Child Protection Policy and Procedures

Child Protection

Tighnabruaich Primary School

Contents

1. Policy Statement

2. Definitions

3. Recruitment of Staff

4. Safe Caring Practices

5. Child Protection Procedures

6. Appendix – Child Protection Report Form

Tighnabruaich Primary School August 2017 Child Protection

1. Child Protection Policy Statement of Tighnabruaich Primary School

1a) Policy Statement

The well-being of children and young people in our care takes precedence over any other consideration. It is the clear responsibility of all those employed by or voluntarily involved in the work of Tighnabruaich School to prevent the physical, sexual or emotional abuse of all children and young people with whom they come into contact.

1b) Information about this policy

 The Child Protection Policy and Procedures of Tighnabruaich Primary School will be brought to the attention of all parents and carers who use the service, and all volunteers and employees.  All employees and volunteers will be informed of any guidelines and training that will enable them to implement this policy.

1c) Promotion of Good Practice

 The staff of Tighnabruaich Primary School will seek to work in collaboration with parents, carers, other organisations working with children and Argyll & Bute Council to promote good practice in the area of child protection.

 The Head Teacher will actively seek to obtain and disseminate information about any changes in child protection policy and practice as advised by the Child Protection Committee for Argyll & Bute.

 The Head Teacher will endeavour to ensure that all staff and volunteers have access to appropriate child protection training, supervision and support in order to implement this policy efficiently and with the minimum of stress.

 The management and staff of Tighnabruaich Primary School will plan and organise the work of the school so as to minimise situations where the abuse of children and young people may occur.

The detailed arrangements, systems and procedures for ensuring that the above policy statements are fully implemented are contained in Argyll and Bute Standard Circular 3.23 that is issued to staff and is brought to the attention of all staff as a matter of course at the beginning of each school year.

2. Definitions of Abuse

The following are the standard categories used in Scotland for the recording and classification of abuse. It should be borne in mind that there can be overlap and interaction between categories and abuse as experienced by an individual child may not always fit neatly into one category.

Physical Injury Actual or attempted physical injury to a child under the age of 16 (or 18 if a child with additional support needs), where there is definite knowledge, or reasonable suspicion, that the assault, neglect of ill- treatment or exposure in a manner likely to cause un-necessary suffering was inflicted or knowingly not prevented.

Sexual Abuse The exploitation of a child by any person(s), who by design or neglect, directly or indirectly, involves the child in any activity intended to lead to the sexual arousal or other forms of gratification of that person or any other person(s) including organised networks. This definition holds whether or not there has been genital contact and whether or not the child is said to have initiated the behaviour.

Non-Organic Failure to Thrive Significant failure of children to reach normal growth and developmental milestones, where physical and genetic reasons have been medically eliminated and a diagnosis of non-organic failure to thrive has been established. This commonly co-exists with other forms of abuse and may be secondary to them.

Emotional Abuse Failure to provide for the child’s basic emotional needs, e.g. the child’s need for love, loyalty, praise, recognition etc. such as to have a severe effect on the behaviour and development of the child.

Physical Neglect Failure to meet a child’s essential needs such as is likely to cause impairment to physical health and development. Such needs include food, clothing, cleanliness, shelter and warmth. Physical neglect may also include failure to secure appropriate medical treatment for the child, or may occur when an adult carer persistently pursues or allows the child to follow a lifestyle inappropriate to the child’s developmental needs or which jeopardises the child’s health.

To define an act or omission as abusive, a number of elements must be taken into account, these include demonstrable or predictable harm to the child, which must have been avoidable because of action or inaction by the parent or other carer.

3. Recruitment of Staff

The management of Tighnabruaich Primary School recognises that anyone may have the potential to abuse children in some way. The Head Teacher will use the following recruitment procedures to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from working with children:

3a) All staff (whether paid or volunteers) over the age of 16 will be required, as a condition of employment, to be subject to PVG vetting.

3b) All staff and volunteers with substantial access to children will be asked to complete PVG vetting.

3c) Any new member of staff whose PVG vetting has been applied for but not confirmed, may be allowed to work alongside other staff in supervised group activities temporarily, but they will not be allowed to work with children unsupervised until their PVG vetting is confirmed.

3d) All new staff will undergo a probationary period, and their employment will not be confirmed until their PVG vetting has been confirmed.

3e) All new staff and volunteers will be required to undertake an induction training programme which will include child protection training.

4. Safe Caring Practices

Tighnabruaich Primary recognises that, in common with all organisations providing activities for children and young people, there is the possibility that allegations of abuse could be made against its own members of staff or volunteers.

Children with additional support needs are particularly vulnerable, and staff/volunteers often have to provide assistance with personal care, which may include physical handling of children. Accordingly, - Tighnabruaich Primary has adopted the following safe caring practices for each play event or activity organised in order to minimise situations where abuse of children could occur:

4a) General

 use of mobile technologies will only be allowed under supervision and never in toilet areas or when children are changing.

 Staff will not spend time alone with a child unnecessarily, and will only do so with the knowledge and consent of the Head Teacher.

 If, when alone with a member of staff or volunteer, a child is accidentally hurt, or appears to be distressed in any manner, or appears to be sexually aroused by the adult’s actions, or misunderstands or misinterprets anything the adult has done, the adult must report any such incident to the Head Teacher and make a brief written note of it on the Child Protection Form. The child’s parent(s) should be informed of the incident by the Head Teacher, who will note that this action has been carried out on the Child Protection Form.

 Children will not be allowed to use inappropriate language unchallenged.

 Staff and volunteers will not use inappropriate language or make suggestive comments to children or other members of staff even in fun.

 Staff and volunteers must not take children to their own homes where they will be alone with the child unless with parental consent.

4b) Staff Roles and Supervision

 Each member of staff or volunteer will be made aware of their role, area of responsibility, and the person to whom they are accountable within the organisation as part of their training.

 The Head Teacher will access adequate training, supervision and support for staff and volunteers at a level appropriate to the activity being undertaken.

 Where there are any suspicions relating to child abuse, staff/volunteers must follow the Child Protection Procedures as laid out in Section 5 of this document.

4c) Assisting Children in Personal Care

 Staff and volunteers must respect children’s privacy and dignity particularly when providing intimate care, e.g. toilet assistance and changing. Such assistance should only be given with the full consent and understanding of the child’s parents.

 Where a child is fully dependent on a member of staff or volunteer to provide such assistance there is a need to be responsive to the child’s wishes, and to give the child choices where possible.

 Children should not be assisted to do things of a personal nature that they can do for themselves.

 If a child needs assistance in the toilet or when changing clothes, the accompanying staff member will notify another member of staff and will not lock the door.

 Staff and volunteers should not allow or engage in any inappropriate touching of any form.

4d) Behaviour Management

 The management of Tighnabruaich Primary will, if possible, provide staff with appropriate training in managing challenging behaviour, through accessing courses.

 Staff/volunteers must act in accordance with procedures that have been discussed and agreed with parents to ensure that any physical contact is appropriate to the situation. (See Tighnabruaich Primary School Behaviour Management Policy & Procedures).

5. Child Protection Procedures

5a) Guiding Principles

 Child Abuse is a criminal offence. All staff and volunteers working for Tighnabruaich Primary School have an ethical duty to report any reasonable concern that a child or children, may be the subject of abuse.

 The role of Tighnabruaich Primary School’s staff/volunteers is to inform the statutory authorities of anything which suggests that abuse is taking place. It is not the role of staff to wait for proof, investigate or gather evidence of abuse.

 The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for dealing with issues of child protection and will refer to Social Services and/or the Police any reasonable concern that a child, or children, may be the subject of abuse.

 When a child tells an adult about possible abuse, his or her statements should not be dismissed or ignored. The adult should attend carefully to what the child wants to communicate, taking account of the child’s age and stage of development, and allow the child to say what he or she wants to say without being drawn into detailed questioning.

 Tighnabruaich Primary School will always seek to work with families in a clear, positive and open way, bearing in mind always that the welfare of children is of paramount concern.

5b) Procedure Checklist for all staff/volunteers

 A child discloses abuse, or  A member of staff/volunteer suspects a child may have been abused, or  A third party expresses concern  A staff member witnesses an abusive situation involving another staff member

The member of staff/volunteer must :- RECORD and REPORT

R Respond without showing signs of disquiet, anxiety or shock

E Enquire casually about how an injury was sustained or why a child appears upset

C Confidentiality must not be promised to children or adults in this situation

O Observe carefully the demeanour or behaviour of the child

R Record in detail what has been seen and heard using SEEMIS Pastoral Notes application (or the Child Protection Record Form which should be completed as soon as possible, if you do not have access to SEEMIS)

D Do not interrogate or enter into detailed investigations: rather encourage the child to say what he/she wants until enough information is gained to decide whether or not a referral is appropriate.

Then REPORT to the Head Teacher without delay

If the Head Teacher is not available and urgent action is required, the member of staff should follow the above procedure and contact social services directly, informing the Head Teacher at the first opportunity. Duty Officer is on 01546 605517

The members of staff/volunteer must not

 Investigate suspected/alleged abuse themselves  Evaluate the ground for concern  Seek or wait for proof  Discuss the matter with anyone other than the Head Teacher

5c) The Role of the Head Teacher

The Head Teacher will:

 act as main contact person between Tighnabruaich Primary School and Social Work Department and/or Police with regard to Child Protection issues;

 ensure that blank Child Protection Record Forms are readily available to staff/volunteers

 ensure that staff with access to SEEMIS are familiar with the relevant application

 keep any completed Child Protection Record Forms in a secure place with limited access

 ensure that staff/volunteers who have had to deal with any Child Protection issues have access to advice and support, initially via the Principal Officer Early Years, to minimise stress

 ensure that parents, staff and volunteers are kept informed of Tighnabruaich Primary School’s Child Protection Policy and Procedures.

Tighnabruaich Primary School August 2017