Young Cooks Club
Safeguarding Policy
Young Cooks Club is
committed to building a �culture of safety� in which the children in our care
are protected from abuse, harm and radicalisation.
The
Club will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns
regarding the safety of a child that may occur. The Club�s child protection
procedures comply with all relevant legislation and with guidance issued by the
Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).
There
is a Child Protection Officer (CPO) available at all times while the Club is in
session. The CPO coordinates child protection issues and liaises with external
agencies (eg Social Care, LSCB and Ofsted).
The
Club�s designated CPOs are Anna & Leona.
Child
abuse and neglect
Child
abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care
that leads to injury or harm. An individual may abuse or neglect a child
directly, or by failing to protect them from harm. Some forms of child abuse
and neglect are listed below.
�
Emotional abuse is
the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child so as to cause severe and
persistent adverse effects on the child�s emotional development. It may involve
making the child feel that they are worthless, unloved, or inadequate. Some
level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child,
though it may occur alone.
�
Physical abuse can
involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, suffocating
or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may be also caused
when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill
health to a child.
�
Sexual abuse involves
forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not
the child is aware of what is happening. This can involve physical contact, or
non-contact activities such as showing children sexual activities or
encouraging them to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
�
Neglect is
the persistent failure to meet a child�s basic physical and emotional needs. It
can involve a failure to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, to
protect a child from physical and emotional harm, to ensure adequate
supervision or to allow access to medical treatment.
Signs of child abuse and neglect
Signs of possible abuse and neglect may include:
o
significant changes in a child's behaviour
o
deterioration in a child�s general well-being
o
unexplained bruising or marks
o
comments made by a child which give cause for concern
o
reasons to suspect neglect or abuse outside the setting, eg in the child�s home, or that a girl may have been
subjected to (or is at risk of) female genital mutilation, or that the child
may have witnessed domestic abuse
o
inappropriate behaviour displayed by a member of staff, or any
other person. For example, inappropriate sexual comments, excessive one-to-one
attention beyond the requirements of their role, or inappropriate sharing of
images.
If abuse is suspected or disclosed
When
a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff will:
� reassure
the child that they were not to blame and were right to speak out
� listen
to the child but not question them
� give
reassurance that the staff member will take action
� record
the incident as soon as possible (see Logging an incident below).
If
a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they will record the matter
straightaway using the Logging a concern form. If a third party
expresses concern that a child is being abused, we will encourage them to
contact Social Care directly. If they will not do so, we will explain that the
Club is obliged to and the incident will be logged accordingly.
Peer-on-peer
abuse
Children
are vulnerable to abuse by their peers. Peer-on-peer abuse is taken seriously
by staff and will be subject to the same child protection procedures as other
forms of abuse. Staff are aware of the potential uses of information technology
for bullying and abusive behaviour between young people.
Staff
will not dismiss abusive behaviour as normal between young people. The presence
of one or more of the following in relationships between children should always
trigger concern about the possibility of peer-on-peer abuse:
�
Sexual activity (in primary school-aged children) of any kind,
including sexting
�
One of the children is significantly more dominant than the other
(eg much older)
�
One of the children is significantly more vulnerable than the
other (eg in terms of disability, confidence,
physical strength)
�
There has been some use of threats, bribes or coercion to ensure
compliance or secrecy. If peer-on-peer abuse is suspected or disclosed we
will follow the same procedures as set out above for responding to child abuse.
Extremism
and radicalisation
All
childcare settings have a legal duty to protect children from the risk of
radicalisation and being drawn into extremism. There are many reasons why a
child might be vulnerable to radicalisation, eg:
�
feeling alienated or alone
�
seeking a sense of identity or individuality
�
suffering from mental health issues such as depression
�
desire for adventure or wanting to be part of a larger cause
�
associating with others who hold extremist beliefs
Signs of radicalisation
Signs
that a child might be at risk of radicalisation include:
�
changes in behaviour, for example becoming withdrawn or aggressive
�
claiming that terrorist attacks and violence are justified
�
viewing violent extremist material online
�
possessing or sharing violent extremist material
If
a member of staff suspects that a child is at risk of becoming radicalised,
they will record any relevant information or observations on a Logging a
concern form and refer the matter to the CPO.
Logging
a concern
All
information about the suspected abuse or disclosure, or concern about
radicalisation, will be recorded on the Logging a concern form as soon
as possible after the event. The record should include:
o
date of the disclosure, or the incident, or the observation
causing concern
o
date and time at which the record was made
o
name and date of birth of the child involved
o
a factual report of what happened. If recording a disclosure, you
must use the child�s own words
o
name, signature and job title of the person making the record.
The
record will be given to the Club�s CPO who will decide on the appropriate
course of action.
For
concerns about child abuse, the CPO will contact Social Care. The CPO
will follow up all referrals to Social Care in writing within 48 hours. If a
member of staff thinks that the incident has not been dealt with properly, they
may contact Social Care directly.
For
minor concerns regarding radicalisation, the CPO will contact the Local
Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). For more
serious concerns the CPO will contact the Police on the non-emergency number
(101), or the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321. For urgent concerns the
CPO will contact the Police using 999.
Allegations
against staff
If
anyone makes an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff:
�
The allegation will be recorded on an Incident record form.
Any witnesses to the incident should sign and date the entry to confirm it.
�
The allegation must be reported to the Local Authority Designated
Officer (LADO) and to Ofsted. The LADO will advise if other agencies (eg police) should be informed, and the Club will act upon
their advice. Any telephone reports to the LADO will be followed up in writing
within 48 hours.
�
Following advice from the LADO, it may be necessary to suspend the
member of staff pending full investigation of the allegation.
�
If appropriate, the Club will make a referral to the Disclosure
and Barring Service.
Promoting
awareness among staff
The
Club promotes awareness of child abuse and the risk of radicalisation through
its staff training. The Club ensures that:
o
the designated CPO has relevant experience and receives
appropriate training in safeguarding and the Prevent Duty, and is aware of the
Channel Programme and how to access it
o
designated person training is refreshed every three years
o
safe recruitment practices are followed for all new staff
o
all staff have a copy of this Safeguarding policy,
understand its contents and are vigilant to signs of abuse, neglect or
radicalisation
o
all staff are aware of their statutory duties with regard to the
disclosure or discovery of child abuse, and concerns about radicalisation
o
all staff receive basic safeguarding training, and safeguarding is
a permanent agenda item at all staff meetings
o
all staff receive basic training in the Prevent Duty
o
staff are familiar with the Safeguarding File
o
the Club�s procedures are in line with the guidance in �Working
Together to Safeguard Children (2018)� and staff are familiar with �What To Do
If You�re Worried A Child Is Being Abused (2015)�.
Use
of mobile phones and cameras
Photographs
will only be taken of children with their parents� permission. Only the club
camera will be used to take photographs of children at the Club. Neither staff
nor children nor visitors may use their mobile phones to take photographs at
the Club. For more details see
our Mobile Phone Policy.
Contact
numbers
Social Care: 01273 295555
Social Care out of hours contact: 01273 335905
LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer): 01273
335905� - Darrel Clews
LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children Board): Front
Door for Families �01273
290400
Police: 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency)
Anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321
NSPCC: 0808 800 500
This policy was adopted by: Young Cooks Club |
Date: December 2018 |
To be reviewed: Dec 2019 |
Signed : |
Written
in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation
Stage (2017): Safeguarding and Welfare requirements: Child Protection [3.4-3.8]
and Suitable People [3.9-3.13].