 5.2 Child protection concerns all agencies and involves: protecting children from maltreatment, and preventing the impairment of a child s health and well being.

4 5.3 SCE fulfils its duties through working with other statutory services i.e. those with the legal duty to investigate child protection concerns. In the MOD context these are: SSAFA and BFSWS RMP SIB 5.4 In North West Europe these are within the United Kingdom Support Command (UKSC), which covers BFG, SHAPE, AFNORTH and Naples. 5.5 In other MOD locations command procedures for child protection arrangements are organised through Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) in: British Forces Cyprus Brunei Gibraltar Falkland Islands 5.6 It is SCE policy to work with all command level LSCBs as well as the MOD Safeguarding Board, which has an overview of standards and governance arrangements across the MOD. 5.7 Each SCE school and Music Centre must have a child protection policy that is reviewed annually. Each school and Music Centre has a Designated Senior responsible for child protection working to the responsibilities for that role outlined in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, DfES 2007 (this is awaiting revision and is expected to be published as Keeping Children Safe in Education ). In summary their duties are to be the focal reporting point for that establishment, to co-ordinate child protection action, to liaise with the appropriate statutory agencies, to advise on issues and procedures and to deliver child protection induction training for all members of the school or Music Centre staff. 6. Allegations against staff 6.1 SCE has a separate Allegations against staff procedure, published in December This is based on government statutory guidance Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and Other Staff, DfE October 2012 and fully complies with Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, DfES 2007 (as above, revision pending) SCE works to the English framework for managing cases of allegations of abuse against people who work with children. This is set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children Following formal ratification by the SCE Management Board, it is intended that, in 2014, SCE will follow the Standing Instruction for the British Forces in Germany on the Management of Allegations against Staff who work with Children The SCE procedure is about managing cases of allegations that might indicate a person would pose a risk of harm if they continue to work in regular or close contact with children in their present position, or in any capacity, and should be used when a member of staff has: behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child; possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child;

5 or, behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates s/he is unsuitable to work with children. 7. Bullying 7.1 Bullying can be direct (physical, verbal, non-verbal) and increasingly indirect (cyberbullying) which relates to safeguarding (for example pupil behaviour and pastoral care) and potentially child protection (under the Children Act 1989, if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm ). 7.2 SCE works to the requirement of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and Equality Act 2010 to ensure that measures are in place to prevent all forms of bullying among students. Each SCE school and Music Centre must have an anti-bullying policy that is reviewed annually. 7.3 SCE policy is to endorse DfE guidance on bullying, Preventing and Tackling Bullying Advice for Head Teachers, Staff and Governing Bodies SCE works with key partners in this area e.g. youth services (AWS), health services (BFGHS), statutory social care (BFSWS) and the service police, as well as the E.Safety and Anti-Bullying Group of the SCB. 7.5 Data on bullying and racist incidents is collected centrally by the HQ SCE data services. 8. Attendance, Children Missing Education or Educated Otherwise than at School (EOTAS) 8.1 Attendance can be a safeguarding issue. For example children may deliberately be kept from school due to child protection reasons sometimes identified if there are unexplained patterns of non attendance. Schools work closely with Unit Welfare Officers, Pupil and Family Services and other agencies on attendance issues. SOBA(G) 3208 Amdt 37 makes clear parents responsibility to ensure that children of compulsory school age who are registered at a school have a duty to ensure their child attends school regularly, otherwise they may be guilty of an offence and face disciplinary action. 8.2 Children missing education concerns children who are not enrolled in a school. SCE policy is to raise awareness of this issue with other agencies and to work appropriately with those children identified. This can involve direct contact with those children as well as the involvement of other agencies as SCE recognises that children who are not enrolled in a school can be particularly vulnerable. 8.3 In accordance with the Guidance Access to Education for Children and Young People with Medical Needs (2001) and the Exclusions Policy (2012) DfE, SCE provides education and pastoral support to children and young people who are EOTAS, e.g. as a result of health needs, pregnancy, SEN placement breakdown. 9. Domestic violence/abuse 9.1 Children and young people living in a situation of domestic abuse are a particularly vulnerable group. Domestic abuse incorporates domestic violence and is a nationally recognised term that acknowledges that abuse between adults in a household may not involve actual physical violence. 9.2 SCE complies with SOBF(G) 3351 para 9.99 and aims to ensure, through the provision of Level 1 and Level 2 safeguarding training, that all cases of domestic abuse are notified to the BFSWS for investigation as a possible case of child abuse.

6 9.3 SCE contributes fully to any command level arrangements, e.g. UKSC Domestic Abuse forum. 10. E-safety 10.1 E-safety is about safeguarding children and young people in a digital world. It includes learning to understand and use technologies in a positive way, and supporting children and young people to develop safe online behaviours, both in and out of school. E.safety is integrated into the curriculum within SCE SCE has a separate e-safety policy issued in November 2011, which is informed by best practice documentation from the South West Grid for Learning All schools are required to have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) reviewed on an annual basis. SCE contributes to the E.Safety and Anti-Bullying Group of the SCB SCE endorses and highlights the guidance issued through Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) and delivers through SCE accredited trainers EPICT training. 11. Restrictive Physical Intervention 11.1 On very rare occasions it can become necessary for a responsible adult to intervene physically to ensure the safety of a pupil or prevent a serious incident. SCE schools are required to follow SCE Policy on Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) issued May 2013, and must have their own RPI policy. A model school RPI policy is included as an annex to the SCE policy SCE endorses Ensuring Good Behaviour in Schools DfE 2012 available at Safer working practices 12.1 SCE endorses the DCSF guidance on safer working practices. This can be found at: http.// SCE endorses the principles of appropriateness and transparency on which this guidance is based, meaning that all staff are expected work in a way that is appropriate to the context and in a way that is fully transparent and accountable to line management. 13. Whistle blowing 13.1 SCE endorses the MOD policy on whistle blowing Handling matters of conscience, reporting concerns at work and whistle blowing in the MOD the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998 which can be found on the DBS website under Policy, rules and Guidance index, EDRM file reference: Reporting Concerns at Work and Whistleblowing in the MOD-U 14. Recording 14.1 Clear, appropriate recording is essential in terms of accountability and allows for the greater protection of both children and staff SCE has distributed guidance to schools Record keeping and management of child protection information including guidance on consent issued in September The welfare principle also applies to the use and sharing of information. If the best interests of the child are addressed by sharing information (for example with statutory agencies) then legislation supports that. SCE is fully committed to data protection and

7 educates its staff to understand that in a child protection context data protection is not a barrier to sharing information but is an obligation to work to professional standards f data management SCE subscribes to guidance issued through the Department for Education, Information sharing: Guidance for Practitioners and Managers, 2008 available at Recruitment 15.1 SCE policy is to fully comply with the requirement from January 2010 that all interview panels, for posts which have contact with children in education, are legally required to have at least one member trained in safer recruitment. The training was originally developed by the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) and subsequently delivered by the Children s Workforce Development Council (CWDC). Although the CWDC has been dissolved the training is still relevant. It sets out procedures and strategies to help those involved in the recruitment process to deter, identify and reject applicants who are unsuitable to work with children. Safer recruitment training is also delivered through the BFG Safeguarding Children s Board and can be accessed through: SCE complies with the DfE statutory guidance Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education January 2007 (as above, revision awaited) available at: Training 16.1 SCE policy is that all staff complete Level 1 (Induction) and Level 2 (Single Agency) safeguarding training, including all UKBCs, dependants, Directly Employed Labour (DELs) and HQ SCE staff In BFG, BFC and Naples this is delivered by P&FS staff. Agreements are in place for this training to be delivered by SSAFA social workers in Brunei and the Falklands. All staff have access to an appropriate course and where necessary arrangements can be made for this to be accessed via VTC Each SCE school is expected to maintain a single central record, inspected by Ofsted, which includes the dates safeguarding training was completed and therefore needs to be renewed Those staff with particular responsibilities for safeguarding, e.g. Designated Senior responsible for child protection, and members of SLT, are also required to complete the Level 3 (Multi Agency) safeguard children training. Details of these training events available on the SCB Training Planner at: SCE staff are supported to access other SCB related training as appropriate which can be found at: Disclosure and Barring 17.1 SCE fully complies with the Government Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS), (which is a merger of CRB and ISA functions) both in terms of recruitment as well as monitoring

8 practices of people working or volunteering with children. SCE works diligently to ensure that necessary DBS checks are undertaken and complies with the MOD requirement, under JSP893, for people to renew DBS checks after five years SCE works within the context outlined in MOD JSP 834, which recognises that certain MOD staff recruited directly overseas (from non UK locations) may not be able to access a DBS Check. SCE policy is to ensure that other checks, such as good conduct checks from local police forces, are sought SCE recognises that disclosure and barring is one aspect of a safer working environment and highlights the need to all managers to maintain safer working practices in their setting Responsibilities and functions for disclosure, barring and monitoring are divided between the Defence Business Support (DBS), G1 Employment Disclosures and line managers (including head teachers and those within HQ SCE) SCE policy is to highlight the national guidance and resources which are available through the Disclosure and Barring Service on the Home Office website: Vulnerable groups 18.1 All children and young people need safeguarding in one form or another. However, some are more susceptible to risks than others, and may experience poorer outcomes if their needs are not met. Identifying and supporting individual children and young people within these vulnerable groups is a priority for SCE Groups include: Children with SEN and disabilities Children with English as an Additional Language Children missing education Children who are in need or who have child protection plans Children in care Children placed for adoption or who are adopted Young carers Some minority ethnic children Lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils Transgender pupils Pupils who are pregnant 18.3 Other groups exist within the UK which are not relevant to overseas MOD locations such as: Asylum seeking and refugee children Homeless children and young people 18.4 SCE policy, in accordance with the Section 175 of the Education Act 2002, Children Act 2004 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, is to work with other agencies to ensure best practice.