Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns

Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges

July2017

This guidance is for early years’ settings, schools maintained by the Local Authority, free schools, academies, independent schools, sixth-forms and further education colleges.

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Document name / Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns: Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges
Document owner / Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service
Authors / Sandi Buttrey
Date approved by LSCB / 20th July 2017
Version / Version 1 – 2017
Current document / Version 2 - 2014 – updated from version 1 - 2014
This replaces: / Version 1- LSCB Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns: Guidance for Early Years Settings, Schools and Colleges January 2014

Contents

This guidance includes the following areas of practice with exemplar forms as appropriate. This document and forms are available on Czone at

Page

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1Introduction 4

2The Designated Safeguarding Lead’s role 6

3Induction and training 7

4Establishing a standard recording process 8

5When and how to start a stand-alone child welfare/protection 10concerns file

6What records should be included in a stand-alone child 12

Welfare/protection/ concerns file?

7Evidence-based recording 13

8Safeguarding Risk plans 16

9Secure storage, retention and disposal of records 16

10Transfer of child welfare/protection concerns records 17

11Alternative School Placements/Arrangements/Dual Registration or 20 educated offsite (including schools-to-school placements),Elective

Home Education

12Information sharing 20

13Quality assurance of safeguarding and welfare concern records 22

14Children’s and parents’ access to child protection files 23

15Appendices

Appendix A: Front Sheet

Appendix B: Chronology

Appendix C: Welfare Concern form

Appendix D: Aide Memoire

Appendix E: Frequently asked questions

Appendix F: Safeguarding Risk Plan

Appendix F1: Guidance for Safeguarding Risk Plan

Appendix G: Audit Tool

Appendix H: File Transfer Receipt

11 Introduction

1.1This guidance is ratified by the Local Safeguarding Children Board. It should be followed by all educational establishments to children and young people up to the age of 18 years. These establishments include early years’ settings, schools, maintained by the Local authority, Free Schools, academies, special schools, independent schools and sixth form and further education colleges.

1.2In this document a child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday.

1.3In this document “pupil” refers to any child registered with an early years setting, schools maintained by the Local authority, Free Schools, academies, special schools, independent schools and sixth form and further education colleges.

Record keeping is an essential part of child protection in all educational establishments, including early years settings.

1.4It is vital concerns are recorded and reported accurately, as soon after the concern arises as possible and as a maximumwithin 24 hours. This should be recorded using the Welfare Concern Form (Appendix C). The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) must make a professional judgement about any action that needs to be taken and ensure information is managed carefully and securely.

1.5Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) reminds us that safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility. Well-kept records essentially underpin good professional practice, enabling effective work across agency and professional boundaries.

1.6Promoting the welfare of and safeguarding children is the responsibility of all school staff. Staff members are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’.

1.7Serious case reviews including the high profile enquiry into the death of Daniel Pelka aged 4, (Coventry LSCB 2013), Kyra Ishaq aged 7 years, (Birmingham LSCB 2010), Child G aged 14, (East Sussex LSCB 2013) and Child BS aged 2 years 1 month, (Unnamed LSCB 2016) have repeatedly highlighted the importance of clear child welfare and child protection record keeping.

1.8However small or apparently insignificant the concern may seem at the time, the importance of recording and reporting cannot be underestimated when considering welfare and child protection. Often it is only when a number of seemingly minor issues are viewed as a whole, that a safeguarding or child protection concern becomes clear.

1.9In relation to children and young people, safeguarding and promoting their welfare is defined in ‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2015 as:

  • protecting children from maltreatment
  • preventing impairment of children’s health or development
  • ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
  • taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2016) states:

  1. No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. (Para 3)
  1. All concerns, discussions and decisions made and the reasons for those decisions should be recorded in writing. If in doubt about recording requirements, staff should discuss with the designated safeguarding lead. (Para 29)
  1. It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address risks and prevent issues escalating. Research and Serious Case Reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective action. Poor practice includes: failing to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect; poor record keeping; failing to listen to the views of the child; failing to re-assess concerns when situations do not improve; sharing information too slowly; and a lack of challenge to those who appear not to be taking action. (Para 30)

Early years Foundation Stage statutory requirements 2017 (3.7) state:

Providers must have regard to the government's statutory guidance ‘Working

Together to Safeguard Children 2015’and to the ‘Prevent duty guidance for

England and Wales 2015’. All schools are required to have regardto the

Government’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’statutory guidance, and

other childcare providers may also find it helpful to refer to this guidance. If

providers have concerns about children's safety or welfare, they must

notify agencies with statutory responsibilities without delay. This means the localchildren's social care services and, in emergencies, the police.

1.10This guidance has been written to assist educational establishments to comply with the guidance referred to above,and to meet recommendations from serious case reviews undertaken in East Sussex and nationally. In addition, to support compliance with Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years Education and Skills (Ofsted August 2016) with specific reference to ‘signs of successful safeguarding arrangements’.

1.11Good record keeping is an important part of schools’evidenced-based accountability to children and their families and will assist designated safeguarding leads in meeting their key responsibility to respond appropriately to welfare concerns about children.

1.12For some children a one-off serious incident or concern may occur and staff will have no doubt that this should be immediately recorded and reported. More often however, it is the accumulation of a number of small incidents, events or observations that can provide the evidence of harm being caused to a child.

1.13Records should be factual, accurate, relevant, up to date and auditable. They should support monitoring, risk assessment, planning, intervention and review for children and enable informed and timely decisions about appropriate action to take.

1.14A child’s record may become an essential source of evidence for investigations, inquiries and court proceedings.

1.15Frequently asked questions (Appendix E) may answer some of the questions staff may have.

2The Designated Safeguarding Lead’s (DSL) role

2.1The DSL should ensure that all staff members are given appropriate induction and training

2.2Ensure all staff members know when and how to record concerns about a child’s welfare, however small or apparently insignificant.

2.3Ensureall staff members, whatever their designation or role in the school, receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training which is regularly updated. In addition all staff members should receive safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins and staff meetings), as required, but at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively. East Sussex Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service recommend a three hour face to face training delivered every two years.

2.4Ensure all staff has access to and understand the Continuum of Need.

2.5Ensure all staff know where to locate key documents such as welfare concern forms, access Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 Part 1 and annex A, the (Model) code of conduct, Child Protection Policy, What to do if you are worried a child is being abused 2015 and recording aide memoire(Appendix D).

For Early Years settings, all staff should know where to locate the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2017, section 3 Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements,

2.6Oversee that all welfare concern forms are accurately completed with all relevant information, signed and dated by the member of staff.

2.7Analyse all information relating to a child and record what action needs to be taken in response to reported incidents or welfare concerns. This information must be explicit and signed by the staff member to confirm this on the welfare concern form.

2.8Start and maintain a stand-alone file for children with child protection or welfare concerns.

2.9Ensure that all visitors to the establishment know how to report concerns about other adults or for the welfare of any child.

3Induction and training

3.1As part of their induction, all new staff members must be given training on how to recognise welfare and child protection concerns and how and when to report and record those concerns.

3.2All staff must know how and when to report a concern about another staff member or adult in the school – see Managing Allegations procedures outlined within the schools’ child protection policy.

3.3Induction must include raising staff awareness of systems within the establishment which support safeguarding including how to record and report welfare and safeguarding concerns andto whom. This would include understanding the early help process, identifying emerging problems, and the referral process to children’s social care.

3.4All education establishment staff should have read and understood Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 part one and annex A. For Early Years’ providers including schools with early years providers, staff should have read Early Years Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage 2017 both of which provides information of what the establishments staff should know and do and inform their record keeping. This should be read alongside a copy of the establishment’s child protection policy, staff behaviour policy (sometimes called code of conduct).A record should be kept by the DSL once this is completed.

3.5Ensure staff understand their duties under Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) which places a statutory duty upon teachers, (this includes persons employed or engaged to carry out teaching work) to report to the police where they discover that FGM appears to have been carried on a girl under 18.

3.6Should any member of staff have a concern that a female child may be at risk of FGM they should complete a welfare concern form and report this directly to the designated safeguarding lead as a child protection concern.

3.7Any staff member who has a concern about a child being radicalised should understand their duties in place since July 2015 under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism, known as the Prevent duty. They need to complete a welfare concern form and report this to the designated safeguarding lead.

3.8All welfare concern forms should be given to the designated safeguarding lead at the earliest possible opportunity and as a minimum within 24 hours as recommended by East Sussex Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service. Staff must consider the need for immediate safeguarding.

3.9It is essential that all supply staff and visitors to the establishment understand the need to report concerns and complete the welfare concern form prior to leaving the establishment that day.

3.10Establishments must ensure that all their staff members are aware of their legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 for data processing, including accuracy, retention, disposal and subject access rights.

4Establishing a standard recording process

4.1All staff members, irrespective of their role in the educational establishment, should use the standard welfare concern form (Appendix C) and the aide memoire to assist in its completion (Appendix D) to record their concerns. Any contemporaneous notes should be firmly attached to the form.

4.2The establishment should use a single form for the recording and reporting of all welfare concerns, whether low level concerns or serious child protection concerns requiring immediate response.

4.3All staff members should be aware that details of their concerns may be shared with the child, family members and other professionals, for example at child protection conferences. In exceptional cases, they may be submitted as evidence in court proceedings or at a serious case review. It is essential that recordings are completed in an objective professional manner which differentiates between fact, allegation,observation and opinion.

4.4It is essential that professionals from other disciplines and agencies visiting the establishment, e.g.ISEND services, CAMHS, Social Workers, etc. who may have their own systems for recording their ongoing work with children and families, also adopt the establishment’s standard recording process when in the establishment, if they have the need to report a concern.

4.5The welfare concern form and aide memoire should be easily accessible to all staff and, depending on the size and type of establishment, should be available in a range of places, e.g. in the staff room, school or main office and in the offices of the establishment’s manager, head teacher or principal, the designated safeguarding lead and pastoral care staff.

4.6The importance of understanding concerns for a child in the context of history and other known information cannot be underestimated in informing safeguarding decisions and assessing potential risk. Chronologies(Appendix B) are central to this process and it is strongly recommended that these are started when there is more than one welfare concern form by the designated safeguarding lead.

4.7In addition to informing assessments, a chronology will serve as an important record of the establishment’sactions and provide supporting evidence when attached to an inter-agency referral.

4.8It is the role of the designated safeguarding lead to analyse the information in light of history, context and all available information and make decisions in the best interests of the child and record these on the same form.

4.9Many schools employ a range of staff that hold specific pastoral care responsibilities and may have separate recording systems recording their ongoing work with families. It is essential that any pastoral work is coordinated by the designated safeguarding lead and this is reviewed regularly and triangulated with any welfare or safeguarding concerns to inform safeguarding decisions.

4.10A record should be kept of anything that gives staff a cause for concern about a child as well as any disclosure of allegation made. Even if the information does not appear to be significant on its own, it may contribute to a picture of concerns that should not be ignored. This might include observations about changes in behaviour, attendance or presentation or concerns about parental presentation. Not all welfare concerns result in a referral to children’s social care.

4.11It is important that the designated safeguarding lead informs the staff member reporting a concern how they intend to respond to it whilst maintaining appropriate levels of confidentiality. Staff need to feel empowered to seek clarification on why concerns may not have been reported to statutory agencies.

4.12Staff concerned that action is not being taken to protect a child should be empowered in the first instance to discuss their concerns with the DSL. If this is not resolved, discuss their concerns with the headteacher and if this does not resolve their concerns they should discuss the issues with the Chair of Governors. Should the concerns persist the staff member should consider whistleblowing through either discussions with Local authority Designated Officer Amanda Glover 07825 782793 or the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line 0800 028 0285

Early years settings need to ensure all staff are aware of the line management system of escalating concerns. Should the concerns persist the staff member should consider whistleblowing through either discussions with the Local Authority Designated Officer Amanda Glover 07825 782793 or the NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line 0800 028 0285

Looked After Children

4.13KCSiE 2016 has been amended to reflect the importance of the designated teacher working with the virtual school head on how funding can best support the progress of a Looked After Child (LAC).

4.14The designated safeguarding lead should also have details of the child’s social worker and the name of the virtual school head. The designated teacher will ensure that the educational achievement of children who are Looked After is promoted and this person must have appropriate training.

4.15The designated safeguarding lead will work closely with the designated teacher in recognition that children may have been abused or neglected before becoming looked after and the need to ensure their ongoing safety as well as supporting their education and development. The designated safeguarding lead should be consulted by the designated Teacher in respect of welfare and safeguarding concerns as the person with lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.

4.16The school will need to have a pupil file that contains Looked After Child activity including LAC review minutes, LAC plans and Pupil Education Plans and a separate welfare concern filethat documents safeguarding information.

Early Years Settings should ensure that they maintain a record of the contact details of the social worker and any activity related to the child where there is an allocated social worker or the child is Looked After.