Safeguarding in School

Contributed by Deborah Edwards

All resources in the "Safeguarding Resources" section of our resource bank have been submitted by delegates on our Level 2 Safeguarding Online courses. For more information about this practical, self-paced course, please visit

http://www.pivotaleducation.com/level-2-safeguarding-online-for-schools/and

http://www.pivotaleducation.com/level-2-safeguarding-online-for-colleges/

Safeguarding in School

General principles of child protection

• Everyone in the education service shares an objective to help keep children and young people safe by contributing to:

• Providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn in education settings.

• Identify children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and in the education setting.

Safeguarding

• Achieving this requires systems designed to:• Prevent unsuitable people working with children and young

people.• Promote safe practice and challenge poor and unsafe

practice.• Identify instances in which there are grounds for concern

about a child’s welfare, and initiate or take appropriate action to keep them safe.

• Contribute to effective partnership working between all those involved with providing services for children and young people.

The welfare of the child is paramount

All children and young people have a right to protection from abuse, violence and exploitation.

Young people may be at risk from their peers as well as adults.

It is the responsibility of all adults

to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. Staff working in schools have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under the Children act 2004.

Adults who work with children are responsible for their own actions and behaviour

They should work in an open, transparent way. The same professional standards should always be applied regardless of culture, disability, gender, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual id.

Boundaries

• In many cases abuse involves the violation of borders, which are in place to protect, maintain and enable the person to retain control over their own lives. Breaking down boundaries to impose your will upon another person is abusive, whether you intend to be so or not. Equally abusive is your failure to do the things that maintain the safety, health and welfare of those dependent upon you.

I have the right -• To be the person I want to be• To value the things that are important to me• To love those I love• To have my own hopes, aspirations, desires• To enjoy my own company• Body privacy• To personal privacy and confidentiality• To preserve my dignity• To be myself uniquely and independently• To choose and not to choose• To have my own thoughts, beliefs, priorities.• To my activities• To decide who I can trust• To make my own reality• To form my relationships• To choose to give an informed No• To choose to give an informed Yes

Cyberbullying

• Harassment or stalking• Defamation• Hacking• 'Happy Slapping' • Manipulation:

Advise on what to do if someone you know is being cyberbullied

• If you know someone is being bullied by email, text or online, do encourage them to talk to someone they trust.

• Serious bullying should be reported to the police – e.g. threats of a physical or sexual nature.

• Keep and save any bullying emails, text messages or images.

• If they can, make a note of the time and date bullying messages or images were sent, and note any details about the sender.

• Change mobile phone number and only give it to close friends.

• Use blocking software - instant messages can be blocked from certain people or use mail filters to block emails from specific email addresses.

Emotional abuse• Indicators of possible emotional abuse• Failure to thrive• Erratic weight and growth patterns• Frozen awareness• Psychosomatic illness• Development delay• Behavioural signs• Self mutilation• Wetting and/or soiling day or night in school age children• Withdrawn behaviour• Aggression• Difficulty in forming relationships• Bizarre behaviour• Unexplained under achievement at school• Inappropriate seeking of attention• Escape attempts, e.g. running away, sleeping out, suicide attempts or

substance misuse• Elective mutism

Sexual abuse• Indicators of possible sexual abuse:• Any even minor injury or bruising in the anal or genital areas (protected normally by legs).• Anal or genital soreness, bleeding or discharge.• Recurring genito-urinary infections.• Pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.•

Behavioural problems vary with age and may include: • Sudden onset of wetting or soiling, day or night.• Sleep disturbances such as nightmares or refusing to sleep alone.• Inappropriate sexual play.• Explicit sexual knowledge especially in younger children.• Excessive masturbation.• Promiscuous attention seeking behaviour.• Escape attempts such as running away, sleeping out, suicide attempts and substance misuse.• Self mutilation.• Eating disorders such as Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa.• Persistent abdominal pain and headaches without obvious cause.• Abuse of alcohol or drugs.

Indicators of possible physical abuse

• • Multiple bruises, other than on the shins• • Bruises to buttocks• • Bruises and scratches to face and head• • Bilateral black eyes• • Torn upper lip frenulum (frenulum) (where skin joins the upper lip

and gum)• • Finger tip bruising on front and back of chest, possibly indicating

the child has been forcibly gripped and possibly shaken• • Corresponding finger mark bruises on both cheeks• • Finger marks or hand wheals on any part of the body• • Bite marks anywhere• • Ligature marks (strangling or restraining)• • Weal marks and bruising as a result of beating• • Cigarette burns cont.

• Linear burns (poker, bars of electric fire)• A burn showing the mark of an object, such as an iron• Scalds inconsistent with an accident, e.g. scalded buttocks or soles of feet (a typicalaccidental scald ‘cascades’ on to the front of a child scalding neck, face, shoulders andchest)• Fractures to a non ambulant child• Spiral or multiple fractures of different ages• Head injury (subdural haematoma), often with finger tip bruising• Ear injuries/bruising• Fabricated or Induced Illness SyndromeNB: Bruise or mark may seem insignificant but repeated injuries, even minor in nature, mayindicate crisis in the family with potential for more injury or abuse.

• All schools should have a written policy on Safeguarding that is implemented in conjunction with staff and is accompanied by full training.

• It can be found on moodle parents

policies safeguarding policy.