DRUMCHAPELHIGH SCHOOL

POLICY STATEMENT

DEALING WITH

VULNERABLE CHILDREN

CHILD PROTECTION

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of all pupils in the school through abiding by and following the advice given in Management Circular 57. Extracts from this document and PowerPoint presentations based on MC57, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), Safe and Well and Glasgow Child Protection Committee have been issued to staff each session.

A complete copy of MC57 is held in the Management Circular folder in the office. Copies of GIRFEC, Safe and Well and Glasgow Child Protection Committee advice are available for consultation in the Child Protection notice board in the office corridor.

The procedures for dealing with cases of suspected abuse are detailed in MC57 and on the Child Protection notice board. Please make yourself aware of these procedures and be prepared to put them into operation should the need arise.

The contents of MC57 and other relevant CP documents will be made available to staff on at least an arrival, but invariably more frequent, basis.

Information relevant to individual pupils will be communicated to staff on a confidential need to know basis.

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 places a statutory duty upon authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in its charge. Education has a key role to play in dispensing that duty and all teachers must be aware of procedures governing Child Protection.

The key principles are included in Management Circular 57 and include:

  • The welfare of the child is paramount.
  • Each child should be treated as an individual.
  • Each child who can form a view on matters affecting him or her has the right to express those views if he/she so wishes.
  • Each child has the right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect or exploitation.
  • Parents should normally be responsible for the upbringing of their children and should share that responsibility.
  • So far as is consistent with safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare, the local authority should promote the upbringing by their families.
  • Any intervention by the local authority in the life of a child must be properly justified and should be supported by services from all relevant agencies working in collaboration.
  • Child abuse is described under one of five categories on the Child Protection Register. These are:

Physical injury

Sexual abuse

Non organic failure to thrive

Emotional abuse

Physical neglect

  • A list of possible indicators for each category is given in appendix 2.
  • All adults who are in charge of children have a responsibility to ensure that children are not harmed and are properly cared for. Children with a problem will choose to speak to a person they trust, irrespective of the role and status of that person. It is therefore essential that all education staff are familiar with the issue of child protection, take the child’s story seriously and avoid either interrogating the child or silencing the child be indications of disbelief.
  • The role of education employees in circumstances where there are concerns that a child may have been abused is to observe, report, record, co-operate (with social services and other relevant agencies such as police, the children’s reporters administration and appropriate medical personnel) and support the child within the framework of a Child Protection Support Plan.

The named Child Protection Officer in DrumchapelHigh School is A Robertson, DHT.

In the event of a suspicion that abuse has taken place, all reports should be given to the Head Teacher or the person deputising for the Head Teacher/A Robertson.

These guidelines do not require staff to make allegations or to carry out investigations but to react to their suspicions or concerns for the well being of children in good faith and in terms of the guidelines.

Members of staff should as quickly as possible respond appropriately to grounds for concern.

Staff should be sensitive and supportive to children but should never give guarantees of confidentiality. Confidentiality is an important issue for children, parents and staff. Staff, as employees of the authority, are not in a position to guarantee confidentiality to an adult or a child since such a guarantee could conflict with the necessity for staff to protect the child and promote his/her welfare and result in seriously compromising their ability to do so.

With regards to confidentiality in relation to Child Protection Procedures:

  • Education staff are not in a position to keep secret any allegations or concerns about child abuse, even if a child or third party requests this.
  • There is no guarantee that the source of the referral can be kept confidential.
  • In the interests of child protection, education staff have a professional obligation to pass information to relevant agencies.

All staff should follow procedural action steps 1 and 2 as described in MC57 (appendix 1).

It is not the responsibility of education staff to investigate allegations of child abuse. Teachers in educational establishments do have a major responsibility to assist social work departments in identifying cases of child abuse, including sexual abuse; attendance at Child Protection Case Conferences to establish whether or not there has been child abuse; and assisting with the monitoring of children who are on the Child Protection Register and in supporting young people in line with Child Protection Support Plan.

The police will be involved where it appears that a crime may have been committed, and staff will be expected to assist the police in making their enquiries.

Information and evidence obtained by social workers or police will be assessed by the children’s reporter with whom staff should co-operate fully.

Education staff may also be cited for precognition, appearance as a witness or be asked to support applications to put in place special arrangements in court (e.g. CCTV) by the Procurator Fiscal.

In all of the above circumstances every co-operation should be given. Similarly, assistance should be offered to medical authorities as required.

RECORDING AND REFERRING CONCERNS

  • On the same day that social work is informed the Head Teacher must record the concerns and action by staff using the Child Protection Referral Form. The action agreed with Social Work Services should also be recorded.
  • If there is any difference of opinion on any matter between the Head Teacher and the duty senior social worker this should be recorded.
  • A copy of this report and subsequent reports, as well as minutes of Child Protection conferences and monitoring meetings should be kept in the Confidential Incident File.

The key features of the report as recorded in the Child Protection Referral Form are that is should be:

Accurate

Objective

Concise

Immediate

Dated

Signed

Confidential

APPROPRIATE STAFF RESPONSES TO A CHILD WHO ALLEGES ABUSE

The member of staff should respond in the following manner:

Do not give a guarantee of confidentiality

Listen with care

Do not ask leading questions

Do not interrogate the child

Take the allegation seriously

Do not show disbelief

Avoid being judgemental

Re-assure the child that he or she was right to tell

Affirm the child’s feeling as expressed by the child

Do not introduce personal or third party experience of abuse

Avoid displaying strong emotions

Please refer to your Policy Folder for possible signs of potential child abuse.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The Head Teacher will monitor Child Protection procedures and these will be regularly evaluated.

LOOKED AFTER AND ACCOMMODATED CHILDREN

RATIONALE

DrumchapelHigh School aims to provide support to meet the needs of all pupils. It is recognised that Looked After children are a particularly vulnerable group who need additional support.

The Senior Management Team Member who has overall responsibility for Looked After Children is A Robertson DHT.

AIMS

To:

Provide a co-ordinated approach to meeting the needs of all Looked After Children.

Work closely with the Social Work dept. and all associated agencies.

Link with all designated support staff provided by the Education Services.

Ensure each teacher is aware of any Looked After Children in their care and regularly reviews their progress.

Ensure appropriate mechanisms are in places for reviewing and monitoring the progress of Looked After Children.

Build in procedures for alerting the appropriate care/link worker of any concerns re: attendance, timekeeping, behaviour or progress of each pupil.

PROCEDURES

A Robertson is the co-ordinator for Looked After Children. Ongoing liaison with the Social Work department should ensure the school is alerted if any pupil is received into residential or foster care.

A Robertson will liaise with care/key worker to ensure good communication is established.

Following receipt of the Education/Social Work Action Plan for the child, A Robertson/PTPC will liaise with other colleagues to ensure appropriate educational provision.

A Robertson will liaise with the Authority’s co-ordinator for Looked After Children and if necessary set up plans for a link teacher to work with the child.

A Robertson/PTPC will attend Case Conferences to discuss the child’s progress.

The child’s progress will be reviewed at arranged meetings.

The child’s progress will be monitored and tracked on a termly basis through communications with staff and discussed at a termly review meeting with DHT (Pupil Support) and PTPCs. LAC review information will be shared with staff.

This policy will be discussed and reviewed on an annual basis.

LIST OF USEFUL DOCUMENTS

  1. Management Circular 57
  1. Safe and Well
  1. Education and Social Work Services Joint Protocol (in production)
  1. Scottish Executive publications (on its website)
  1. Inter Agency Notification Procedures Vulnerable Children and Young People (Glasgow Child Protection Committee 2000)
  1. Education Services Interface No.9

1

POLICY STATEMENT – DEALING WITH VULNERABLE CHILDREN