Updated May 2017
Key Elements
This document sets out the responsibilities and expectations for all members of the School community in relation to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and young people at Baston House School
Implementation is monitored by the Safeguarding Team and Senior Leadership Team supported by Outcomes First Group with responsibility for Safeguarding and child protection. / Adopted on:
09/12/2016
Agreed by:
Outcomes First Group
Due for Review:
Annually
Table of Contents
Page
Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy / 2
1. / Introduction / 2
2. / Aims and Objectives of the Policy / 3
3. / The nature of abuse / 4
4. / Current Awareness Campaigns / 6
5. / Bullying / 9
6. / Prevention / 10
7. / Protection / 15
8. / Supporting Children and Young People / 16
9. / Confidentiality / 16
10. / Supporting Adults / 17
11. / Physical Contact and Intervention / 17
12. / Safer Recruitment / 18
13. / Allegations against Adults / 19
14. / Other Adults on Site / 20
15. / What to do if you have concerns about a child or young persons safety / 21
15.1 When to be concerned / 21
15.2 What to do / 22
15.3 Recording a Concern / 23
15.4 Dealing with Disclosures and Multi Agency Contact / 24
16. / Security of Information / 27
17 / Pupil Transfers / 27
18. / Training / 28
19. / Raising Awareness of this Policy / 28
20. / Equality Impact Assessment / 28
21. / Monitoring the Effectiveness of this Policy / 29
22. / Department for Education Advice / 29
23. / Appendix A: Types, signs, symptoms and effects of abuse and neglect / 30
Appendix B: Safer Steps Poster / 32
Appendix C: Signs and symptoms of child sexual exploitation / 33
Appendix D: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Safeguarding Information / 36
Appendix E: The Prevent Duty / 40
Appendix F: Bromley Safeguarding Threshold Guidance / 53
Appendix G: Role of LADO: Allegations against School Staff / 60
1.  Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
Date / Review Date / Designated Child Protection and
Safeguarding Leaders / Principal
09/2016 / 08/2017 / The Level 3 certified team is made up of
Nick Smith (Secondary School)
Lauren Goodyear (Designated Lead)
Charmaine Ayisi (Secondary School – SLT)
Izabella Prepuk (Primary School – SLT)
Chris Kistan (Whole School – SLT) / Chris Kistan

Safeguarding at Baston House School is a Team informed approach.

Baston House School via this policy, evidences and supports our commitment and statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This policy applies to all staff at Baston House School and to all adults supporting our work on site. The child’s welfare is paramount (Children Act 1989). A “child” is any young person under the age of 18 years and a child with a disability, this includes a learning disability, for example autism, is considered to be a child in need.

The policy reflects current legislation: as described in;

·  Education Act 2002, (section 175)

·  Education (Independent School Standards - England ) Regulations 2014

·  Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015.

We are led by and give due regard to the accepted best practice and comply with the government guidance stipulated in;

  • Working Together to Safeguard Children March 2015 and

·  Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2016

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

  • Prevention by ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
  • Protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; and
  • Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. (KCSIE September 2016)

2.  Aims and Objectives of the Policy

We believe that all children have the right to be safe in our society. Therefore, we recognise that we have a duty to ensure arrangements are in place for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children by creating a positive school atmosphere and through our teaching and learning, pastoral support and care for both pupils and school personnel, training for school personnel and with working with parents.

Therefore the aims of this policy are:

·  To have in place procedures to ensure that we meet our responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children from abuse.

  • To ensure that all school personnel are aware of what action to take when dealing with a child protection issue.

·  To work with other schools to share good practice in order to improve this policy.

Baston House’s procedures for safeguarding children are in line with the Local Authority and London Safeguarding Board procedures and follow ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (March 2015) and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2016)

Therefore the objectives of this policy are to support our pupils achieve their full potential by:

·  being as physically and mentally healthy as possible;

·  experiencing good quality education opportunities;

·  living in a safe environment;

·  learning and working in a safe environment;

·  experiencing emotional well being;

·  feeling loved and valued;

·  receiving support from a network of reliable and affectionate relationships;

·  learning to look after themselves;

·  coping with everyday living;

·  having a sense of identity and a positive image of themselves;

·  developing their confidence and their interpersonal skills

We recognise that the safety and protection of pupils is the responsibility of all school personnel and volunteers as they are in a unique position to notice injuries, marks or bruises when children are undertaking certain activities which might indicate a child has been abused. We have annexed information for this specific issue to this policy, see Appendix A.

We believe that we must report and investigate all injuries for the safety and protection of the children in our care.

3.  The Nature of Abuse

“Child abuse is any action by another person – adult or child – that causes significant harm to a child. It can be physical, sexual or emotional, but can just as often be about a lack of love, care and attention. We know that neglect, whatever form it takes, can be just as damaging to a child as physical abuse.

An abused child will often experience more than one type of abuse, as well as other difficulties in their lives. It often happens over a period of time, rather than being a one-off event. And it can increasingly happen online.” (NSPCC 2016). At Baston House we recognise that disabled children are at an increased risk of being abused compared with their non-disabled peers and have outlined below definitions and key indicators of each area of abuse.

Physical Abuse

Children can have accidents or sustain injuries in a number of ways, often not the result of abuse. However, every accident or injury should be treated initially as if it could be an example of abuse under this policy, at least until it becomes clear that the explanation rules out abuse.

Many learners at Baston House do not understand about risk or danger. Their capacity to process pain may be very different to our own. Their understanding of right and wrong and communication impairment makes them extremely vulnerable.

Children with autism can find it difficult to cope with many situations in life. This can cause anxiety and lead to self harming.

Emotional Abuse

Children need affection, security, respect, praise and recognition, just like everyone else. Conveying this to a child with autism is really important. It may require various communication techniques or tools and will need a patient approach.

Withdrawal of emotional supports is a form of abuse.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse covers the full range from minor fondling to full intercourse. Any exploitation of a child for sexual purposes is morally and legally abhorrent and constitutes one of the most serious forms of abuse.

Children with autism and learning disability will not always recognise socially accepted behaviours. They may touch themselves or others’ inappropriately, they may, for example, confuse friendships for far more meaningful affections, they may masturbate publicly. It is, then, important, as such a child develops and enters puberty, to keep them safe in the light of their sexual development.

Neglect

Neglect by others of an individual’s basic needs may lead to both physical and mental damage.

People with autism will not be aware of their rights and their needs.

Who may abuse

In a school setting the abuser may be a member of staff, a fellow service user or possibly a family member or friend. As a result it is important to remain vigilant at all times to ensure the child’s wellbeing.

Supervision of Baston House’s learners / students whose capacity to keep themselves safe or who may have blurred boundaries when interacting with others’ is crucially important to safeguarding all.

We will inform the Local Authority Designated Officer of any allegations of abuse by any member of the school personnel whether they took place on the school premises or elsewhere and of the action taken in respect of these allegations. We will also inform Local Authority Designated Officer of any person connected to the school who is considered to be unsuitable to work with children. We are committed in establishing and maintaining an ethos where children and parents feel secure in being able to talk confidently to school personnel about any concerns or fears they may have knowing that they will be taken seriously. Staff working directly with learners at the time when potential abuse was discovered, particularly those working alone, will be placed on suspension. This in no way supposes guilt and is considered a neutral act.

At Baston House we understand that it is vital to explore any sign that a children may not be thriving – without delay. We must recognise the child’s development and their usual manner, their level of functioning and their autistic traits, and way of interacting. If this is different in some way it may indicate abuse. Failure to act quickly could add to the risk. It could even be regarded as evidence that abuse has been deliberately concealed. Before doing anything else, we are trained to ensure the safety of the child. If abuse is suspected it is vitally important to observe and commit to paper every relevant detail immediately after prioritising the child’s welfare.

In all cases where the possibility of emotional, sexual or physical abuse is suspected, the correct approach is to make direct and immediate contact with the Designated Person or School Principal. If they are unavailable, then another member of the Safeguarding Team must be informed using the tier system indicated on the Safer Steps Poster for Staff. Appendix B.

It is not the job of individual staff to conduct investigations and any attempt to do so could seriously hamper the work of the statutory agencies whose proper role it is to investigate.

Care must be taken in interpreting an autistic child’s responses to questions concerning abuse. They may have particular ways of communicating or phrasing that could be misunderstood, overlooked or focused on too much. It is vital to recognize that the child may have even been coached or threatened by the abuser.

4.  Current Awareness Campaigns

Children can be harmed physically, emotionally, sexually or by neglect. To support staff on identifying the types, signs, symptoms and effects of abuse and neglect, we have annexed information for this specific issue to this policy, see Appendix A. In addition to this, we want to raise awareness of the current Child and Young

Person Protection high profile and specific safeguarding concerns:

  • Child Sexual Exploitation. We have annexed information for this specific issue to this policy, see Appendix C.
  • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), we will raise the awareness amongst the staff to be vigilant for any signs of this amongst our pupils or their wider community. We have annexed information for this specific issue to this policy, see Appendix D.
  • Sexting is when someone shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others, or sends sexually explicit messages. They can be sent using mobiles, tablets, smartphones, laptops - any device that allows you to share media and messages. Sexting may also be called: trading nudes, Dirties or pic for pic. As of January 2016 in England and Wales, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn't in the public interest. All children aged 12+ have annual Sexting Guidance Lesson, outlined and resourced by Childnet. Sexting is to be reported as a safeguarding incident or concern.
  • The Prevent Duty, radicalisation, extremism and hate, see Appendix E.
  • Honour based violence is a violent crime or incident which may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family or community. It is often linked to family members or acquaintances who mistakenly believe someone has brought shame to their family or community by doing something that is not in keeping with the traditional beliefs of their culture. Honour based violence is to be reported as a safeguarding incident or concern.
  • Children missing education is addressed in our Attendance Policy.
  • Forced Marriage in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic/child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights. Were we suspect a child may be at risk in relation to forced marriage, we will alert the relevant bodies and work with other professionals to safeguarding the child concerned.
  • Gangs and Youth Violence Where we suspect a child may be at risk of involvement with gangs and/or youth violence we will alert the relevant bodies and work with other professionals to safeguarding the child concerned. Schools, both primary and secondary, and colleges have a duty and a responsibility to protect their pupils and students. It is also well established that success in learning is one of the most powerful indicators in the prevention of youth crime. Dealing with violence also impacts attainment.
  • Fabrication or induction of illness. Where concerns exist about fabricated or induced illness, it requires professionals to work together, evaluating all the available evidence, in order to reach an understanding of the reasons for the child’s signs and symptoms of illness.
  • Drugs Where we suspect a child may be at risk, due to involvement with drugs we will alert the relevant bodies and work with other professionals to safeguarding the child concerned. This includes alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, medicines, new psychoactive substances (“legal highs”) and volatile substances, unless otherwise specified. As part of the statutory duty on schools to promote pupils’ wellbeing, schools have a clear role to play in preventing drug misuse as part of their pastoral responsibilities.
  • Faith abuse Where we suspect a child may be at risk of faith abuse we will alert the relevant bodies and work with other professionals to safeguarding the child concerned. Child abuse linked to faith or belief includes: belief in concepts of witchcraft and spirit possession, demons or the devil acting through children or leading them astray (traditionally seen in some Christian beliefs), the evil eye or djinns (traditionally known in some Islamic faith contexts) and dakini (in the Hindu context); ritual or muti murders where the killing of children is believed to bring supernatural benefits or the use of their body parts is believed to produce potent magical remedies; and use of belief in magic or witchcraft to create fear in children to make them more compliant when they are being trafficked for domestic slavery or sexual exploitation.

·  Gender based Violence/ Violence against women and girls (VAWG)