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Holland Park Pre-Prep School and Day Nursery
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Including E-safety Policy and Non collection of children policy
Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP)Deputy DSP / Jessica Montgomery
Philip Culling
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following policies:
· Behaviour and anti-bullying Policy
· Fundamental British Values Policy
· Health and Safety Policy
· Inclusion Policy (within Equal Opportunities Policy)
· Media Policy
· SEND Policy (which includes supporting children with medical needs)
and the following procedure:
· Unaccounted Child Procedure
Contents Page
1. General Principles 1
2. Duty of Care 2
3. Definitions of Child Abuse 2
4. Procedures for radicalization, forced marriage and FGM 4
5. Whistleblowing procedures 5
6. Appointing Staff procedures 5
7. Use of photography and photographs 6
8. Attendance, the school roll and missing pupils 7
9. General child safeguarding policy 7
10. Safeguarding procedure for staff 8
11. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) 11
12. Prevent Duty 11
E-safety Policy 13
Non Collection of Children Policy 19
1. General Principles
HPPS is committed to caring in a holistic way, providing a safe and secure environment for pupils, staff and visitors and promoting a climate where pupils and adults feel confident about sharing any concerns that they may have about their own safety or the wellbeing of others. Children are taught, in an age appropriate way, about safeguarding, including e-safety. Detailed information is available in our E-Safety Policy (below) and our PSHE schemes of work document. This Safeguarding Policy draws on the principles of:
* ‘Every Child Matters’, duties conferred by the Children Acts 1989 and 2004,
* S175/157 of the 2002 Education Act
* Education and Inspections Act 2006
* Ofsted Guidance issued in 2011
* Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015)
* Keeping Children Safe in Education (2015) (KCSIE)
This policy is made available to parents on the school website and a paper copy is available in the school office upon request.
2. Duty of Care
HPPS recognises that all staff have a duty of care to take action of behalf of a child suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Everyone involved in the care of young children has a role to play in their protection. We will work with other agencies in protecting children from harm and responding to abuse. In line with the statutory requirements as specified in ‘Every Child Matters’, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ regarding children’s welfare, suitability of people working within the school and appropriate environments,.
Taking necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, we are in a unique position to observe any changes in a child’s behaviour or appearance.
We are committed to:
- Promoting the good health of the children, taking necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection and taking appropriate action when they are ill.
- Managing children’s behaviour effectively and in a manner appropriate for their stage of development and particular individual needs.
- Ensuring that adults looking after children, or having unsupervised access to them, are suitable to do so through thorough checks of records and evidence of identity.
- Maintaining records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of the school to meet the needs of the children.
- Ensuring adults looking after children have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge.
- Ensuring that all staff (including part time and non-teaching staff) have regular training in child protection which is updated every two years.
- Ensuring that all staff (including part time, voluntary and non-teaching) have read and sign their agreement to comply with school Safeguarding Policy.
- Organising staffing arrangements to ensure safety and to meet the needs of the children.
- Ensuring outdoor and indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys are safe and suitable for their purpose.
- Planning and organising our systems to ensure that every child receives an enjoyable and challenging learning and development experience that is tailored to meet their individual needs.
3. Definition of Child Abuse
Child Abuse
This refers to actual or likely significant harm to a child or young person under the age of 18 years, caused by various acts of omission or commission.
Significant Harm
Some children are in need because they are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm. The Children Act 1989 introduced the concept of significant harm as the threshold that justifies compulsory intervention in family life in the best interests of children. The local authority is under a duty to make enquiries, or cause enquiries to be made, where it has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm (s47 of the Children Act 1989)
Child in Need
Children who are defined as being ‘in need’, under the Children Act 1989, are those whose vulnerability is such that they are unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health and development will be significantly impaired, without the provision of services (s17(10) of the Children Act 1989). The critical factors to be taken into account in deciding whether a child is in need under the Children Act 1989 are what will happen to a child’s health or development without services, and the likely effect the services will have on the child’s standard of health and development.
How children can be abused
Children may be abused through:
- Physical abuse
Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child, including fabrication of the symptoms of, or deliberately causing, ill health to a child. Concerns about female genital mutilation (FGM) prompted, for example, by a girl being on extended and unauthorised absence returning to the parents’ mother country, should be reported immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Person.
- Sexual exploitation
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
- Neglect
Neglect is when children are not being provided with the basic things needed for them to thrive. It is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development, such as failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, or neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
- Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse is being made to feel unwanted, ugly, worthless, guilty or unloved. It is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person, age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children, causing children frequently to feel frightened, or the exploitation or corruption of children.
- Bullying
Bullying (which may involve any of the above) is the wilful desire to hurt, threaten or frighten someone and takes the form of varying levels of physical or verbal abuse which can be very subtle, although no less hurtful or damaging, such as exclusion from the group. Name calling and taunting can include both racial and sexual harassment. Procedures for dealing with abuse by one or more pupils against another pupil are more explicitly explained in our Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policy.
- Exposure to domestic violence
This is prolonged and/or regular exposure to domestic violence which can have a serious impact on a child’s development and emotional wellbeing. A child may suffer a blow during episodes of violence, and/or be greatly distressed by witnessing the physical and emotional suffering of a parent. This could lead to serious anxiety or distress.
4. Procedures
The procedure for action if you suspect a parent of radicalisation is that you report to the Designated Safeguarding Person immediately.
The procedure if you suspect a child is likely to undergo a forced marriage you report it to the Designated Safeguarding Person.
If you see that a child has undergone FGM, you must notify the police first before your Designated Safeguarding Person as FGM is illegal.
5. Whistle blowing procedure
See The Public Interest Disclosure Act (1998).
Staff must acknowledge their individual responsibility to bring matters of concern to the attention of the Designated Safeguarding Person or relevant agencies. Although it can be difficult, this is important where the safety of children may be at risk.
You may be the first to recognise that something is wrong, but may not feel able to express your concerns out of a feeling that this would be disloyal to colleagues or you may fear harassment or victimisation. These feelings are natural, but they must never result in a child continuing to be unnecessarily at risk. Remember, it is often the most vulnerable children who are targeted and they need someone like you to safeguard their welfare. Should you have concerns about poor or unsafe practice or potential failures in the school’s safeguarding regime, you should raise these with the Headmistress or a member of the Leadership Team. You should be reassured that your concerns will be treated seriously and confidentially. Should you feel that your concerns are not being addressed, you should pursue alternative whistleblowing channels, e.g., by contacting the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
Reasons for whistle blowing:
- Each individual has a responsibility for raising concerns about unacceptable practice or behaviour
- To prevent the problem worsening or widening
- To protect or reduce risks to others
- To prevent becoming implicated yourself
What stops people from whistle blowing:
- Starting a chain of events which spirals
- Disrupting the work or project
- Fear of getting it wrong
- Fear of repercussions or damaging careers
- Fear of not being believed
How to raise a concern:
- Voice concerns as soon as you feel you can
- The earlier a concern is expressed the easier and sooner action can be taken
- Try to pinpoint exactly what practice is concerning you and why
- Approach the Designated Safeguarding Person or their deputy
- If your concern is about your immediate manager you should speak with the Designated Safeguarding Person. If your concerns are about the Designated Safeguarding Person, you should speak to the Headmistress or another member of the Leadership Team as appropriate. If your concerns pertain to the Headmistress and you do not think that it would be appropriate in the circumstances to raise them with the Designated Safeguarding Person, you should contact the LADO directly.
- Make sure you get a satisfactory response - don't let matters rest
- Ideally, put your concerns in writing, outlining the background and history, giving names, dates and places where you can
- A staff member is not expected to prove the truth of an allegation but they will need to show sufficient grounds for the concern
What happens next?
- You should be given information on the nature and progress of any enquiries
- As your employer, the School has a responsibility to protect you from harassment or victimisation
- No action will be taken against you if the concern proves to be unfounded but was raised in good faith
- Malicious allegations may be considered as a disciplinary offence
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 allows individuals to disclose certain issues to particular external parties where there is good reason to believe that internal disclosure will not be taken seriously or will cause the individual making the disclosure to be penalised in some way.
It is recognised that whistleblowing can be stressful. Advice and support is available from your manager.
6. Appointing staff procedure
It is important that thorough checks are made on anybody who will be working at the school both to prevent unsuitable people from gaining access to children and to maintain the integrity of the teaching profession. The school operates a safer recruitment procedure, as set out below, as specified in our Safer Recruitment Policy in line with the Independent School Standards Regulations. To ensure safer, stringent staff recruitment, the school will action the following before a candidate takes up a position:
Identity – proof of identity should be supplied in the form of a passport or similar official documentation with photograph.
Academic Qualifications – verification of qualifications should be done by looking at relevant certificates or diplomas, or a letter of confirmation from the awarding institution. If original documents are not available, a properly certified copy must be produced.
Professional and Character References – these should always be taken up and directly with the referee. It is not good practice to rely solely on testimonials provided by the candidate or on employers who are not the most recent or current.
Previous Employment History – always obtain satisfactory explanation for gaps in employment history. If a candidate for a teaching post is not currently employed as a teacher, a check with the school at which they were most recently employed should confirm details of their employment and their reasons for leaving.
Overseas checks: all new staff coming from overseas (whether British or not) are subject to a criminal records check (or equivalent) in their country of origin or any country they have lived in.
Prohibition order checks: since April 2014 all new teaching staff are checked to ensure they do not hold Secretary of State prohibitions.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check – enhanced DBS checks should be carried out. Existing checks will only be accepted as a temporary measure if they are a year or less in date and the candidate has worked with children within the last three months.
Children's Barred List – this is a confidential list providing information on all people whose employment has been restricted or barred by the Disclosure and Barring Service. DBS Disclosure of a person’s suitability to work with children will contain details of whether they are included on the Children's Barred List.