Safeguarding Flashcards
Contextual safeguarding
it considers the risks for children’s safety outside of their family environment, for example the risk of violence and abuse that can occur in their neighbourhood, at school (peers), or with online interactions. the child protection system identifies risks, assess and intervenes. Required working in partnership (peers, teachers, drivers, local workers eg. Rubbish, retail).
Examples of contextual safeguarding threats: Exploitation by criminal gangs, Organised crime groups/county lines, Trafficking, Online abuse, Sexual exploitation, Influences of extremism leading to radicalisation, Honour based abuse.
Monitoring and filtering
For internet safety.
Filtering: web filtering, it’s about the internet. Is a page allowed or not? Is it appropriate? Yes or no
Monitoring: tells you the story of what the user has been doing; ex. Screenshots, before and afters.
Settings generally only have a filtering system, some also have a monitoring system
Keeping children safe in Education 23
Is made of 5 parts:
Part 1: Safeguarding for all staff. Info should be available to all staff about
part 2: Management of safeguarding. This part reviews safeguarding legislation, provides guidance on what needs to be included in a setting’s policies and procedures including online safety policy and child-on-child abuse, outlines the role and duties of a DSL; explain the need for staff training and gives guidance on vulnerable children, including children with SEND.
Part 3: safer recruitment. Tells us what the statutory requirements on safer recruitment
Part 4: allegations against staff, including the low- and high-level concerns threshold and how to deal with them, the LADO and LA and their role, duty of care, confidentiality and record keeping.
Part 5: child-on-child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, including the episodes occurred outside of the school and online, how to identify signs and respond.
Child safeguarding Practice Reviews
CSPRs have replaced SCRs (Serious Case Reviews).
When a child dies or is seriously harmed, CSPR can be carried out as a learning exercise, to avoid the occurrence repeating itself in the future. A rapid review must first be carried out within 15 days of the notification of the serious child safeguarding case to the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (established in 2018) independent from the Gov, made of representatives of the different agencies) can commission reviews of serious cases
Step 1: Serious accident notification to the panel (also shared with Ofsted and Gov DfE)
Step 2: Rapid review (to gather fact and identify immediate action or learning)
Step 3: Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR), if appropriate, for national learning
Wider concepts of abuse
Other than the main forms of abuse: Physical, Sexual, Neglect, FGM, Domestic, Emotional, Bullying/cyberbullying there are others.
Witchcraft: this type of abuse is linked to belief. Ex. Child possessed by evil forces. Home visit from social services and paying attention to parent’s language can help.
County Lines: the criminal activity involving importing or exporting lethal drugs in the UK by gangs or organised criminal networks. Key elements: exploitation, transportation, illicit finance, violence, drugs, criminality (eg. Theft)
Cuckooing: when professional criminals target the homes of vulnerable adults to be used for drug dealing and other criminal activity.
Difference between Safeguarding and child protection
Safeguarding= overall wellbeing of the child (every child = individual under 18)
Child protection= what we do to protect a child in need, the plans, strategies and services offered. It’s how we respond when we believe a child is at risk of harm
Responsibility of a DSL
- Create a culture of safeguarding
- Raising awareness on safeguarding and Child protection
- Responding to concerns
- Making referrals and understanding the referral process
- Working with other professionals and organisations
- Recording and keeping information
Culture of Safeguarding meaning
Culture of safeguarding means embedding safeguarding in everything we do promote understanding and integrating safeguarding in every interaction, conversation, policy, procedure and practice. Safeguarding and child protection issues should NOT be addressed reactively (when they arise). Essential elements for this are: vigilance, professional curiosity, safe environment and effective relationships, OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY.
Unconscious bias meaning
making judgements and assessments of people and situations without realising it (our decisions and actions are impacted by our background, societal stereotypes, experiences, media and culture). It’s important that this is acknowledged because it can affect our ability to fulfil our duty to safeguard and protect children effectively (by overlook potential indicators).
Adultification meaning
it’s a type of unconscious bias where children of certain groups (usually Black children or children from Asian and other minority communities) are perceived as more adults or grown up, so capable of looking after themselves, when in reality they might be at risk or in need of protection. This could result in concerns not being reported and lack of support.
Reasons why a child might not disclose info about maltreatment
- They might not realise it’s maltreatment, they may think it’s normal
- They hope the maltreatments will stop
- Feel guilt or blame for the maltreatment
- Are embarrassed or ashamed
- Worry they won’t be believed
- Are afraid of consequences (eg. They are being threatened)
- Are unable to disclose (eg. Too young or have communication difficulties)
- They love or think they love the abuser.
Reasons why adults might not take action
- Because they fail to appreciate that maltreatment can happen anywhere
- They worry about the reputation of the organisation
- Thinking someone else will pick up the concern (it’s somebody else’s responsibility)
- Worry they might have gotten it wrong or not wanting to make the situation worse
- Not wanting to appear discriminatory
- They don’t want to share neglect concerns knowing family economic pressures we are facing today
How does a DSL decide on the appropriate course of action?
- Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Threshold Documents (used by other agencies so they can all be on the same page
- Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Toolkits
- Levels of need should be assigned to a child or their family as part of a continuum of support.
Threshold document
Document that informs the actions to take for each level of need.
Universal services: (a child’s needs are relatively minor e.g. not reaching expected developmental milestones or missing days of school regularly = they can access services available to all children, like school, gp, etc.)
* Early help (or prevention): it requires a child to access help for a specific need that would not be met by universal services alone.
e.g. child recently bereaved, child cared by single parent who is struggling to meet their needs, parents misusing low-level substances, child’s needs seem not to be met
At this level, such assessment can only be done with parents/carer’ authorisation, unless the child is Gillick competent (=under 16 but able to make relevant decisions).
* Child in Need: child who is unlikely to meet and maintain adequate standards of learning and development without the provision of local services. Or a disable child. other ex.: child has chronic or recurring health problems and parents have failed to seek treatment, the child is in a family unit likely to break down,
There should be a record of previous interventions and support offered, and possibly highlight why they did not work. assessments an multi agency working at this level can only be done with parents authorisation, unless the child is Gillick competent.
* Child protection concerns: there is reason to suspect that a child is suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm because of abuse (including neglect) social services will decide if this threshold is met.
If a child protection concern is identified, then it’s essential that a referral is made to children’s social care.
Child protection assessments and multi-agency work do not require parental consent
Response to concerns from Children Social Care
They should respond to a referral within one working day of receiving it (maximum 45 days)
if children’s social care conclude that the threshold was not met, they should still give you advice on how to address your concerns, especially if you don’t agree with their decision.
If children’s social care thinks the referral needs action, they might:
* Refer the child or family to other agencies who might help
* Provide you and the family with info or advice
* Carry out an assessment to gather further information and assess the child’s needs.
* Organise a strategy discussion
* Take emergency actions, including considering moving the child away from the family (but only in the most extreme cases).
Assessing a family
They take into account
* Parenting capacity: are parents able to provide safety and basic care
* Child’s developmental needs
* Family and environmental factors: take into account employment, housing, income, community resources and the family’s history, functioning and social integration.
