Safeguarding and Protecting

Children and Adults at Risk

Policy and Procedures

Authors

Dayne Matthieu

Student Support ManagerRevised13th June 2014

Tina Street

Associate Vice Principal for Student Journey

Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Adults at RiskPolicy

Introduction

Sir George Monoux College fully recognises its responsibility for the safeguarding and protection of young people and adults at riskwho are students of the College, and for promoting their welfare.The College aims at all times to create and maintain a safe environment for all students, staff, volunteers and visitors.

Safeguarding Principles

  • All young people and adults at risk have the right to be safe from harm, abuse and exploitation;
  • The welfare of the student is paramount and this principle underpins all safeguarding work;
  • Statements about abuse or neglect made by students will be taken seriously.

Application

This policy applies to all governors, staff, agency staff, contractors, visitors and volunteers working for or within the College.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the College’s policies on:

  • Health & Safety
  • Confidentiality
  • Whistle Blowing
  • Bullying and Harassment
  • Equalities
  • E-Safety and the Safe Use of ICT
  • Safeguarding Code of Conduct

Definitions

For the purposes of this policy:

i)a ‘child’ is someone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday (1989 Children Act, 2004 Children Act)

ii)*an ‘Adult at Risk’ is any person over the age of 18 “who is or may be in need ofcommunity care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation because of mental or other disability, age or illness.”

iii) ‘staff’ means all employees, full-time or fractional and all agency, franchise, contract and volunteer staff working at or for the College;

iv) The term ‘student’ is used in this policy to refer to anyone who is under the age of 18 or who meets the definition of an adult at risk.

v) The acronym DMoS (Designated Members of Staff) is used to describe members of staff who are trained to Level 4 Safeguarding and Child Protection – “A Shared Responsibility”.

Legislative Context and framework

Keeping Children Safe in Education (2014)

“Published by the Department for Education in April 2014, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ is the key statutory document for safeguarding in schools and colleges. The document replaces ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2006)’ and came into force with immediate effect. It should be read alongside ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013.”

The Governing Body of SirGeorge Monoux College holds responsibility for ensuring that the safety of the students in this College is of paramount importanceat all times. The Governing Body takes seriously its statutory responsibility to do so and recognises that all staff working with students have a full and active part to play in protecting them from harm. Whilst the Governing Body holds overall responsibility for the child protection and safeguarding functions of the College, the day to day operational responsibility rests with the Principal.

The College is committed to providing an environment where students can learn, develop and achieve and where they are safeguarded and are enabled to tell or communicate if they are being harmed in some way. We are committed to ensuring that all staff are sensitive to issues of race, culture, gender, diversity and life-style choice, but these issues should never be a barrier to sharing and reporting concerns about students.

All staff including teaching and non-teaching staff, temporary and supply staff, volunteers and staff working on site employed by other services and agencies and those working with students on placements*have a statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of students and must be fully conversant with and adhere to this policy.

All staff are given a copy ofThe Safeguarding Code of Conduct and must sign to say that they have read and understood it and will adhere to it.

Because of their day to day contact with students, staffare sufficiently trained to identifypossible signs of harm or abuse, as well as to log and report their observations and concerns.It is neither the role nor responsibility of those working with students in the College to assess, diagnose or investigate whether a student is at risk of or is suffering harm or abuse. However, it is the responsibility of all staff to report any concerns about a student to a Designated Members of Staff** as a matter of priority.If in the unlikely event that there isn’t a Designated Member of Staff available, concerns should be raised with Senior Lead for Safeguarding**.

Purpose and Aims of the Policy

The purpose of this policy is to:

  • Raise the awareness of all staff of the need to safeguard students and of their responsibilities in identifying concerns and reporting them as a matter of priority;
  • Provide a framework to support staff in identifying concerns that a student may be suffering or at risk of suffering harm or abuse thereby enabling them to report those concerns without delay;
  • Promote an environment where students feel secure and are listened to;
  • Promote an environment where students and staff treat each other with mutual respect and develop positive relationships which are built on trust;
  • Ensure that the College has sufficient Designated Members of Staff for Safeguarding to enable one of them to be available or contactable at all times during the College day;
  • Enable and support good levels of communication between staff to ensure that relevant information about students is disseminated and shared with appropriate staff on a ‘need to know’ basis;
  • Ensure that all Designated Members of Staff for Child Protection have undertaken ‘The Safeguarding and Child Protection – A Shared Responsibility’training and that this training is updated every two years;
  • Ensure that all staff receive in-house child protection training every two years, and are updated annually about any possible changes to legislation, specific Child Protection/Safeguarding issues, and/or internal developments to safeguarding systems and procedures.
  • Develop and promote effective working relationships with partner agencies, including Children’sSocial Care, the Police Child Abuse Investigation Team and Waltham Forest Safeguarding in Education Services;
  • Provide a systematic means of monitoring students who are thought to be at risk of harm or who are subject to child protection plans;
  • Provide structured procedures within the College which will be followed by all staff when there are concerns about a student;
  • Ensure that all adults working with students in the College community have undergone appropriate safer recruitment vetting and checks as to their suitability to work with students in line with Department for Children, Schools Families (DCSF) and the London Borough of Waltham Forest Safer Recruitment Guidance, as well as Part 3 of “Keeping Children Safe in Education – Safer Recruitment”
  • Ensure that procedures are followed where an allegation is made against a member of staff or volunteer in accordance with Part 4 of ‘Keeping Children Safe In Education 2014 – Allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff’and with the involvement of the Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO)
  • To support children and adults at risk in ways that will foster security, confidence and independence and to promote this through the curriculumand the tutorial programme.

Responsibilities of the Principal

The Principal is responsible for ensuring that theSafeguarding Policy, and Procedures around Safeguardingare all linked andadopted by the Governing Body and are fully implemented and followed by all staff.

It is the Principal’s responsibility to allocate sufficient resources and time to enable the responsibilities of the Designated Members of Staff for Safeguarding to be discharged fully and to ensure that relevant staffare able to attend strategy discussions, child protection conferences and other inter-agency meetings and to contribute fully to the assessment of students.

The Principal is responsible for ensuring that all staff feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice regarding students, and that concerns will be addressed sensitively and in a timely manner. We recognise that it is not the responsibility of students to raise concerns. It is the responsibility of all staff to share concerns about the actions or attitudes of colleagues with the Principal who will deal with the concerns appropriately.

It is the role of DMoS to act as a source of support and guidance on all matters of Child Protection and Safeguarding within the College. Staff should report any concerns to the Safeguarding Manager (Dayne Matthieu) who would receive, log and act on the disclosure. In the absence of the Safeguarding Manager, one of the Level 4 trained Designated Members of Staff should be contacted regarding the concern and they will act in accordance with this policy recording all information appropriately.

Responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Tina Street, Associate Vice Principal responsible for Student Journey, and a member of the college’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The Designated Safeguarding Lead has undergone appropriate Safeguarding and Child Protection training in accordance with ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2013 and “Keeping Children Safe In Education 2014”, and attends updates every two years.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead

  • Manages the college’s strategic aims and protocols around Safeguarding and Child Protection
  • Has overall responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection and ensures that information, training, updates, logging and reporting are carried out appropriately by the Safeguarding Manager, and other Designated Members of Staff.
  • Updates SLT regarding legislative changes that are likely to impact the college’s policies and practices.
  • Has responsibility for the management of “Allegations made against staff and Whistleblowing” and carries out legal duties in accordance with the DfE guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education 2014” and “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013”

The role of the Safeguarding Manager

The Safeguarding Manager has undergone appropriate safeguarding and child protection training in accordance with ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2013 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education 2014” and has regular continued professional development updates with L1 – 4 updates carried out every two years. The Safeguarding Manager will also attend appropriate training delivered by the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Children Board to ensure that she is aware of current safeguarding issues and practice.

The Safeguarding Manager is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training to ensure that they are up to date with current legislation, policy and practice, and that all staff new to the College receive the Safeguarding Code of Conduct in their induction pack to enable them to adhere to the College’s policy. It is important that all staff, both teaching and non teaching, receive training to enable them to respond sensitively and appropriately to what students tell them;
  • Maintaining and updating child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures and ensuring that they are disseminated and adhered to by all staff;
  • Ensuring that there is a system for monitoring and recording concerns about students at an early stage which is adhered to by all staff;
  • Managing child protection concerns and making referrals to Children’s Social Care for the borough in which the child is resident when it is appropriate to do so and seeking advice and guidance on these matters when appropriate;
  • Attending and providing reports to child protection conferences and core group meetings and contributing to child protection plans;
  • Monitoring the attendance and progress of students who are the subject of child protection plans and implementing the College’s part of the plan;
  • Informing Social Care of any proposed academic related changes for a child who is subject to a protection plan and alerting them if a child who is subject to a protection plan is absent from College without reasonable justification;
  • Ensuring that relevant information about students is shared with staff on a ‘need to know’ basis;
  • Maintaining accurate child protection records which are held securely and confidentially;
  • Ensuring that all staff are aware of the need to record concerns about students and enabling them to do this as part of a College-wide process;
  • Ensuring that complete and accurate records are forwarded to receiving Colleges;
  • Ensuring that students, parents and carers have access to the College’s safeguarding policies and procedures;
  • Having a working knowledge of the role and function of the Waltham Forest Safeguarding ChildrenBoard.

The Role of the Designated Members of Staff for Safeguarding (DMoS)

Designated Members of Staff have all undergone appropriate safeguarding and child protection training in accordance with ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2013 and “Keeping Children Safe In Education 2014”. DMoS may also be requested by the Safeguarding Manager to attend and represent the team at appropriate and relevant WFSCB training and Safeguarding Conferences. DMoS will also be expected to log on to Safeguarding/Child Protection Webinars to ensure that they are kept up to date of current safeguarding issues and practice.

Designated Members of Staff are responsible for:

  • Listening to concerns of staff around possible abuse
  • Ensuring that disclosures are appropriately communicated on the “Logging A Disclosure – Cause for Concern” form
  • Receiving and taking appropriate action when disclosures are made (appropriate action as detailed in this policy under “Reporting a disclosure of abuse – risk of significant harm” flow chart
  • Logging action taken by the DMoS in the appropriate box on the “Logging A Disclosure – Cause for Concern” form
  • Reassuring students of all action that will need to be taken and sensitively explaining reasons for the decided action
  • Feedback and discuss (as soon as possible) with Safeguarding Manager.

Safeguarding Training forCollege Staff

Sir George Monoux College ensures that:

  • All staff receive internal Safeguarding and Child Protection training every two years
  • All staff receive updates on relevant Safeguarding and Child Protection matters annually, taking into account Specific Safeguarding Issues dependent on needs and trends.
  • All new staff and governors are given a copy of the Safeguarding Code of Conduct as part of the SGM induction process
  • All new staff undertake safeguarding training to equip them to carry out their safeguarding responsibilities within the College
  • A central record of staff training is held.

Initial training for staff will ensure that:

  • All staff are given a copy of DfE guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education 2014”, have access to the college’s Safeguarding and Child Protection policy, and have read, understood and signed the Staff Code of Conduct.
  • All staff as part of their safeguarding and child protection training will have the key points of the document explained and highlighted to ensure that staff understand that they have a legal duty to safeguard the welfare of students, and are able to implement their legal duties according to this policy and DfE guidance.
  • All staff are able to recognise possible signs and indicators of abuse in students, particularly if the students are vulnerable adults or have special educational needs or disabilities
  • All staff know to whom they should report any concern about a student’s welfare and well being
  • All staff are aware of how to manage a disclosure from a student in order to promote the best outcomes for that student
  • All staff are aware of the importance of keeping detailed and accurate written records of any concerns about a student
  • All staff are aware of the boundaries of confidentiality and disclosure and understand when the disclosure of confidential information would be a proportional response to the need to safeguard a student
  • All staff understand that they have a duty to safeguard the welfare of students.

Safer Recruitment and Staff Appointments

Safe recruitment and selection practice is vital in safeguarding and protecting students. The Governing Body recognises and takes seriously its responsibility to adopt practice which minimises risk to the studentsby ensuring that measures are in place to deter, reject or identify people who might abuse students or who are unsuitable to work with them. The College follows guidance contained in the “Keeping children safe in education – Part 4 – Safer Recruitment”.

In accordance with this, the College makes appropriate checks on new staff, volunteers and helpers and bears in mind the safety of students when drawing up job descriptions and person specifications, advertising posts, calling for and scrutinising references and picking up on gaps in employment history through to the interview process and carrying out enhanced DBS and professional checks and verifications of qualifications and identity.

Applicants will be scrutinised by:

  • Verifying identity and academic or vocational qualifications
  • Obtaining two written professional references
  • Checking previous employment history
  • Carrying out mandatory checks of List 99 or through the Vetting and Barring Scheme and ISA registration
  • Undertaking appropriate DBS checks
  • Conducting interviews with applicants
  • Ensuring that candidates have the health and physical capacity to undertake the job for which they are applying
  • Undertaking risk assessments where it is appropriate and necessary to do so.

Safeguarding of Students on work experience

  • As a college organising work experience placements, we are required to ensure that policies and procedures are in place to protect students from harm.
  • Prior to a student undertaking work experience, a health and safety check and risk assessment will be carried out. Particular consideration will be given to cases when the person providing the supervision will be unsupervised.
  • If the person working with the child is unsupervised, the work is likely to be classed as regulated activity. We are entitled to ask the employer providing the work experience to ensure that the person providing the supervision is not a barred person. However we are not able to request an enhanced DBS check with barred list information for those supervising children aged 16 to 17 on work experience. Thus, if a placement is considered to be high risk, then the placement will not be used.
  • If the activity undertaken by the student on work experience takes place in a ‘specified place’, such as a school or college, and gives the opportunity for contact with children, this may itself be considered to be regulated activity. In these cases and where the student is 16 years of age or over, the work experience provider should consider whether a DBS enhanced check should be requested for the student in question. In such cases, the College will ensure that the DBS check is undertaken. DBS checks cannot be requested for children/young people under the age of 16.
  • employers will be issued with a Safeguarding Code of Conduct so they are aware of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and the protection of children and vulnerable adults
  • staff at the College and at the work placement are aware of the action to be taken and by whom, should a safeguarding issue be raised before, during or after the placement.

Safe use of E Technology