Health & Safety Policy s1

Curious Kittens Nursery

Safeguarding Policy Every Child Matters, Everybody Matters.

Safeguarding children from child abuse is everybody’s business.

It puts the needs and safety of children at the heart of everything we do. At Curious Kittens we aim to safeguard our parents, being particularly alert to families that may be vulnerable/at risk, and working with our College safeguarding colleagues.

This Policy is written with reference to the updated Safeguarding guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015’, the Children Act 1989, and the Children Act 2004, The Children and Families Act 2014, and The Plymouth Assessment Framework for Safeguarding Children, Young People and Their Families inter-agencies Threshold Protocol 2015.

The health, safety and protection of all children and families in our care are of paramount importance to all staff at Curious Kittens. We understand; “All agencies (schools, healthcare & social care) are legally responsible for all children in their care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of the adult’s job role in the agency.” As such we have a variety of measures in place to ensure the safety of all children and those caring for them.

Early Years providers have a duty under section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006 to comply with the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, ensuring that all staff recognise the signs and symptoms of possible abuse, and that settings have lead practitioners who are trained in safeguarding and liaise with local statutory children’s service agencies as appropriate.

August 2017

Definitions

Safeguarding: a definition - Protecting children from maltreatment - Preventing impairment of children’s health or development - Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care - Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Child Protection: a definition - Part of safeguarding and promoting welfare - The activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering or likely to suffer from significant harm.

Multi-agency working is essential, and a legal requirement in line with Section 10 of the Children Act 2004, in order to effectively safeguard children. Safeguarding Officers regularly liaise with relevant agencies such as Children’s Social Care through the multi-agency hub, Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board, the Plymouth City Council CAF/TAM/EHAT Coordinator and Welfare Officers, and any other agencies of support or individuals who may be involved with the wellbeing of a child (and/or their family). Effective sharing of information between professionals and local agencies is essential for effective identification, assessment and service provision. Under the Children Act 1989 local authorities are required to provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting their welfare.

Child Abuse: a definition Child Abuse may be defined as consisting of “anything which individuals, institutions or processes do, or fail to do, which directly or indirectly harms children or damages their prospects of safe and healthy development into adulthood.” National Commission of Enquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Statistical evidence suggests that over one in nine children in the UK are experiencing abuse, or at risk of significant harm, at any one time. A report of child abuse happens every 10 seconds in the UK. Any child, of any age and from any background, can be a victim of abuse.

August 2017

Signs and Symptoms of Abuse.

There are various types of abuse, and many ways in which abuse can occur. The following list is not exhaustive and signs and symptoms of one type of abuse may also be found in the other types of abuse.

 Significant changes in a child’s behaviour  Cuts and bruises (explained and unexplained)  Comments made by the child  Deterioration in child’s wellbeing (i.e. when a child who previously has mastered the toilet starts to soil themselves)  Inappropriate behaviour or language  Unusual eating patterns (i.e. continually hungry)  Change in appearance  Signs of extreme tiredness  Unusual or extreme emotional reactions  Signs of negative attachment

Categories of Abuse

Safeguarding action may be needed to protect children and parents from neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, bullying including on line and prejudice based bullying, racist, disability and homophobic and transphobic abuse, gender based violence and mutilation, radicalisation or extremist behaviour, child sexual exploitation, sexting, teenage relationship abuse, substance misuse, gang/youth violence, domestic violence, forced marriage, fabricated/induced illness, poor parenting particularly in relation to babies and young children, and other vulnerabilities.

The main forms and some of the possible indicators of abuse are as follows:

Physical Abuse Actual or likely physical injury to a child, or a failure to prevent physical injury. This may include when a parent or carer feigns or causes the symptoms or ill health of a child. It can include hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, suffocating. August 2017

Typical features of non-accidental injuries that should raise concerns include: ear pinch marks, intra oral injuries, injuries to inner arms, chest and abdomen, black eyes, soft cheek tissue injuries, forearms (raised to protect), back and side of trunk, soles of feet, inner thighs, groin or genital injury.

Typical features of accidental injuries may include injuries to nose, chin, elbow, palm of hand, knee, shin, forehead and correspond with reported history, are age stage appropriate, and found on bony areas. Concerns should immediately be raised and logged where injuries form particular patterns and do not relate to reported explanations. **Note the triangle of safety – it is unusual for accidental injuries to be on ears, side of face, neck and top of shoulders

Signs which may suggest physical abuse include: - Any bruising to a baby – pre-walking stage - Multiple bruising to different parts of the body - Bruising of different colours indicating repeated injuries - Bruises in ‘difficult to explain’ or unexpected places - Fingertip marks or bite marks - Burns of any shape or size - An injury for which there is no adequate explanation - Any injuries appearing regularly after absence (eg weekends) - Flinching when approached/touched - wariness when children cry - regressive behaviour - mood swings - depression

Sexual Abuse Forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activity whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may involve non-contact activities such as as children looking at pornographic material or watching sexual activity or encouraging the child to act in a sexually inappropriate way.

Signs which may suggest sexual abuse include: - something a child has told you or someone else - a child who shows worrying sexualised behaviour in their play with other children - a child who seems to have inappropriate sexual knowledge for their age - physical pain/discomfort/irritation in genital area August 2017

- withdrawn or openly compliant behaviours - aggressive behaviour/language - compulsive masturbation - inappropriate modelling during play - recurring urine infections - unexplained abdominal pain - wetting or soiling

Emotional Abuse The persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on a child’s emotional development. It may include conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or values only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may involve making a child feel afraid or in danger, including severe or persistent bullying, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment.

Signs which may suggest emotional abuse include: - children who display behaviours such as sucking, biting, rocking - Children who show high levels of anxiety, unhappiness, or withdrawal, inability to play - Indiscriminate affection - Children who display aggressive behaviour - Language delay - Eating disorders - Overly aggressive or passive - Wetting/soiling - Family history of drug addiction, mental illness, alcoholism, domestic violence

Neglect The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It will include the failure by a parent or carer to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

Signs which may suggest neglect include: - children who appear persistently undersized or underweight - failure to thrive - children who continually appear tired or lacking in energy - children who suffer frequent injuries due to lack of supervision August 2017

- children who appear dirty or unkempt - language delay, developmental delay - extreme hunger - stealing or gorging food - poor attendance

Cyber Abuse When a child is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or targeted by another person using the internet, mobile phone, through interactive gaming or another type of digital technology.

Parents are advised not to let children have unsupervised access to any cyber technology – ALWAYS be aware of who your child may be talking to on-line including on sites targeted at young children, such as ‘Club Penguin’.

Disclosure

Disclosure occurs when a child tells you or lets you know in some other way that she or he has been or is being abused. Disclosure can be direct, indirect or a third party disclosure. When young children are suffering from physical, sexual or emotional abuse, this may be demonstrated through changes in their behaviour or play, and through demonstrating the symptoms of abuse as listed above. Most disclosure in infants and young children is likely to be non-verbal.

What to do if a child makes a disclosure ….

Do Stay calm Go slowly Keep responses short, simple, slow, quiet, gentle Reassure – they are safe with you and not in trouble Be supportive – you are glad they have told you Gather facts Make notes, use actual words used Record date, time, context, people present Save all drawings/artwork and the original information you note down

August 2017

Report immediately to the Safeguarding Officer or Manager

Do Not Ask leading questions Make assumptions Ask a child ‘why?’ Make promises Show concern or fear – be aware of non-verbal communication Make value judgements

What to do if you have concerns about a child …

- Speak to the Nursery Safeguarding Team or Nursery Management confidentially - Record concerns in writing if appropriate - It is better to raise a concern that is proven to be unfounded, than to have a concern and not act on it for fear of ‘getting it wrong’ - Remember, practitioners who are best placed to notice the disturbed behaviour of a child suffering abuse often fail to tell child protection services for fear of causing more harm than good - The child’s welfare is everyone’s responsibility - All organisations must work together – multi agency working - The rights of the carers must be considered and treated appropriately and sensitively

Safeguarding Procedures at Curious Kittens

At Curious Kittens we follow the guidelines given in the Department of Health’s publication “What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused”, “The Plymouth Assessment Framework for Safeguarding Children, Young People and their Families” 2015, and “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015.

When a concern is raised it is recorded in writing, and staff bring it to the attention of the Safeguarding Officers and Nursery Manager who will then decide on a course of action, following correct guidelines and protocols. August 2017

Safeguarding concerns are logged in the safeguarding diaries that are kept securely in each room and countersigned by safeguarding/management staff. They may also be logged in the Safeguarding action folder.

Action always includes

 Monitoring and recording the situation as appropriate with dates, times, and logged sequentially ie numbered each time a concern is recorded.  Keeping a careful watch and additional observation/support to the child and family concerned  Speaking to the parents/carers  Speaking to other agents of support and professionals involved with the child/family

 Contact the Plymouth POD online directory for families – general advice http://www.plymouthonlinedirectory.com/kb5/plymouth/pod/landing.page  Contact the Plymouth Gateway on 01752 668000 for referral/TAM advice http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/education/schools/educationsupport/chids/cit/com municationgeneralreferrals.htm

And may also include, depending on levels of concern

 Contacting Childrens’ Social Care Referral and Assessment to ask for advice or to make a referral  Making a referral to the police  Calling a Team Around Me (TAM) formerly called a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) meeting having established whether there is already a TAM in place or CSC involvement

If the decision is to monitor a situation nursery staff will observe the child and record any further incidents of concern, factually and with dates, times and signatures and bring these to the attention of the safeguarding officers/nursery managers – a decision is made at this time as to who will raise concerns with the parents – IF A CONCERN IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO LOG IT MUST BE FOLLOWED UP.

If it becomes apparent that a child is vulnerable (vulnerable meaning that there is a known lack of nutrition, shelter, love, warmth or education) and that the situation may become a child protection issue at a later date, a TAM meeting may be called to prevent this from occurring.

August 2017

In the case of a TAM being necessary, the initial paperwork will be filled out by the Safeguarding Officer, Nursery Management, the parent/s/carers and a member of staff with whom parent/s/carers are most comfortable. Nursery Management will do their utmost to ensure that all relevant agencies are invited to the meeting. On occasion, the lead in a TAM be led by a more relevant agency if necessary.

If the Safeguarding Officer and Nursery Management decide that the situation warrants a referral to Social Services, the nursery staff will wholeheartedly support and aid the child, their family and Social Services throughout.

Referral and Assessment may advise the nursery to work with the family to provide support, or they may take our information further to an accepted referral for assessment. If, after investigation/referral, a child is classed as “in need of a multi-agency child protection plan” or is classed as a “vulnerable child” in need of a Child in Need or Child Protection Plan, we will work together with any organisation or agency to help and support the family make any relevant changes in their lives.

In response to a referral the local authority make a decision in one day as to the course of action appropriate. Under the Children Act 1989 local authorities assess as Section 17 – Child in Need - a child is deemed to be unlikely to achieve or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development or their health and development is impaired without the provision of services. Section 47 – reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm to decide appropriate action to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare, including possible need for immediate protection while an assessment is carried out.

In the case of Single Assessment, Strategy and Core Group Meetings and Review Conference meetings the Safeguarding Officer will attend, along with nursery management or Room Leaders where appropriate, having completed any necessary reports and hand delivered them to Midland House in advance. In a ‘step down’ situation, nursery management and safeguarding teams will consider leading on a TAM to continue to support the child/family.

We continuously and carefully monitor the child’s progress on-going, by recording incidents of concern, monitoring attendance and by keeping in touch with relevant agencies. In the case of absenteeism we will ring the parent/carer on the same day, and where concerns are significant, we will contact Children’s Social Care.

Curious Kittens Nursery liaises closely with City College Plymouth Safeguarding officers where student families are at risk/involved.

If the Nursery Management and Safeguarding Officers believe a child/family is in immediate danger with potential for loss of life, social services and/or the police will immediately be contacted. All staff

August 2017

Curious Kittens Nursery are also aware that they have the right to contact social services or the police themselves at any time if they are sufficiently concerned.

It is the responsibility of the Safeguarding Officer to feedback information to relevant staff regarding vulnerable children. Confidentiality is a huge issue that we take very seriously. We share relevant information with Room Leaders and any other staff who regularly work with or come into contact with vulnerable children.

All records relating to children are kept securely, and in line with Data Protection legalities and guidelines.

Suitable People - Staff caring for children:

All staff without exception have a relevant Enhanced CRB/DBS check to ensure they are suitable to work with children and young people unsupervised, before they start working at Curious Kittens.

City College Plymouth Human Resource department resubmit individuals for a new DBS check at three year intervals. Information is kept securely in a single central record.

Staff work to specific ratios and these ratios are organised to ensure there are always at least two members of staff present with the children. Our commitment to safeguarding children and their families underpins all our nursery policy and procedures.

All Nursery Practitioners undertake approved and certificated Safeguarding training and CAF training, through City College Plymouth, Plymouth City Council, and Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board, as appropriate.

Nursery Staff sign an ‘Acceptable Usage contract and a Professional Conduct Agreement, and mobile telephones are kept in practitioner’s bags and never used in areas accessed by children. Mobile phones are not allowed to be used by anyone in areas accessed by children.

See also ‘Procedure to follow if an allegation is made against a member of staff’ and Acceptable Usage Policy.

Students

We ensure that students on a placement and any agency staff have been DBS checked and they are never left unsupervised with the children at any time.

See also ‘Student Policy’. August 2017

Parents/Carers:

We share our child protection procedures with parents and carers. Parents and carers are welcome to share their concerns about these procedures with the Safeguarding officer or Senior Nursery Staff as we realise these procedures tackle some very serious issues and may worry parents and carers.

Visitors

All visitors to the setting are registered on arrival and are never left unsupervised with the children at any time. The exception to this rule is in the case of any child who is in need of a multi-agency child protection plan who needs to be interviewed alone by police child protection officers and social services. In this situation nursery staff ensure relevant identification is shown and verified.

Escalation

All members of the Nursery community, including all staff and parents, are encouraged to escalate concerns and contact Social Services direct and at any time if they have any concerns that the safety of any nursery children or families is being compromised and not addressed effectively by nursery management.

Training

The Nursery safeguarding team have undertaken Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board (PSCB) training courses, and use their training to cascade new information to staff and to advise and guide staff who may have concerns about a child or children. At specific staff meetings all staff are made aware of the signs and symptoms of different types of abuse and neglect, and an item relating to Safeguarding is included in all staff meetings. All staff under take Safeguarding training as mandatory through City College Plymouth as part of the probation process, and this is updated every three years. Room Leaders, the safeguarding team, and SENDcos attend enhanced and specialist safeguarding training. August 2017

Team Around Me – formerly the Common Assessment Framework - CAF - process.

All staff have attended TAM training (2015) and are aware of the multi-agency support process. Where the nursery takes responsibility for the Lead Professional role, this will be coordinated and led by either nursery management – who are safeguarding leads – or may be led by setting SENDcos depending on circumstances dictated by best meeting the families’ needs at that time.

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is the widely used information sharing and multiple agency support tool in place to support children and families. CAF meetings are now frequently referred to as TAMS (Team Around Me) in reflection of the fact that the child and their needs are at the heart of the process. The CAF/TAM is important in coordinating and delivering frontline services – such as GPs, Health Visitors, Speech and Language therapists, Family Support Workers, Nursery professionals that are August 2017

Curious Kittens Nursery integrated and focus on the holistic needs and strength of the child and family. All agencies can work to the common conceptual framework assessment of the child’s needs.

Encompass

This is a confidential initiative between the police and schools/early years settings in Plymouth designed to provide early reporting to settings and schools where there have been domestic violence incidents at home which may have an impact on children during attendance at nursery/school on the following day. Since January 2016 this is now accessed through the Gateway. A Key Adult is trained to liaise with the police/PCC Welfare Officer to use the information shared in confidence to ensure the child is well supported in their setting in the aftermath – for example keeping a favourite toy with them, having a longer nap/sleep, understanding of behaviours that might result from distress.

Key Adults Julie Griffiths – Kings Road Wendy Elliott - Goschen

(Encompass Trained December 2013)

August 2017

PREVENT

At Curious Kittens we take our responsibilities regarding protecting children from extremism and radicalisation very seriously. All staff have undertaken whole team training and discussion forums around Prevent and the core British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance. We apply this responsibility to both our nursery children and College student community including our parents.

We are aware of the reasons why a child or young person may be vulnerable to the effects of radicalisation, including families who feel alienated or alone, seek a sense of identity/belonging, suffer from mental health issues, are adventure seekers, or associate with others who hold extremist views and who may be an influence.

We are aware of the signs of radicalisation, including changes in behaviour, sympathy with violence, terrorist attacks, viewing of online or extremist material, immersion in an environment where violence/extremism is promoted/the norm.

If a member of staff suspects a child or family may be at risk of becoming radicalised, they flag this with the Safeguarding Officer/nursery management who would log the concern and seek advice from Children’s Social Care, working alongside the College Safeguarding Officer. Depending on the seriousness of the concern, either the Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board (for advice) or the Police/Anti-Terrorist (for urgent matters) would be contacted.

Incident logging would include: - The date of disclosure or incident, or observation causing concern - Date and time of the record being made - Name and DOB of child - Factual report of what happened - Name and signature of the person making the record

As with all safeguarding concerns, staff know they can escalate concerns and contact Children’s Social Care if they are unhappy with how a concern is dealt with.

In the case of an allegation being made against a member of staff, the LADO and Ofsted would be informed following our Allegations against Staff Policy, and if appropriate the nursery would make a referral to the DBS Service through the City College Plymouth HR department.

August 2017

Safeguarding Officers

Kings Road

Julie Griffiths – Safeguarding Officer Lucie Allmett – Deputy Safeguarding Officer 01752 305345/305872

Goschen

Wendy Elliott – Safeguardign Officer Julie Griffiths – Deputy Safeguarding Officer 01752 305345/305872

City College Plymouth Safeguarding Officer – Phil Smale 01752 305707

Please note the following contact numbers

Plymouth Children’s Social Care (Referral and Assessment) – 01752 308600

Out of hours Emergency Duty Team – 01752 346984

Local Authority Designated Officer – Simon White - 01752 307144

Gateway – 01752 668000 (for TAM and Encompass coordination)

Devon and Cornwall Police – 101

Plymouth Early Years Safeguarding – 01752 308997 07795121445

August 2017

Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board – 01752 307535

Anti Terrorist hotline -0800 789 321

August 2017