CovenantChristianSchool

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

Biblical Background

God cares for and values children. This is evident when reading the Bible. The following are just a few of the many examples to be found:

1.Jesus welcomes the children to him – Mark l0 v l3-16.

2.Jesus frees a child from possession - Mark 9 v 14-27.

3.God cares for Ishmael in the desert - Genesis 21.

There are other examples, in the Bible, of good practice in childcare and teaching, some of which are as follows:

1.Ephesians 6 v 4 - Fathers are told not to exasperate their children and to teach and train them in the way they should go.

2.Proverbs 22 v 6 - Adults are encouraged to teach and train their children.

3.Psalm 78 v 1-8 - The people are encouraged to pass on teaching about God to their children and to the future generations.

4.Deuteronomy 6 v 6-8 - God's people are encouraged to pass on the commandments and truths of God to their children.

As a Christian school we want to give our children the best possible care and the document which follows outlines the policy for achieving this.

Principles Adopted

Before considering the detailed policy, it is worth noting the principles upon which it is based.

1.TRUST - This is vital in any situation but particularly in a school environment. As we trust God, ideally we should trust each other, both teachers and children. However, because we are all fallible human beings, wisdom and discernment are needed to know what is right. We are to be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Matt 10 v 16.

  1. RESPONSIBILITY - As parents and teachers God has given us responsibility for our children. We need to administer that responsibility wisely. Proverbs 29 v 15.
  1. LOVE - God loves us as children and so we too should love and care for the children we teach. Colossians 3 v 14. Love has many aspects, including cherishing and nurturing but also discipline, without which a parent would not be giving true love. Heb 12 v 10.

4.FORGIVENESS - It is vital that we are able to forgive each other as our Father forgives us. We all do wrong so it is essential that we can deal with our wrongdoing and both forgive and be forgiven. Ephesians 4 v 32.

5.INTEGRITY - We aim to be a community that is open and honest with each other. If we are, then we will build up good, strong relationships between the children and ourselves. Eph 4 v 15.

With these principles at the centre of our school life we will provide the best possible environment for all of our children to receive their training and education.

GUIDELINES FOR CHILD CARE AND PROTECTION

INTRODUCTION

As Christians, we are called to respect children as individuals and to further their well being in every way. Jesus taught clearly about the value of children, both as individuals and for their ability to show others true Christian virtues. He also said that those who exploited or abused children deserved profound condemnation. (Matthew 18:6)

As a school, we seek to foster relationships of the utmost integrity, truthfulness and trustworthiness. It is important, therefore, that everyone who works with children, even in a voluntary capacity, should behave responsibly and understand the need to operate within a carefully worked out framework of good policy and practice.

Before you take on your position as teacher or assistant or in any school activity dealing with children under 18, we expect you to read this document carefully, and ask questions if you do not understand anything.

Everyone who works in the school should be clear about their role and responsibilities before they begin. You should discuss your work with the class and school co-ordinators and read through all the relevant policy documents so that you are well prepared. These include the Prevention of Extremism policy since this comes under the ambit of safeguarding.

Any person involved in child care within school is required to read, and sign that they have read, the following policies before beginning any work with children: Child Protection policy, Whistleblowing policy, Behaviour and Discipline policy and Staff Code of Conduct. These policies will be provided at induction. Staff, parents and members of the management committee are then expected to read the remaining policies at the earliest available opportunity, remain up to date with any changes made to policies and to raise any issues or concerns about safeguarding related policies, or the welfare of the children, they have immediately to the DSL or deputy DSL.

SUPPORT

Each class co-ordinator is expected to meet regularly with their class team and you should feel able to ask for support and further training in all aspects of the work you are involved in. The management committee is willing to respond to requests for training with Information Evenings at school and there are several courses organised by the ChristianSchools’ Trust each year.

Please make your needs known to the class or school co-ordinator or any member of the management committee; they are available to help should you have any difficulties. It is always helpful to be able to talk over any problems that you might be having with the children with someone of greater experience.

Sometimes those helping in school can feel rather isolated from the general school family. This could make any sensitive situation unnecessarily difficult. Isolation is not inevitable. Try to attend the prayer meetings, information evenings and Association meetings. Let the specific needs of your work with the youngsters be made known to the members of the prayer groups and members of the management committee.

A SAFE ENVIRONMENT – Code of conduct

It is possible to be lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that Christians will never be guilty of abusing children because they are part of God’s community. Sadly, this is not so, (as a result of the fall, human nature is corrupted by sin and Christians are only in the process of being sanctified). Nevertheless, the best way of preventing abuse and also of protecting our workers from false allegations of abuse is to plan the work so that opportunities for abusive situations to arise are minimised. For a more detailed outline of staff conduct, please refer to the Staff Code of Conduct document.

  1. Adult /Child Ratios

Outside the formal class setting there must be at least two recognised leaders for a group.

Further information about leading trips outside of school and outdoor activities can be found in other school policy documents such as the Out of School Visits policy and the Risk Assessment policy. There is also specific legislation regarding ratios in the government’s Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

  1. Time alone with children

Other than for individual tuition, time alone with children needs to be kept to a minimum and handled with the utmost care. Whenever you find yourself in the situation of being alone with a child, other people should know of the meeting. If there is only one pupil in the class, leave the door open. If a school activity extends beyond normal school hours, then two adults should remain on the premises until all the children have been collected. Younger children should not go home on their own and never without a parent’s consent.

3.Good practice in managing behaviour - including potentially violent behaviour

All children and young people need to be treated with respect and dignity. Under no circumstances should a child be smacked in school or receive physical contact punishment of any kind. The school co-ordinator will refer to the Discipline Policy and decide what action is appropriate. Verbal sanctions need to be given sensitively. An adult must not scapegoat, ridicule or reject a child, even in fun. It is essential that seriously unruly behaviour is discussed with the parents, and the class and school co-ordinators. Further information about managing behaviour can be found in the Break-time Supervision policy document. See also the Anti-Bullying policy and Behaviour and Discipline policy.

Adults must always look out for a child who is being bullied either physically or verbally by another child. Often this is quite subtle and discernment is needed to discover intent. It may be bullying made over the internet. See our E-Safety policy for more information on how we protect children whilst using technology.It should always be taken seriously as both the victim and the bully may have problems.Every incident of bullying must be reported to the DSL at the earliest available opportunity and recorded in the serious incident book so that any patterns in behaviour can be spotted more easily.

In the case of peer-on-peer violence taking place in school grounds or during school hours, teachers should seek to separate the children as quickly as possible to prevent further harm. Physical restraint may be required to prevent a child from harming themselves or othersby approaching them from the back and putting their arms around the child’s shoulders. Ideally this would be done by an adult of the same gender as the child, but this may not always be possible. If this is not possible, a second adult of the same gender as the child should be sought as quickly as possible. For more information on how this situation would be followed up, see the Anti-Bullying Policy for further help on this issue.

Excessive attention seeking or sexually provocative behaviour is often a sign that something is wrong at home. If an adult finds that he/she is the object of such attention he/she must discuss this with the relevant Class Co-ordinator and the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) as soon as possible.

4. Touch

A good principle is that touch should be related to the child's needs not yours, it should be age appropriate. Obviously young children need a lot more physical reassurance than older ones, particularly in times of distress. A small child who hurts themselves may need an arm around the shoulder or to sit on an adult’s knee for a short while. In the latter case, physical contact is more appropriate from someone of the same sex and if possible, only in the presence of another adult. A young child who is not distressed, but who consistently requests physical contact such as a cuddle or to sit on an adult’s knee, should be encouraged to sit at the side of the adult and receive support through other forms of contact such as ‘high fives’ or an arm around their shoulder. Two small boys fighting may need to be separated by adults who should restrain from the back of the child by placing their arms around the outside of the arms of a child so as to avoid injury to the adult or child. Remember that a hug in public is very different from one behind closed doors. For older children and adults, especially those of the same sex, a ‘side hug’ or arm around their shoulder in the presence of others should be used. What might be considered acceptable "horse-play" in the context of a family relationship is unacceptable between a young person and an adult in charge. Team members should take responsibility for monitoring each other in this area.

5. Confidentiality

It is very important never to assure complete confidentiality to a child/young person until you are sure about the nature of their concerns. It is always possible to assure them of your help and support whatever they have to say. If they begin to tell you that they are being abused, or if you suspect that abuse has taken place, you will need to inform the DSL at the earliest available opportunity. A clear written record of any comments made by a child/young person that raise concern should be made by the adult who spoke to the child at the earliest available opportunity. This should then be given, either in person or in a sealed envelope, to the DSL at the earliest available opportunity. The child/comments should not be discussed with any other member of staff.

6. Health and Safety

You should keep yourself up to date with the relevant policy documents and fire/safety procedures. All leaders should know how to access help via a telephone. Fire Extinguishers are in place and checked regularly. A First-Aid kit is available and regularly checked. Most leaders and helpers should have Basic First Aid Training and those responsible for children aged 5 or less should have an up to date certificate in Paediatric First Aid. Accidents should be recorded in the accident record book with a note of any action taken. When transporting children, the driver is responsible for ensuring that seat belts/booster seats are worn as appropriate. (See Transport Policy)

If a driver is used regularly for transporting children, they should have an enhanced DBS Disclosure.

SAFER RECRUITMENT OF STAFF - VETTING PROCEDURES

DCSF Statutory Instrument 2007/1087 specifies that the school proprietor is ultimately responsible for the suitability of all volunteers and employees who work with the children. To comply with the regulations, all appropriate checks, including anenhanced DBS disclosurefor work with children, and medical fitness questionnaire,must be completed before you take on any responsibility for work with children. The DBS certificate number and date of issuewill be recorded on the Staff Central Record in the form prescribed by the regulations along with a record of photo-identification – passport or driving licence number. Those helping in the classroom or leading an outdoor activity will be included in this process as they are likely to be left unsupervised with children.DBS disclosure checks will be completed with the school DBSco-ordinator.

The school DBS co-ordinator together with the applicant will complete the forms online with The Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS), our umbrella organisation. Before the check is done you will be asked to fill in a – Self Declaration Form for a Position requiring a Disclosure. This form will be kept secure. The result of the DBS check is sent via the secure CCPAS website to the DBS co-ordinator. The issue number and date will be kept on the Central Register, but no other details will be kept.

For applicants who have previously signed up to the DBS Update service for a regulated activity an online update check can be made with the applicant’s permission.

A DBS disclosure is not needed if the applicant has worked within the last 3 months or is still working (in a regulated activity) for an organisation for which an enhanced DBS check was done.

A DBS disclosure is not needed for a supervisedvolunteer in a regulated activity but they must always be supervised.

Any visitors to the school must be accompanied by a DBS cleared member of staff at all times and must not be put into a situation by any member of staff in which they may find themselves alone with children in any part of the school, including in the playground. All visitors and asked to make a formal appointment to visit the school, confirmed by the head teacher before their arrival. They will also be asked to sign in and out using the visitor’s book.

Further Sanction Checks – we will do online pre-appointment prohibition checks using the DfE secure access teacher employer website. Here we will check for any teacher who has failed induction or probation, also for any GTCE sanctions (General teaching council for England), for teachers and others prohibited from the profession, and for any teacher sanctioned in other EEA member states.

An adult who works in the school will be asked to provide the names of one or two referees, including a character reference from a church leader who knows him/her well. Previous experience of work with young children is always helpful but nobody should be deterred by lack of experience.

Any new member of staff or management committee, either paid or voluntary, is required to attend an induction training day before they commence their role. This must include training on safeguarding procedures, policies and staff code of conduct. All new personnel are required to read, and sign to say they have read, the following documents: Child Protection policy, Whistleblowing policy, Teaching and Learning policy, Risk Assessment policy, E-Safety and Social Media policy, Prevention of Extremism policy and Behaviour and Discipline policy. All other policies are to be read at the earliest available opportunity.

Any new teacher within school, whether parent or paid employee, will be monitored closely by the class-coordinator who will meet with them regularly to discuss their planning, teaching and assessment. They will also be observed once a term by the head teacher who will also monitor their progress within school. Initially, any planning is to be set by the class-coordinator for parents new to teaching but they should look to be contributing to schemes of work within the year. Any formal assessment of the children, and input of data into the school’s progress tracking system, is to be done by paid teachers rather than parent teachers to ensure that pupil data remains secure.