WELSHPOOL HIGH SCHOOL CHILD PROTECTION & SAFEGUARDING DATE REVIEWED; January 2014 DATE FOR REVIEW; January 2015 SIGNED Chair of Governing Body SIGNED Headteacher 1
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy Introduction Welshpool High School complies with Powys Authority s Children s Safeguarding Policy and acknowledges that Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 requires local authorities and governing bodies of maintained schools to have arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; The Welsh Assembly Government [WAG] has issued a circular [Safeguarding Children in Education: No. 005/2008] containing guidance on arrangements that need to be in place as required by Section 175 of the 2002 Act; Governing bodies and school staff must have regard for this guidance when fulfilling their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people at their schools; A judgement on the procedures in place at a school, and the school s effectiveness in implementing those procedures to safeguard children from harm, will be included as part of the school inspection process. The governors and staff at Welshpool High School fully recognise that all staff including volunteers have a full and active part to play in protecting our pupils from harm. All staff and governors believe that Welshpool High School should provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual pupil. There are three main elements to this policy: 1. Prevention through the teaching and pastoral support offered to pupils. 2. Procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse. 3. Support to pupils who may have been abused. This policy applies to all staff and volunteers working in the school. Governors, learning support assistants, mid-day supervisors, caretakers, secretaries as well as teachers can be the first point of disclosure for a child. Safe Recruitment We operate safe recruitment procedures and ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out on new staff and volunteers who will work with children, including the Disclosure and Barring Service and reference checks in line with current guidance. Temporary staff and volunteers providing cover during short-term absences and who will be working with children are given clear guidance on school s arrangements for child protection and their responsibilities during induction. 2
Children with Additional Learning Needs We recognise that statistically, children and young people with behavioural difficulties and disabilities are most vulnerable to abuse. We also recognise that adults who support children and young people with profound and multiple disabilities, sensory impairment and or emotional and behaviour problems will need to be particularly sensitive to signs of abuse. The aims of this policy are: To support the child s development in ways that will foster security, confidence and independence; To raise the awareness of both teaching and non-teaching staff of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse; To provide a systematic means of monitoring children known or thought to be at risk of harm; To emphasise the need for good levels of communication between all members of staff; To develop a structured procedure within the school, which will be followed by all members of the school community in cases of suspected abuse; To develop and promote effective working relationships with other agencies, especially the police and social care; To ensure that all adults within school, who have access to children, have been checked as to their suitability. Designated Teacher for Safeguarding Welshpool High School will ensure a senior member of staff and the Headteacher are appropriately trained and will attend LSCB Annual Conference and any safeguarding training updates provided by the LA. They are charged with the responsibility for coordinating child protection matters within the school. Staff, teaching and nonteaching, are aware of who that person is. The designated safeguarding persons are the Headteacher, Mr. Jim Toal and the school SENCo, Mrs. Carolyn Evans. The designated teacher will: Act as a source of advice and support within Welshpool High School and provide the point of contact for staff who have concerns or information that a child or young person may be suffering abuse; Co-ordinate any necessary referrals to social care. Ensure our school contributes fully to safeguarding process, e.g. by the provision of reports and attendance at conferences or meetings when needed; Ensure that all staff, both teaching and non-teaching, are aware of and have access to our school s safeguarding policy and procedures and the All Wales Child Protection Procedures; Disseminate safeguarding information gained from training and other sources to all staff in our school and ensure that newly appointed staff are aware of their child protection responsibilities. Keep their own child protection/safeguarding knowledge up to date by attending training events for nominated staff. 3
The Child Protection/Safeguarding training provided for all staff comprises the following: Induction The school will make available to all new members of staff and volunteers working in the school for the first time, either prior to taking up their role or immediately after taking up their role, a copy of the Powys Local Safeguarding Children Board Induction Booklet entitled 'A Quick Guide to Child Protection, Protecting and Caring for the Children and Young People of Powys'. Staff and volunteers will be given the opportunity to read the booklet and sign the school's training record to confirm that they have read the document. The Designated Teacher for Child Protection will confirm the member of staff/volunteer's understanding of basic Child Protection information through a conversation with the individual. Foundation Training The school will make available to all staff opportunities to follow the LSCB Foundation Child Protection Training. These opportunities will either be made available on an individual school basis or as part of a cluster or regional Child Protection Training opportunity. The training will be offered at least every three years and, where members of staff miss this training or are employed after a recent training opportunity, they will be expected to join the Child Protection training being delivered in a neighbouring school or undertake the LSCB e-learning Foundation Child Protection package. Nominated Governor for Safeguarding We also have a nominated governor, Mrs. Suzi Harkness, whose role is to ensure: There is appropriate challenge written into the safeguarding policy; Our school has a safeguarding policy in place; That the policy is reviewed in order to ensure its effectiveness; That designated, and other staff, have the opportunity to attend appropriate training; and That our school prospectus contains a section on the safeguarding policy to make parents aware of our safeguarding responsibilities. [Please refer to APPENDIX 2: The Role of the Safeguarding Governor for more detailed information] Action to be taken by our School The action we take to safeguard children in our school will be in line with the All Wales Child Protection Procedures. All adults in our school need to have an awareness of the indicators of abuse and know how to respond to a pupil who discloses abuse. 4
It is not the role of the adults in our school to investigate and attempt to seek out evidence on matters relating to safeguarding concerns and they must not attempt to do so. The adults in our school have a role in assisting social care and/or the police by providing information for safeguarding/child protection enquiries. They recognise that sharing information for the purposes of safeguarding is essential and that safeguarding the individual overrides that need to keep information confidential. Adults in our school should inform the designated teacher of: Any concerns that a child or young person is suffering or is likely to be suffering some form of abuse; Any allegations of abuse against staff; Any disclosures of abuse. Historical Abuse We need to recognise that pupils may report historical abuse and this must be followed up. Domestic Abuse We need to be aware that some pupils could be living in an environment where domestic abuse occurs and that as of 2012 the age limit for domestic abuse in their own right could be for people as young as 16 years of age. Referral Referrals should be made to: Police, telephone number 101 Social Care Team, telephone number 01938 552017 We have an official referral form and all verbal referrals to social care must be followed up in writing within two working days using this. The referral should include: The reason for the concern; What was said or witnessed; Dates and times of incidents; Parent/carer/family circumstances; and Whether parents are aware of referral, etc. Any pupil currently with a Child Protection Plan who is absent without explanation for two days will be referred to the social care department. This would also include fixed or permanent exclusions. Record Keeping The designated teacher will ensure that: A chronological record of concerns about a child is maintained even if there is no need to make an immediate referral; All such records are kept confidentially and securely and are separate from pupil records; Copies of safeguarding referrals and child protection conference minutes are kept confidentially and securely and separate from pupil records; 5
An indication of further record keeping is marked on the pupil records; If a child has a Child Protection Plan and transfers to another school, the child s records, including information about the Child Protection Plan, is transferred without delay. Care Guidance and Support for Children and Young People Prevention We recognise the key role our school can play in preventing abuse by providing our pupils with good lines of communication with trusted adults, supportive friends and an ethos of protection. Our school community will therefore: Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel secure and are encouraged to talk and are always listened to; Ensure that all children know there is an adult in the school whom they can approach if they are worried or in difficulty; Include in the PSHE curriculum opportunities for children to explore issues which may equip them with the skills they need to stay safe from harm and to know to whom they should turn for help. Other Policies The governing body of Welshpool High School recognises that, in order to support the complete development of each and every child, it has a duty to ensure that each child: Stays safe; Is healthy; Is able to enjoy and achieve; Is able to achieve economic well being; Makes a positive contribution. Our school will give regard to child protection guidance when developing other policies, in particular: Staff recruitment and training Attendance Emotional health and well being Behaviour Anti bullying Curriculum PSHE, sex and relationship education, to include domestic abuse Health and safety Physical intervention E-safety We recognise that a child who is abused or witnesses abuse may find it difficult to develop and maintain a sense of self worth and may feel helpless and humiliated. Our school may provide the only stability in the lives of children who have been abused or who are at risk of harm and we will support all pupils by: 6
Encouraging emotional health and well being, self-esteem and self assertiveness; Promoting a caring, safe and positive environment within our school; Liaising and working together with all other support services and those agencies involved in the safeguarding of children and young people; Providing continuous support to a pupil about whom there have been concerns; For children and young people where there are safeguarding concerns who leave our school, we will ensure that appropriate information is forwarded under confidential cover to the pupil s new school. Supporting Staff All staff have undertaken safeguarding training. We recognise that staff working in our school who have become involved with a child who has suffered, or is at risk of suffering harm, may find the situation stressful and upsetting. We will support such staff by providing the opportunity to talk through their anxieties with the designated teacher and to see further support as appropriate. Staff can access the LA counselling service. Confidentiality Staff cannot keep confidential a disclosure or allegation of abuse and must refer the matter on to the designated teacher. All referrals should be made with the knowledge that during any subsequent investigation, the source [i.e. the school] will be made known to the family. Other staff may need to be alerted to concerns about a child or young person, possibly in order to monitor the concern or to gather further evidence prior to a referral being made, or to assist in providing appropriate support to a child or young person once a referral has been made. Information should only be shared on a strict need to know basis. Allegations Against Staff We understand that a pupil may make an allegation against a member of our staff and if such an allegation is made, the member of staff receiving the allegation will immediately inform the Headteacher. The Headteacher on all such occasions will refer the matter to the Social Care Duty Team; tel: 01938 552017, and the LA officer for safeguarding; tel 01597 826431. Any allegations against the Headteacher should be reported to the designated teacher or the nominated governor where the Headteacher is the designated teacher. There would need to be an automatic referral to the Chair of Governors, and on all occasions will refer the matter to Social Care Duty Team; tel: 01938 552017, and the LA officer for safeguarding; tel: 01597 826431. Our school will follow the procedures for managing allegations against staff. 7
Whistle-blowing We recognise that children cannot be expected to raise concerns in an environment where staff fail to do so. All staff should be aware of their duty to raise concerns, where they exist, about the attitude or actions of colleagues. Monitoring and Review Our school has mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing the policy and its effectiveness and it will be the responsibility of the nominated child protection governor to ensure that the policy is reviewed annually by ensuring it becomes a standing item on the governing body s agenda. 8
APPENDIX 1 Types of Abuse 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 causes, ill health to a child they are looking after. This situation may be described as fabricated or induced illness by carer. 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 a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only in so far as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectation being imposed on children. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may occur alone. Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or in watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. 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. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or in the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child s basic emotional needs. School procedures for handling suspected cases of abuse, including procedures to be followed if a teacher or a support staff member is accused of abuse, are consistent with the policy and procedures outlined by the LSCB. All staff, as a result of their day-to-day contact with children, are well placed to observe outward signs of abuse (bruises, inadequate clothing and poor growth), changes in behaviour or failure to develop. 9
Confidential Interviews with Children APPENDIX 2 (Please make sure if you have any suspicions or disclosures regarding child protection issues you must refer these to the School s Child Protection Officer Mr Jim Toal (Headteacher) or in his absence the Deputy Mrs Carolyn Evans (SENCo) If a child or young person approaches an adult in the school or educational establishment and discloses details/allegations of abuse or neglect whether on behalf of themselves or another pupil the adult should: Listen to the child or young person but not make any promise to maintain confidentiality. Adults should explain that any concerns may have to be relayed to others [this could include the designated member of staff, social care and the police]. If possible seek the child s agreement to referring the case to the appropriate agencies. Make a written record of the discussion immediately afterwards. The adult should then follow the course of action outlined in this policy. Make no promises of confidentiality. If necessary, say something [to a young child] along the lines of if it s a good secret, then of course, I ll keep it, but if what you tell me makes me afraid or worry about you, then I ll have to tell someone else who can help us. If possible, have an appropriate witness present. Avoid asking leading questions. Maintain an attitude of calm, kindly interest and do all you can to inspire trust. Show concern and attentiveness. Feelings of anger, disgust and upset will be unhelpful. If there is any indication that the child has been abused, prepare the child for the fact that a social worker will have to be informed and make a full written record of the conversation immediately. NB Gather enough information to establish whether or not there is cause for concern but do not carry out an investigation. 10
APPENDIX 3 Safeguarding Children in Education Self Evaluation Checklist for Schools and Governors No. Standard Evidence Action 1. Our school has an effective child protection policy and procedures in place that are in accordance with the local authority s guidance and locally agreed inter-agency procedures 2. Our policy is reviewed at least annually and is made available to parents or carers on request 3. We operate safe recruitment procedures and ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out on all new staff and volunteers who will work with children, including Disclosure and Barring Service and reference checks in line with current guidance. 4. Where services or activities are provided by another body, we have confirmed that the body concerned has appropriate policies and procedures in place in regard to safeguarding children and child protection and there are arrangements to liaise with the school on these matters where appropriate. 5. Our school has an up to date and agreed staff disciplinary procedure for dealing with allegations of misconduct against members of staff, including child protection allegations, that complies with relevant legislation including the appointment of an independent investigator and has regard for Welsh Assembly Government guidance circular 45/2004 and locally agreed inter-agency procedures. 6. A senior member of the school s management team is designated to take lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues, providing advice and support to other staff, liaising with the local 11
authority and working with other agencies. 7. The designated person undertakes safeguarding training that is provided through the local Safeguarding Children s Board including refresher training to keep his or her knowledge and skills up to date. 8. The Headteacher and all other permanent staff and volunteers who work with children undertake appropriate induction and training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities for child protection effectively, which is kept up to date with refresher training. 9. Temporary staff and volunteers providing cover during short-term absences and who will be working with children are given clear guidance of the school s arrangements for child protection and their responsibilities during induction. 10. The governing body remedies without delay any deficiencies or weaknesses in regard to child protection arrangements that are brought to its attention 11. We review our safeguarding policies and procedures annually and, when requested, we provide information to the local authority about how we have discharged our safeguarding duties. 12. We have nominated a link governor for safeguarding who champions child protection and safeguarding issues within our school. 13. We consider our own training needs and at least one governor has undertaken the Child Protection training offered by the local authority every three years. 12
APPENDIX 4 The Role of the Child Safeguarding Governor The purpose of the school s Safeguarding Policy is to: Raise the awareness of all teaching and non-teaching staff about their responsibilities for identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse and to promote good communication between staff and other agencies; and Create an ethos within the school which helps children feel secure and able to talk freely, in the knowledge that they will be listened to and their concerns taken seriously. The Safeguarding Governor s role is to: Ensure that the school has a safeguarding policy in place which is consistent with the All Wales Child Protection Procedures, and is readily accessible to all members of staff, both teaching and non-teaching; Ensure that the implementation and effectiveness of the policy and any associated policies e.g. bullying are reviewed annually by it becoming a standard item on the governing body s agenda; Ensure that the school prospectus contains a section on the child protection policy in order to make parents aware of the school s responsibilities; Consider, with the Headteacher and designated safeguarding teacher, the place of safeguarding in the school curriculum; Ensure that designated and other staff have the opportunity to attend appropriate training; and Liaise with the Education and Leisure Directorate in relation to any allegations of child abuse made against the Headteacher which may include attendance at strategy meetings. Ensure that there is an item on the agenda of the governing body meeting at least once a year. Safeguarding Governor Questions to Consider Is the ethos of our school one in which all children and young people are valued, respected, listened to and taken seriously? Are all staff clear about our safeguarding policy? Do we have support systems available to children who are at particular risk or who have disclosed abuse? Do we have support available for teachers dealing with a safeguarding case? 13
Do we have support available for teaching and non-teaching staff who are subject to allegations? Is safeguarding training available to the designated teacher and other teaching and non-teaching staff and do I need training? Is my school proactive in establishing positive links with other relevant agencies, particularly social care? 14
APPENDIX 5 Safeguarding Issue/Event Diary Include the child s/young person s comments verbatim, clearly list the situation/task being undertaken at the time, how many others present and any environmental factors that contributed, other adults present, how was the incident/event concluded and comments made to the child. Child s Comments: What did the child say? Quote their words in speech marks. If you can not remember exact words do not use speech marks and state you are being approximate. Situation and task being undertaken: Where was the incident? What was the child/young person doing? Was this a usual task/situation for the child to be in? Was this something the child would not have experienced before? Were clear instructions given to the child about the expected task/situation? Others present: how many other children were present? Were any involved? What was their contribution to the incident? Environmental factors: was there anything about the child s physical surroundings that had an impact on his/her behaviour? Other adults present. Event/incident conclusion: how did the matter end? What was the child s/ young person s behaviour like at the end of and after the incident? Adult s comments to the child: what words were actually spoken to the child at the end of the incident/event? Not all items above will be relevant for all cases, they are there to help focus on the issues. Record information that is available and do not feel compelled to tick every box. Recording must be: Timely; within the same working day, and as soon as practically possible. Factual; do not record your opinion; write a narrative that is descriptive but not overly complicated. 15
APPENDIX 6 Strictly Confidential: SAFEGUARDING RECORD Name of Child: Date of Birth: Form: School: Person completing this form Date and Time Issue/ Event Recorded; Factual observations (include child s comments verbatim, clearly list the situation, task being undertaken at the time, how many others present and any environmental factors that contributed, other adults present, how was the incident/event concluded, comments made to the child) Parent/Carer Information (include if appropriate) 16
APPENDIX 7 Safeguarding Children in Education Record Keeping Pupil Monitoring and Record Systems The school s designated teacher for safeguarding is responsible for maintaining a safeguarding record system, separate to pupil files, and held confidentially in a locked cabinet with access restricted to those directly involved with the pupil s care. The general school record should be tagged to indicate the presence of separate confidential files. Safeguarding Record: Monitoring Low Level Concerns All concerns of a safeguarding nature, however small, should be recorded by the person who has them and it is good practice to record low level concerns to monitor pupils where there are such concerns. A member of staff may have a concern about a particular child, but not feel that it is important enough to act upon. However, if small concerns are not recorded, it is possible that an incomplete picture of a particular child may be held by a number of staff members, who if they collated information, would find that a much more worrying picture was emerging. Confidentiality and Access to Records Records relating to safeguarding are exempt information under the Education [School Records] Regulation 1989. They are exempt from the disclosure provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984. Cases of alleged abuse which go to court may require the school to disclose their records, either through the police or social care. All information held by the school should be shared with social care and the police and health professionals as appropriate, where there is a concern that a child is at risk of significant harm. Retention and Transfer of Safeguarding Records The confidential safeguarding file should be copied and sent on to the new school when the child moves on to another school. This file should be sent separately on to the Headteacher, under confidential cover. If a child leaves the school and you have not been notified of the new school and there are safeguarding concerns, make a referral to the Duty Team. 17