Explain Appropriate Responses When Child Abuse is Suspected

It is vital to make sure that those who are working with children or young people who are in care. They will need to make sure that they have different policies as well as procedures which will need to be available to every staff members who are working with vulnerable children or young people in care. The staff will also need to make sure that everyone knows about the legislations and allows safeguarding children and young people.

Child maltreatment has a negative effect on health, as the children would suffer from physical injuries such as cuts, bruises, burns and broken bones. It can also cause stress which can eventually harm the development of the nervous system as well as the immune system. It can also disrupt early brain development.

The Graham family case study has shown that there are many children whose needs are not being met. If there are any staff members who have recognized abuse or neglect taking place in any health and social care setting then it should be immediately reported to the head. There are many members of staff who have noticed that the children will come to school frequently looking very tired, dirty and often smelling of urine. They have also tried to steal food from other children’s lunch boxes and wear the same clothes for several days. The staff members have also noticed that keeley is very clingy towards her staff and they have identified that Simon regularly came into school with bruises.

It is very important to have a safe working practice set up. This is because it protects and safeguards the children, young people and the staff where they will set out different safe working practices such as criminal checks also known as CRB, they may also have interviews in order to safeguard and protect the children. Whistle blowing is when a worker reports suspected wrongdoings in a workplace. Whistle blowing is very important to be included in child maltreatment. A staff member should be able to report things which are not right and are illegal or if anyone at work is neglecting their duties for example, if the child’s health and safety is in danger, where the staffs has suspected signs of abuse such as bruises, cuts and scars. Whistle blowing protects children as the staff members who witness a situation where abuse is taking place will report to another member of staff or mangers about it.

They will then take action to make sure abuse doesn’t happen. However, if they are not able to report the issue which has taken place then they will need to contact OFSED or the social services as they will be able to help children from abuse. In order for the child to be protected and secured from abuse, they will need to have clear lines of reporting. When the members of staff are reporting abuse then they must make sure that the reporting is accurate. When the member of staff is reporting abuse then they will go through clear guidelines where they will need to make sure that they know who they are reporting it to in order to protect the child. For example, they may report it to the manager, chosen child protection officer, head teacher or social services. On the other hand they will need to make sure that the report they have written is accurate as well as they must write down the reasons and concerns wisely. This is because there may be a few other members off staff who have reported abuse earlier about a specific child but have not been clear and didn’t write down their concerns properly.

Having clear lines of reporting would make sure that the child is secured and protected because if then the managers of the care setting or other members who deal with child abuse would be able to have enough evidence that the child is being abused. In this procedure, confidentiality plays a very important role as the staff needs to make sure that the records which they have written are safe and is kept in a locked and secured place which can be accessed by those people who need the information. The child protection register contains confidential details of those children who are still at risk of physcial, emotional or sexual abuse as well as neglect. If there are worries which occur about the child protection which proves that the child is at risk of abuse and harm then there is an organization which will lead to arrangements of events that will lead to the child protection register. There are policies and procedures which should be known to those who look after children and young people. The staff should be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of abuse and need to know what to do when there is a child who is telling them about the abuse which they may be going through.

When the child tells them about the abuse then it is very important for them to know all the information and will need to record it and will need to make sure that there are a few people who can only see the report. Disclosure can get involved when there is a child who will tell a staff member or others that they have been abused or are being abused. Disclosure can be direct, indirect or third-party disclosure. It is very important that the person the child has said they are being abused to reports all the disclosure of abuse no matter where or when the abused happened. Indirect disclosure is when there is verbal hints which appear to be about abuse as well as written hints. There can also be graphic hints which include journal writing, drawings, art work which can appear to be about abuse. This is where the staff may realize behavioral changes in the child. Whereas, direct disclosure is when the child have said that they are being abused or neglected. The child will tell something which is happening to them only when certain conditions are being met.

The child will also pretend that it is happening to someone when it is happening to them. When the child discloses the abuse it is very important that the person they have disclosed the information too is calm as the child will need to know that the person is available to help them. If the person reacted shockingly or fear then this can make the child feel anxious or ashamed. However, if the person gave a calm response and reassured them that whatever happened is not so bad and it can be worked through. They will need to proceed slowly which is very important because there are some people who find it difficult and are unsure about what to do or say when the child is telling them about the abuse. This is why they will need to be gentle and open-minded where they will need to ask the child questions such as ‘can you tell me more about what happened’ and will need to avoid the questions which begin with why.

They will need to reassure the child that they have not done anything and they will need to be supportive. The child will need to feel safe around person and will need to make sure that they know that they have done the right thing and will do anything to make sure that they are safe and that this matter can be solved. It is very important to report the abuse to the child’s protection worker immediately. There are many children who think that it is their fault that they are being abused where they will start to feel guilty as they believe that the only reason why they are getting abused is because they have done something wrong and because of that they are being punished. There are other children who do not tell anyone that they are being abused as they think that if they do they will get into more trouble and they will be abused more which is why they do not tell anyone and carry on being abused.

References:

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/CM-factsheet-a.pdf http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/research/statistics/child_protection_register_statistics_wda48723.html http://www.safekidsbc.ca/definitions.htm#direct http://www.safekidsbc.ca/disclosure.htm