A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) (A/618/6215) Manual

Copyright © YMCA Awards 2021 The content of this document remains the intellectual property of, and is copyright to, Central YMCA (trading as YMCA Awards). No part of these materials may be reproduced, stored, copied, edited or distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying, publishing, recording or by any other electronic or mechanical methods, without the explicit written permission of YMCA Awards. YMCA Awards reserves the right to seek legal remedies for any such infringement.

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Contents Let’s get started .....................................................................................................................1 Section 1: Understand Safeguarding and Child Protection .......................................................3 Knowledge Check ...................................................................................................................9 Section 2: Understanding the different indicators of abuse ................................................... 10 Knowledge Check ................................................................................................................. 13 Section 3: Understand how to respond to reports or suspicion of child abuse ....................... 14 Knowledge Check ................................................................................................................. 20 Section 4: Understand the key principles of safeguarding and protecting children and young people ................................................................................................................................. 21 Knowledge Check ................................................................................................................. 27 Section 5: Be able to recognise and respond to potential indicators of child abuse and poor practice................................................................................................................................ 28 Points to discuss .................................................................................................................. 33 Notes ................................................................................................................................... 36 Create your own glossary ..................................................................................................... 37 Further Reading ................................................................................................................... 38

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Let’s get started Throughout our manuals we include activities which provide opportunities for you to review and consolidate your learning. These activities, designed in red, include knowledge checks, revision notes, activities and a create your own glossary.

You might also find the following icons to help you work your way through the content:

Key word A word that may unlock your understanding of a wider topic.

Spotlight on Where we provide additional information on a topic or piece of information.

Something extra!

Something related to the information in the section that we think is interesting.

Activity An opportunity for you to put what you’ve learned into practice.

Summary Summarising in depth topics can help consolidate learning.

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People In this manual you will learn…

• An understanding of safeguarding and child protection, including behaviour.

• An understanding of the different indicators of abuse.

• An understanding of how to respond to reports or suspicion of abuse.

• An understanding of the key principles of safeguarding and the protection of children and young people.

• How to respond to indicators of child abuse and poor practice.

A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Section 1: Understand Safeguarding and Child Protection In this section you will learn: •

What is meant by the terms safeguarding and child protection.

•

What is meant by appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in relation to children and young people.

•

Factors that could influence a child’s behaviour.

•

The difference between poor working practices and abuse.

Section introduction Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. When working with children, young people and other vulnerable groups, you have a duty of care to keep each individual safe from harm or to be able to spot indicators of harm or abuse to a child. Each organisation that works with children and young people will have a designated safeguarding officer.

In this section you will consider what is meant by safeguarding and child protection, your responsibilities in terms of prevention of harm to children’s wellbeing and ensuring a healthy and safe provision of care.

Additionally, you will explore appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, taking consideration of how you can manage situations within your sessions to keep everyone safe.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Safeguarding is the wider term used when discussing anything related to a child or young person’s welfare, or factors inhibiting their healthy development. Safeguarding looks at everything from security of buildings, safe recruitment of staff, appropriateness and safety of activities for children relevant to their abilities and behaviour management for children and young people. In practice, safeguarding is the policies and practices that organisations employ to keep children safe, protect them from harm, abuse or neglect and promote their wellbeing.

Child Protection is one part of safeguarding. Child Protection is a term used to describe the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2020) defines safeguarding as: •

Protection of children from maltreatment.

•

Preventing impairment of children’s health and development.

•

Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

There is a range of legislation (which you will cover in more detail in section 5) which make it clear that the focus is on the best interests of the child. Whatever the situation, for example if you have a good relationship with a parent (even outside the setting you work in) and you see something that raises a concern, it must be reported through your organisation’s safeguarding channels. This is in the best interests of the child. Early intervention is key. This means that you do not wait until something serious happens but intervene early on. This could be offering support or signposting someone to appropriate organisations. For example, if you are working with a child whose parent discloses that they have lost their job, you can signpost them to appropriate organisations such as Jobcentre Plus (JCP) or Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). Do not wait until the family are in desperate poverty.

All adults who work in a setting with children, young people and other vulnerable groups must be a suitable person. This means that they are safe to work with children and young people, or people at risk and have undergone a full and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The DBS check helps employers to make safe recruitment decisions by highlighting any areas of concern in an individual’s criminal record (if any). The organisation is responsible for managing the employment process. DBS checks are carried out on anyone who is over 18 years of age, including volunteers and students.

You can actively promote the wellbeing of the children within your setting by promoting risk and challenge but in a safe way. When promoting physical activity, you must ensure that the layout is safe and secure. This does not mean taking away all climbing equipment - where is the fun in that! It does mean supporting children to manage the equipment safely. How many children can go on a piece of climbing equipment at one time? Have you shown them how to use it safely?

Other considerations in terms of wellbeing in the setting/environment: •

Are the doors secured?

•

Do you have a safe and quick exit plan in case of a need to evacuate?

•

Can the children and young people access drinking water easily?

•

Is there an effective policy for the registration and collection of children?

Appropriate and Inappropriate Behaviour in Relation to Children and Young People It is very important that organisations that work with children and young people outline behaviour expectations. This includes children and young people’s behaviour towards each other, towards staff and volunteers and the behaviour that they can expect to receive. Poor behaviour can indicate other issues and should be monitored in line with the organisation’s safeguarding procedures. Poor behaviour such as verbal abuse and bullying can also impact on the wellbeing of the child, young person, staff member or volunteer who is on the receiving end of it.

Likewise, adults must demonstrate appropriate behaviour and have an awareness of suitable boundaries when working with children and young people.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

All settings will have behaviour management policies and codes of practice in place which will: •

Protect children and young people from abuse.

•

Manage any allegations or incidents of inappropriate behaviour.

•

Ensure everyone (staff, volunteers, children and young people) feel safe, respected and valued.

Examples of appropriate behaviour

Examples of inappropriate behaviour

Following the code of conduct: children, young people and staff demonstrate respect to one another and follow the agreed code of conduct.

As the responsible adult, you should demonstrate good conduct for the children and young people to mirror.

Patronising children or making them feel silly.

This could be in front of their peers or alone. You should strive to instil confidence in the children and young people who you work with.

Staff are aware of and follow safeguarding policies and procedures effectively. This will include knowing who and what to report and how to record appropriately. Safeguarding training should be undertaken and regularly updated.

Allowing any allegations to go unreported or unrecorded. Even small instances of namecalling between children need to be recorded as it may be one example of a wider bullying campaign that is yet to be discovered or is being monitored by the organisation.

The above should also include e-safety such as online bullying, social media, online gaming, and financial awareness when spending online (such as apps and games and protecting children from vulnerability to these).

Developing inappropriate relationships such as contact with children and young people that is not a part of the work or agreed with the manager or leader. You may have relationships with families outside of work. This needs to be disclosed to your manager within your organisation.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Always listen to children and respond appropriately to what they have to say.

Never conduct a sexual relationship with a child or young person, or indulge in any form of sexual contact with a child or young person. Any such behaviour between an adult member of staff or volunteer and a child or young person represents a serious breach of trust on the part of the staff member or volunteer. Any sexual activity with a young person under 16 may result in a criminal prosecution and criminal record.

Avoid favouritism. It is natural as a human to make connections with certain children or young people or even other staff. This can be picked up on quite easily by others. It also risks preferential treatment in terms of rules and procedures.

Allowing children and young people to have your personal contact details (mobile number or address). This breaches the professional relationship boundaries.

Treat children and young people fairly and without prejudice or discrimination. This is in relation to culture, religion, sexuality or any other preferences and needs that they may have. In this same vein, ensure that language used is not discriminatory.

Never make sarcastic, insensitive, derogatory, or sexually suggestive comments or gestures to, or in front of children and young people.

Value and take children’s contributions seriously, actively involving children and young people in planning activities wherever possible.

Acting in a way that can be perceived as threatening or intrusive is unacceptable and makes children and young people feel unsafe.

Challenge unacceptable behaviour and report/record all instances through the appropriate channels using your organisational processes.

Do not make inappropriate promises to children and young people, particularly in relation to confidentiality. If a child discloses something of concern, you must report and record following organisational processes.

Ensure that whenever possible, there is more than one adult present during activities with children and young people or if this isn’t possible, that you are within sight or hearing of other adults. Safeguard yourself from allegations.

Never exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues.

Factors that could influence a child’s behaviour Behaviour is everything that we do. Much of the time our behaviour is normal and conforms to social norms or certain rules. Our behaviour can be reactive to the environment we are in or other stimuli. For example, as adults, we change our behaviour depending on the people we are with or the location we are in. We act and behave differently at home with our family than how we act at work in front of our manager and colleagues. We can mostly regulate our behaviour depending on the circumstances. There are times when our behaviour can be changed due to factors such as tiredness, hunger, or having received some bad news.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Behaviour An important thing to remember in terms of behaviour is that it is very rare the child is simply ‘bad’. There is always a reason for their behaviour. If a behaviour is being demonstrated by a child and is out of the ordinary then have a discussion with your Dedicated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for advice as it could mean there is something going on in that child’s life.

Children are also impacted by a range of factors, and this can influence the behaviour that they may exhibit when they are in your session. Difficult behaviours can come from feeling insecure and having a low self-esteem. This may be due to own insecurities and negative past experiences in their sporting activities. When supporting children, helping them to build their confidence through praise and carefully planned and structured activities will support the children to grow and develop in their securities and self-esteem. However, insecurities and low self-esteem can stem from other issues such as neglect, abuse at home, or specific factors such as: •

Family relationships/changes to family circumstances such as a divorce or family bereavement.

•

Abuse: children suffering abuse may either lash out or withdraw. It is important to note however, that children suffering abuse may not demonstrate any obvious behaviour challenges at all and you must always be vigilant for signs of abuse.

•

Transitions and life events such as moving home or changing school. Even being new to the setting you are working in.

•

Hunger: this may be a one off, eg, if they did not like the lunch provided by school. Children, young people (and adults) can suffer low blood sugar, tiredness, and dehydration when they have not eaten and are will be hungry and/or thirsty. This can impact their mood and their ability to participate in the activities they are set. If a child is regularly hungry, this can indicate a safeguarding concern and a sign of abuse. This needs to be recorded and reported via the appropriate channels within your organisation.

•

Lack of sleep: where a child or young person is tired, they may not wish to participate in activities as their body will need to rest. Lack of sleep can also impact negatively on their mood and behaviour. This can be a one off or due to the arrival of a new baby in the family for example. However, if a child is regularly tired then this can indicate a safeguarding concern and a sign of abuse. This needs to be recorded and reported via the appropriate channels within your organisation.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

The difference between poor working practices and abuse Earlier in the section we identified poor practices in relation to how we behave towards and with children and young people.

Abuse and poor practice can be closely linked. Poor practice can become abuse if practice is not changed or where it does not improve. It becomes abuse where poor practice is intentional and regular.

Abuse occurs when harm is caused to an individual and this is intentional. Abuse can be a single incident, or it can occur over time or via an ongoing situation. It is anything that impacts the child or young person’s wellbeing and welfare. Abusive practice can be instilled in an organisation through lack of training or the organisational culture. As an individual, it is important to be vigilant against such organisational practices and strive for change, reporting via whistleblowing procedures where necessary.

Poor practice is when a staff member fails to follow procedures appropriately which could lead to a child or young person’s welfare becoming at risk. Poor practice can be unintentional and can be changed with effective training and development.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Knowledge Check 1. What is the difference between the terms ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Child Protection’?

2. State 4 examples of poor behaviour by a staff member to a child or young person. a)

b)

c)

d)

3. Outline the difference between abuse and poor practice.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Section 2: Understanding the different indicators of abuse In this section you will learn: •

What the different types of abuse are.

•

How to recognise the signs and indicators of abuse.

Section introduction Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) defines abuse as: “Form of maltreatment of a child.

Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them, or more rarely, by others. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children”.

The NSPCC explains that children and young people find it very difficult to talk about or disclose abuse. It is important that the adult is aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse so they can act on behalf of the child.

Cyber bullying With such widespread use of social media and mobile phones amongst children and young people, there is so much more ‘hidden’ bullying that can happen outside of the school or activity day. This bullying can be relentless to the child or young person being targeted and not all adults will understand or be able to access where it could be taking place. As practitioners we must be vigilant to the signs of cyber bullying.

The types of abuse that may be faced by a child or young person and the signs and indicators of the abuse There are 4 types of abuse: physical, emotional, sexual, neglect. In addition, there is also bullying which is becoming more recognised as a type of abuse in its own right. The table below explains each of these, but also identifies the signs and indicators that you should be aware of and look out for in a child or young person.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Possible indicators

Type of abuse

Explanation • • • •

Physical abuse

Physical abuse, or nonaccidental injury, involve deliberate harm of the child or young person.

Children can often have bruises due to physical activity and in most cases certain marks or injuries can be explained. However, bite marks, marks that look like shapes of objects such as hands, belt marks and ligatures should always raise your suspicion.

Another form of physical abuse is fabrication of illness by a parent or guardian of a child. This may lead to medication being taken by a child unnecessarily. Additionally, a parent may purposefully induce an illness on a child or symptoms of an illness on a child.

Emotional abuse

It is important to remember that children and young people will have a range of emotional needs and periods of distress and stress as they grow up.

Abuse is the continuous emotional mistreatment of a child which leads to damage in a child’s emotional development, esteem, and confidence.

Emotional abuse can take the form of ridicule, mocking, verbal abuse or continuous insults.

Emotional abuse happens when the expectation of the child by an adult is unsuitable for that child’s age and ability but is pushed upon the child. It happens when the child is prevented from engaging in normal social interaction with others and controlling behaviours.

Additionally, emotional abuse is when a child is not protected from witnessing the mistreatment of others. For example, in a domestic violence situation.

• Attention seeking behaviours • Low self-esteem and confidence • Tantrums that are not usual for the child’s age • Lying • Stealing • Withdrawn from play and activities.

Sexual abuse is encouraging a child to engage in, engaging in with a child, or watching a child engage in any sexual activity for the adult’s own sexual gratification.

This includes sexual intercourse, sexual touching, pornography and encouraging children to engage in self-touching of sexual areas for the adult to watch or touching the child inappropriately. It also involves asking children to view inappropriate images or videos.

• Bruises or scratches like those of physical abuse • Itching or pain in genital area • Discharge • Toileting accidents • Poor self-esteem and lack of confidence • Regression • Withdrawn and solitary behaviour.

Neglect is when the child or young person’s carer continues to not meet the child or young person’s basic physiological and psychological needs. It can lead to a child’s development and

• When a child is underweight • Wearing unwashed clothes • Poor skin tone

Sexual abuse

Neglect

• • • •

Unusual bruising Bite marks Cuts Cigarette burns, scalding water or objects such as irons Fractures Aggressive behaviour Fear of a certain adult Withdrawn.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Bullying

wellbeing becoming severely impaired. This may include not providing sufficient nutrition, hydration, warmth and heat, clothing.

Neglect can also occur to an unborn baby if during pregnancy a mother abuses drugs or alcohol when pregnant, when medical care is not sought when a child is ill or leaving a child alone without adequate care.

• Unwashed and unbrushed hair • Being tired, hungry and lacking energy • Parents who are unresponsive to feedback or questions about their child or who are drunk or appear to be on drugs when they drop off or pick up children.

Children may bully others because they feel inadequate in themselves. It is important to be vigilant against name-calling, instances of hitting, pushing or biting, as this can intensify into a campaign of bullying.

There is also cyberbullying, which is more and more common when children and young people have mobile phones and join social media sites.

• Not wanting to attend the sessions • Changes in behaviour, sleeping and eating patterns • Feels unwell each morning • Bruising, biting and scratches • Missing or damaged belongings • Excluded from groups or activities.

Fabricated illness This is a type of abuse where a parent or carer may falsify an illness of their child to seek medical help and attention. Fabricated illness is a type of physical abuse where a child may be given drugs to treat an illness that does not exist. In more serious cases, a child may be given drugs that make them have symptoms of sickness or illness.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Knowledge Check 1. List the 5 types of abuse (including bullying), and the signs to look out for:

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Section 3: Understand how to respond to reports or suspicion of child abuse In this section you will learn: •

What to do when concerned that a child or young person may be being abused.

•

How to appropriately react and respond to a child should they make a disclosure.

•

About the statutory agencies responsible for safeguarding and protecting children and young people.

Section introduction Now that you have learned what the different types of abuse are and what to look out for, it is important to know and understand how to follow your organisational policies and procedures that are required to be in place within a setting.

You also need to understand how to react and respond when a child or young person makes a disclosure to you, following your workplace procedures and maintaining appropriate boundaries.

Finally, in this section you will explore a range of statutory agencies that are involved in the safeguarding and protection of young children such as Ofsted and the NSPCC and their duties and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection.

Safeguarding Processes and Procedures All settings will have their own safeguarding processes and procedures and you need to be extremely familiar with these so you know how to report and who to go to when you have a concern.

What to do when concerned that a child or young person may be being abused Before you begin your role in a setting or organisation, you must be aware of the safeguarding processes you need to follow in your setting. This also includes being knowledgeable of the reporting procedures and the designated safeguarding lead and officers in your place of work. These are the people who will be responsible for following up and investigating your concerns.

If you have a concern about a child or young person or if a disclosure of abuse is made, you should follow the best practices outlined below, and in accordance with your own organisational procedures: 1. Write down what you have witnessed or what is disclosed to you as accurately as possible.

You should record exactly what the child or young person has said anything you notice such as signs of injury, the child appearing upset, stressed, angry or even ashamed while they are talking A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

to you. You should also summarise any ongoing concerns that you have and be as accurate as you can in your notes.

Discuss your concerns. As a matter of urgency, you should approach the named member of staff for safeguarding even if they are busy at that time. Your organisation will have a lead Safeguarding Officer (SO) and a range of additional safeguarding officers so that somebody is always available on site for you to talk to. Numbers of additional SOs are dependent upon the size of the organisation.

Report the indicators. Make sure that you report anything that has led you to suspecting abuse or neglect against a child or young person straight to the designated safeguarding officer. If in doubt, your line manager can help you follow the correct procedures and you should let them know that you are reporting something.

Continue to keep written observations. As soon as you have made a suspicion around abuse you should continue to record anything that has made you feel suspicious. This needs to be written in case it is used later in court or child protection proceedings.

If your concern is not being followed up. If you have raised a concern and you think that the action taken is not adequate you can meet the named safeguarding officer again. If it continues in this way you do have a right to follow the organisations whistleblowing procedure to report this further as necessary. Always ensure that you uphold the principle that the child’s welfare and safety come first.

What if you are a student? If you are a student, then discuss your concerns in confidence with your tutor. Any worried adult is also entitled to contact children’s social care or the NSPCC directly. If you have reason to believe your concern has not been acted on you should do this.

After reporting a concern, one of the following may happen: • • • • •

No action. This may happen if that is a reasonable explanation for the concern of the injury or behaviour.

Advice given. This may happen if a child is coming to the setting in inadequate clothing for the weather and advice is given on appropriate clothing going forwards.

Support offered. This could be a response if a parent or guardian agrees that they need support.

This could be offered via a range of ways eg, parenting group or psychologist.

Referral to family support. Projects at local children centres for example Disabled Children’s teams’ services or the Domestic Violence Project. This is on a voluntary basis.

Referral to social care. If the designated safeguarding officer believes that the child is at risk of significant harm, there will be a referral made to children’s social care who will pick up the concern.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Safeguarding Processes and Procedures Recognise: Use your knowledge of the signs and indicators of abuse to recognise when a child is at risk of harm.

Record: Write down what happened, what you saw and what was said.

Report: Follow procedures to report to the appropriate person and immediately where a child is at risk of being in danger.

Refer: The DSL may refer using guidance, to the appropriate services.

How to appropriately react and respond to a child should they make a disclosure When you are aware of the process to report an accusation or suspicion of abuse, you need to be sure of your own boundaries to work within. This includes issues in relation to confidentiality, allegations made against staff, and whistleblowing.

In general, you must keep sensitive information confidential. Information regarding a child protection issue should only be shared with people on what is called a need-to-know basis. Therefore, you should only share information about the child and the issue with the named safeguarding officer and those working on the investigation around that disclosure. Names and identities should never be disclosed outside the designated need-to-know group. Gossip and hearsay must always be avoided. Information that freely circulates can leave the parents feeling vulnerable and they may stop sharing any information that could be relevant to the investigation. As discussed earlier, there may be no action as a result of concerns raised or support may be offered rather than being reported to social care. Not all allegations imply that abuse has occurred.

Where appropriate, you should seek consent before sharing any information. You should never disclose any information unless the child’s welfare is at stake. You should also never take that information outside of the organisation. For example, you would not tell your own friends and family about a child protection conference you have attended or anything about the investigation at hand. Importantly, you must always put the child’s interests first if sharing information. You should never promise a child that you will not share certain information. For younger children, explain you’re going to speak to someone A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

who will be able to help. For older children, explain you’ll need to report the abuse to someone who can help.

You must make it clear that you will pass on the required information to the appropriate person that is responsible for keeping that child safe ie, the designated safeguarding lead.

Sometimes there may be instances where a child or young person is abused by a member of staff within an organisation. Examples include the case of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 who were murdered by their school’s caretaker. Another example is when Vanessa George, a nursery nurse, distributed inappropriate images of children from her own nursery setting in 2009. Despite DBS checks and safe recruitment practices, it is important to be vigilant where any suspicions arise about a member of staff, even if you feel you know them well and that they are your friend. To safeguard yourself from allegations, make sure you are never alone with a child or young person and always ask permission when supporting a child with any aspect of their care.

The following may be signs that a staff member is behaving inappropriately towards children or young people: • • • •

A child seems fearful of a particular member of staff.

A member of staff seems to try to develop a close relationship with a child or young person.

A member of staff is offering presents or treats to a child or young person or is arranging to meet the child young person outside of the setting.

A parent or guardian expresses a general concern about how a member of staff relates to the child but is unable to say exactly what it is that is wrong.

If you notice something like this, you will need to talk to your designated safeguarding officer as you would with any other suspicion or allegation of abuse. As you work as a staff team this may be awkward but (as discussed earlier) the interests of the child must come first.

Whistleblowing is a process where you directly report your organisation to relevant authorities when you feel that the organisation is demonstrating poor practice in safeguarding children and young people or where they have not followed through with their own procedures and processes after you have made a report in relation to the protection of a child in your care.

If a member of staff in your organisation has spoken to either the manager, the designated safeguarding lead or another appropriate person, making it clear that there is a dangerous or illegal situation but no action has been taken, then it is necessary to blow the whistle and report the concerns directly to an external organisation or body such as the local children’s services, Ofsted or the NSPCC.

Serious Case Reviews Serious case reviews (SCRs) are conducted when serious harm or death occurs to a child. They look at how and why the unfortunate outcome occurred and consider how things can go differently ie, what changes should be made. Some well-documented SCRs are Little Teds, Baby P, Daniel Pelka and Victoria Climbie. You can view SCRs on the NSPCC website.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Statutory agencies responsible for safeguarding and protecting children and young people Government legislation sets out a framework of safeguarding and protection of children and young people. There are a range of organisations and agencies that have responsibilities and duties in terms of implementing safeguarding and child protection. The table below identifies some of these and the key responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection.

Organisation or agency

Responsibilities in relation to safeguarding Ofsted will work to ensure that all providers have the policies and procedures in place to deal with safeguarding effectively. They play their part in tackling institutions where they believe that young people are at risk of radicalisation and extremism as well as other forms of child abuse and neglect.

Ofsted

Local authority (Social Workers)

The Section 47 duty under the Children Act 1989 requires the local authority to complete an enquiry where it 'has reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives (or is found in their area) is suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm'. The local authority has the rights to limit or remove parental responsibility if they believe this is in the best interests of a child or young person.

Social workers will work with children and families to offer the best support and guidance as necessary to each situation.

Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU)

The CPSU provides advice and support around safeguarding children. They can provide guidance in developing policies and procedures as well as codes of conduct for the setting.

The NSPCC is a charity organisation and is funded entirely on donations from members of the public and donations from other quarters. The NSPCC is not affiliated to any government body and receives no funding from the government.

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

They operate a public policy and spends a great deal of time lobbying members of parliament in order to bring about change in laws relating to how children are cared for and protected by the law in the UK. The NSPCC also provides help to thousands of families across the UK every year. It operates telephone lines (such as Child Line) which allow the victims of abuse to speak to someone in confidence about the nature of their problem as well as help with matters relating to domestic violence.

Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (Now known as Safeguarding Partners)

Safeguarding partners are in charge of agreeing on and implementing new safeguarding strategies that will strengthen their multiagency working and in turn, improve the provision of safeguarding and child protection arrangements in the local area.

They have replaced the Local Children Safeguarding Board, but you may still hear of this terminology being referred to.

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Police

Police officers have considerable powers to arrest and detain suspects, investigate crimes, seek court orders, restrict an offender’s activities, move a child to a place of safety and issue notices to offenders warning them to cease contact with children whom the police have identified as potential victims.

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Knowledge Check 1. Describe how you would maintain confidentiality when reporting a safeguarding concern.

2. Explain what you would do if you were concerned that a member of staff or a colleague was a risk to the welfare of a child or young person in your setting.

3. Identify the roles and responsibilities in terms of safeguarding of 3 external agencies. a)

b)

c)

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Section 4: Understand the key principles of safeguarding and protecting children and young people In this section you will learn: •

Key government legislation in relation to safeguarding and protecting children and young people.

•

What constitutes good working practices for safeguarding.

•

What is meant by appropriate and inappropriate behaviour with children and young people.

•

The scope of own role and that of others in safeguarding and protecting children and young people.

Section introduction In this section you will explore the key legislation that is in place in relation to safeguarding and child protection. These inform the policies, procedures and processes that will be in place within your own organisation.

You will also revisit the best practice in terms of your own role in safeguarding, such as reflection, understanding boundaries and being aware of policy and procedural updates where required. A little more will be discussed about appropriate behaviour and how you should behave towards children and young people in your workplace. Finally, you will consider what your role is in safeguarding and child protection.

Key government legislation in relation to safeguarding and protecting children and young people There are a range of policies and procedures that any organisation that works with children and young people will need to have in place. These policies and procedures must meet a range of legislative requirements, as the following table outlines.

Legislation

UN convention on the rights of the child

Description The United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). It is the agreement between all the governments in the world that defines the rights of children under 18 years old, the rights that children need to live a full life. At the heart of this convention is the idea that children are equal to and as important as adults and what they think, say and feel is as important too.

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The convention says that children should never be hurt in any way and there is a long list of human rights, such as ‘Every child has the right to life. Governments must do all they can to ensure that children survive and develop to their full potential’. In short, the list says all children should have houses to live in, someone to care for them, places to play and schools to learn. This is so they can develop their personalities, abilities, and talents to their own potential.

It also says children should be looked after, especially when they get sick and the most important thing is that they need to be safe and happy. It is our government’s job to make sure the convention shapes how children are being treated and every adult who works with children needs to know the human rights that children are entitled to.

The Children Act 1989

The Children Act 1989 is still relevant today because it gave every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation. It makes it law for the right to inquiries when there is a suspicion that a child might be harmed. It also redefined the concept of parental responsibility, where the focus is on the parent’s duties to their child rather than the parent’s rights over their child.

In 2000 in London an 8-year-old girl, Victoria Climbié, was tortured and murdered by her guardians. Her case was one shocking example from a list of children terribly abused and mistreated. Her death led to a public inquiry and produced major changes in child protection policies in the United Kingdom.

Every Child Matters 2003 & Children Act (2004)

The Children Act 2004 made legal the recommendations from the report on Victoria’s death summed up in the ‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM) policy. It was designed to deal with poor coordination between agencies, information not being shared, the absence of a strong sense of accountability, frontline workers stretched too thin, poor management and no training.

The ECM promotes multiagency working and sharing of information across agencies to better protect children from harm.

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)

This sets out what the above different professionals can expect from each other. Most importantly the guidance puts the needs of children and young people at its heart so that the system fits and responds to them and not the other way around.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the Serious Crime Act (2015)

The Serious Crime Act (2015) introduced a duty on all teachers and registered health and social care professionals to notify the police of any known cases where FGM has taken place on a child, ie, anyone under the age of 18. If you fall into one of these categories it is therefore your duty to

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report it directly to the police, as well as notifying your designated safeguarding lead. The duty does not apply where there are concerns that a child may be at risk of FGM. With regards to the “observing of physical signs”, the guidance notes that it will be rare for professionals to see visual evidence and they should not be examining children.

Prevent Strategy (updated 2021), as a part of the UK Government Counter-terrorism Act (2015)

The prevent strategy, published by the Government in 2011, is part of our overall counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. The aim of the prevent strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In the act, this has simply been expressed as the need to “prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.

The prevent strategy requires those working with children and young people who spot any signs of radicalised behaviour to report these through their organisation’s safeguarding channels.

What constitutes good working practices for the safeguarding and protection of children and young people?

You have already learned about the key policies and processes of safeguarding and ensuring you are aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse. You have explored your wider responsibilities such as confidentiality, whistleblowing and raising concerns about colleagues where necessary.

To aid your good practice in safeguarding you need to ensure that you are constantly working as a reflective practitioner. This can happen naturally, each day after you have completed your shift. It can also happen continuously throughout the day after each activity you have planned. You may wish to formally reflect upon your practice by keeping a journal of events and how you have dealt with them.

Did you feel you dealt with them effectively? Did you feel that you had the appropriate support to deal with these events effectively and you knew what the procedures were at that time? Along with this, you can identify any training and developmental needs that you may require in terms of safeguarding practice and other elements of your own role when working with children and young people. Reflective practice is extremely important so that you can identify any areas that you feel you need to develop. It is particularly important in terms of safeguarding and child protection so that you are constantly up to date and aware of what you need to do and how you need to handle each situation.

You will need to revisit safeguarding as part of your own training development at least annually or as updates are brought in. There are often changes to legislative documents such as Keeping Children Safe in Education. This document was changed in 2019 to include issues around ‘up skirting’ and ‘county lines’. It was also changed in 2020 to include information around safeguarding in relation to COVID-19 and again in 2021 where information about sexual exploitation amongst peers in schools and colleges was added.

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Updates to legislation Legislation and statutory guidance are updated regularly. Although your employer will provide training, it is up to you to ensure that you are up to date. Training is mandatory every 3 years, but you should update yourself more regularly than that.

Part of your good practice in safeguarding and child protection is being aware of your boundaries as a practitioner. You must follow your internal policies and procedures (as discussed earlier) and report to the appropriate designated safeguarding lead and offices within your own organisation. Do not take it upon yourself to approach other organisations or directly go to the parents/guardians without permission and support of the safeguarding team within your own organisation. On the other hand, you should be aware of your own organisations whistleblowing policy and how this protects you and the welfare of the children where are you have a continued concern that you feel is not being addressed appropriately.

What is meant by appropriate and inappropriate behaviour with children and young people?

You have covered this in section 1. Using the table in section 1 you can identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviour towards the children and young people in your care. In summary, you should ensure that you respect appropriate boundaries when working with children and young people. This includes avoiding favouritism and ensuring that you always work within appropriate boundaries of any relationships with those children and young people. Sometimes you will have personal family relationships with children and young people outside of the organisation. It is your responsibility to ensure that you disclose any such relationships to your seniors and that there is no impact upon your role and that it does not negatively impact the child being in your care or impact the other children in any way.

You should ensure that you use effective and appropriate behaviour management strategies with the children who you are working with. As we discussed in section 1, children and young people will exhibit a range of behaviours based on various factors and feelings. You also need to be vigilant against any bullying that is happening to children and young people. Your organisation will have a behaviour A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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management policy and there will be appropriate strategies within it that you must follow depending on the types of behaviour that you observe when you are working with the children and young people. If you are working in a school setting or with various schools on different days running their physical education programmes, you must ensure that you make yourself aware of what each settings behaviour management policy is and how to report any incidents while you are on their site.

It is incredibly important that you show respect to children and young people at all times. This will also enable them to see how to show respect to other children and young people. This must be regardless of any gender identity that the child or young person shows, their cultural requirements, their additional needs and any other aspects about themselves.

As a practitioner working with children and young people, you must ensure that you always stay within the boundaries of the policies and procedures set to you by your organisation. By following these policies and procedures you make sure that you are always staying within the law. The policies and procedures are there not just to protect the children and young people but also to protect you and the other staff members within your organisation.

When working with children and young people, you must always have a positive attitude and aim to build positive relationships. As we discussed in section 1, there are aspects of life and factors in life that will determine how we may feel on a day-to-day basis. It is understandable that sometimes we may feel irritable, tired, or hungry and this can affect our mood in our job role. However, when working with children and young people, we are setting those expectations for the children and young people to follow and mirror. As practitioners it is important that we can separate our personal and professional lives.

The scope of own role and that of others in safeguarding and protecting children and young people It is important that you are aware of how to keep children safe from abuse. Every organisation that you work with will have a child protection and safeguarding policy. You will need to find out whether you need to wear a badge, how to sign in and in what situations you may work with children. It is normal for organisations to insist that you should never be alone when working with children and you should be aware that this is important for your own protection from allegations too. As you build relationships with children and young people you may find that you feel it appropriate to hug a child in distress.

Again, you should check the organisations approach and policy to this. In any case, while this might be appropriate with younger children, it is unlikely to be encouraged with older children.

Sometimes a child or young person may tell you something that will raise a concern. It is important that you find out at the start of your job role or placement what you should do and who you should go to if this does happen.

Working with others A large part of safeguarding is being able to work with others and communicate effectively.

When researching serious case reviews, a lot of the issues in terms of practitioner handling of cases was due to poor communication between the teams. Your setting will have a process for recording and reporting information and no matter how small that information may seem at the time, it can build a picture of something that is happening to that child.

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In your role you will find out quite a lot of personal information. Some of this information will be confidential and must not be shared with anybody outside of the workplace. You must not go and tell people in your family or any of your friends even if you think it is common knowledge because this impacts your position of trust within the organisation.

An important skill that you will learn is remaining professional whilst also being friendly. Remember you can be friendly, but you are not friends. You need to build professional relationships with colleagues as well as the children, young people and family members. You will also have the opportunity to work with other professionals external from your own organisation. It is important to keep relationships at a reasonable distance as it will support you if you do need to raise any safeguarding concerns.

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Knowledge Check 1. State the key points of 3 different legislation in relation to safeguarding and child protection. a)

b)

c)

2. Summarise good working practice in terms of safeguarding within your own role.

3. Describe the boundaries that you must adhere to within your own role.

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A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2)

Section 5: Be able to recognise and respond to potential indicators of child abuse and poor practice In this section you will learn: • How to identify different indicators of child abuse and poor practice.

• Where to identify suitable sources of advice and support in response to suspicion of child abuse or poor practice.

• How to follow the correct procedure(s) regarding safeguarding or child protection concern(s).

• How to demonstrate good practice and appropriate behaviour with children and young people.

Section introduction In sections 1 through to 4 of this unit, you have gained the knowledge required to identify the different indicators of child abuse and poor practice and you have considered a range of policies and procedures that you should follow in terms of your own job role. You have also considered how to demonstrate good practice and appropriate behaviour when you work with children and young people. As part of your learning programme, you will need to be able to demonstrate all of the above in practice. This section helps you to gather the key knowledge and requirements to prepare for the practically assessed element for this unit.

Identify different indicators of child abuse and poor practice Earlier in this document you learnt about the different signs and indicators of a range of types of abuse that children and young people may face. Read the case study below and complete the activity on the next page.

Case study - James James is a 12-year-old boy. He has been attending your after-school club at his own school since September. Sometimes, there are gaps of up to 4 weeks between when James attends the afterschool club sessions and when he does not. Another child called Katie says that when James is not attending the after-school club he has also not been attending during the school day.

When James does attend, he is usually happy and engaged in the football games and other sports activities that you have planned. However, after a long gap, James does appear to be less engaged in the sporting activities than he usually would be. This generally only lasts for the first session of his return from a long gap.

In a particular session that James joined you noticed some bruises on his legs when one of his football socks has slipped down. These bruises are on the backs of his legs and not on his shins. You asked James if he has hurt himself during the game as you are concerned that he may need some A Basic Understanding of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Young People (Category 2) Manual | Version 1 | © YMCA Awards 2021

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help. He said he did not need help and did not remember how he got the bruises and he didn’t tell you any more information.

Activity In this case study of James, what type of abuse do you think he may be experiencing, if any, and what would you do next? Remember to consider your setting policies and procedures and also remain within the boundaries of your own role in terms of this particular job that you have been given within this case study. You can use the space below to make notes.

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Poor practice Remember, poor practice is not necessarily purposeful abuse but left unchallenged and unchanged it becomes abuse. Be confident in your own practice to be able to challenge others so that children are always safe and secure in the setting.

Identify suitable sources for advice and support in response to suspicions of child abuse or poor practice There are a range of places to go for further advice and support when you have concerns regarding safeguarding and child protection. While first and foremost you should follow your own organisations policies and procedures and work closely with your supervisors, you may wish to develop your own understanding and develop an awareness of the wider responsibilities and processes by researching some of the key sources of advice and support.

These sources include: •

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU)

•

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)

•

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)

•

Local Authority Safeguarding team.

Activity Visit the website of any two of the above sources (or another if you can think of on your own) and write down three key points about the wider topic of safeguarding that you have learned about.

Follow the correct procedure(s) regarding safeguarding or child protection concern(s) We have mentioned several times throughout the course of this unit about the importance of understanding your own settings policies and procedures in terms of safeguarding and child protection.

What you now need to be able to do is source these appropriate policies and procedures and recognise their requirements and who you need to go to for what reason and why? Remember the 4 Rs of Safeguarding: 1. Recognise: Use your knowledge of the signs and indicators of abuse to recognise when a child is at risk of harm.

2. Record: Write down what happened, what you saw and what was said.

3. Report: Follow procedures to report to the appropriate person and immediately where a child is at risk of being in danger.

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4. Refer: The DSL may refer using the appropriate guidance to the appropriate services.

Do your organisational policies and procedures follow this structure? Can you see the 4 Rs in practice via your policies and procedures?

Activity Now that you have seen your policies and procedures, can you create a flowchart of what you would do in relation to James’s case study or a similar case study that you may know about for your own organisation. You need to include who you would go to in your own organisation and demonstrate that you understand your own organisation’s recording process too.

Demonstrate good practice and appropriate behaviour with children and young people Earlier in this manual you learnt about the importance of developing appropriate and respectful relationships with the children and young people who you work with. You will need to be able to demonstrate this in your practice when working with the children and young people in your care. Below you will find a case study of a situation where the staff member and the young person know one another. Consider how you would approach this situation.

Case Study - Aneila Aneila is a 15-year-old girl who attends your summer holiday sports camp. You know Aneila’s family outside of work. Aneila has made it very clear to the other children in the summer camp that she knows you and has started to try to put this to her own advantage. She has developed a much more casual relationship with you than the other staff members on the summer camp. She attempts to ask to do things that other staff members would not allow. She also says to her friends that you will allow her to get away with things so they should all go and ask for things from you first.

One day on the camp, Aneila and her friends, say they that they have forgotten their lunch. They come to you to ask to leave the site so that they can go to the chip shop and purchase some food. It is against the policy on the summer camp to allow the children and young people to leave the site.

However, Aneila and her friends cannot be left to go hungry.

What do you think you would do if you were the staff member in the above situation? Should you report anything to anybody? Should you allow Aneila and her friends to go to the chip shop offsite. After all you know her and you feel that she would be responsible enough to do so. How would you manage her behaviour and how she shows respect in front of the others in the summer camp?

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Activity In relation to Aneila’s case study, how would you effectively manage the behaviour issues exhibited while also maintaining boundaries and working to set policies and procedures? You can use the space below to make notes.

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Points to discuss Check your learning by completing the table below. If you identify any areas that you don’t have a good understanding of you can revisit the relevant section or speak to your tutor for support.

You understand…

The terms child protection and safeguarding.

Appropriate and inappropriate behaviour when working with children and young people.

Factors that might influence a child’s behaviour.

The difference between poor working practice and abuse.

The types and indicators of abuse.

What to do if you suspect abuse is happening.

The roles of different agencies who may be involved in safeguarding.

The legislation that is in place in relation to safeguarding.

Your roles and responsibilities as a practitioner.

The processes and procedures within your own setting.

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Witness testimony To gain this qualification you are required to provide evidence to confirm that you have been observed demonstrating good practice and appropriate behaviour with children and young people.

Gaining valuable feedback from a supervisor or manager about your session planning and delivery should support the sharing of good practice, identify any gaps in training or areas of development and help ensure you are working within the organisations scope of policies and procedures related to safeguarding and child protection.

If this unit is being taken as part of a working with children qualification this will be completed by the tutor/assessor as part of a practical observation. Alternatively, it could be completed by a coach/manager from a club that you work or volunteer at outside of your course.

If a supervisor or manager observes a session you deliver, you can ask them to provide feedback against the points below (notes should be taken by them or yourself to support your reflective practice and continued development).

1. Set up a safe environment for the children or young people: health & safety and safeguarding factors considered:

2. Planned activities in line with best practice according to their age and stage of development:

3. Supported all participants to take part safely and effectively in the sport or physical activity:

4. Establish and maintained an effective working relationship, including behaviour management with all children and/or young people:

5. Adhered to appropriate procedures, and professional standards throughout the session:

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Observers name: .............................................. Signature: ................................................................

Position in the organisation: ............................................................................................................

Date: ....../....../......

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Notes

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Create your own glossary Throughout this manual you will come across words and terms that you may have never heard before.

As you read the manual, pick the key terms that you want to remember and record them here with their definition.

Term

Definition

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Further Reading Keeping Children Safe in Education: tinyurl.com/p5dx2wxc.

Ofsted and Safeguarding: tinyurl.com/dcvk7wj3.

Roles and Responsibilities of Safeguarding Partners: tinyurl.com/art25h4w.

The role of the Police in safeguarding: tinyurl.com/ysdjbste.

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