Safeguarding the Welfare of Children and Young People Persuasive

List the legislation, guidelines and policies for safeguarding the welfare of children and young people including safety

• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 – The UNCRC was put into place in 189 and ratified by the UK in 1991. This includes 54 articles. • The Education Act 2002 – These acts are updated with each corresponding year. • Children Act 2004 and 2006 – The 2004 act came along the Every Child Matters Act and had a huge impact in the way which schools address issues or care, welfare and discipline. There are 5 main outcomes for children/young people under Every Child Matters which are; Be healthy, stay safe, Enjoy and achieve, Make a positive contribution, Achieve economic well being

• The Freedom of Information Act – This act was brought into place in 2005 to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector and is fully retrospective. • The Human Rights Act 1998 – ‘It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a convention right’. • The Special Education Needs (SEN) Code of Practice 2001 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995/2005 – Under this practice parents and SEN children have had increased rights to mainstream education and also children who have special educational needs are been included more into mainstream schools and the individual support assistants who work along side them. • The Data Protection Act 1998 – This Act means that the school can only use and keep information for the purpose which it was intended and only people who are authorised to have it may see it.

Describe the roles of the different agencies involved in safeguarding

There are many agencies available in which are involved with safeguarding;

• Social Services: Are there to offer support to both the child and the setting. Social services have the powers to investigate any suspected improper behavior from carers, children or the setting. • Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU): This unit is run by the police who have the powers to investigate, interview and arrest anyone suspected of abusing a child. • Health Visitors: A Health Visitor can sometimes be the first person to spot abuse, especially physical. Health Visitors have a duty of care to refer such information to Social Services. • School Nurse: A School Nurse can sometimes be the first person to spot abuse, especially physical. School Nurse has a duty of care to refer such information to Social Services.

• The Police: The Police have the powers to investigate, interview and arrest anyone suspected of abusing a child. Quite often they will ask the CPIU to investigate directly and also inform Social Services. • NSPCC: Information can be passed anonymously to the NSPCC. If taken seriously the NSPCC have a duty of care to refer such information to Social Services. • OFSTED: If there are questions about practices within the setting then OFSTED may be asked to investigate further. • Health Professionals- GP’s, nurses, midwives and doctors in emergency departments may examine children with injuries which they may expect to be non- accidental. They have a duty to alert social services

Identify the characteristics of different types of child abuse Physical
• Unexplained marks on the body, e.g. burns, scalds, bruises, fractures
• Bite marks
• Abrasions/bruising around the mouth
• Marks on the body showing implements
• Substance miss-use
• Strange excuses
• Shown through role-play/drawings
• Soling themselves

• Self harm
• Eating disorders
• Panic of been left in the care of a certain person or certain sex
• Running away from home
• Not wanting to get changed for PE
• Withdrawn/aggressive behavior

Emotional Abuse
• Speech disorders
• Delay in physical or emotional development
• Poor concentration
• Self-harming behavior
• Substance miss-use
• Low self-esteem
• Difficulty in making friends
• Over reaction to a problem or a mistake
• Attention seeking
• Rocking/thumb sucking/hair twisting
• Shown through role-play/drawings
• Lack of trust amongst adults

Sexual Abuse
• ‘Love bites’
• Unexplained pregnancy’s
• Difficulty in talking or sitting
• Sleep problems
• Stomach problems
• Vaginal bleeding/discharge
• Self harming
• Withdrawn or confused
• Been very secretive
• Eating disorders
• Unexplained gifts
• Soling themselves
• STI’s

Neglect
• Hungry
• Difficulty in making friends
• Lateness/poor school attendance
• Untreated health problems
• Tiredness
• Poor hygiene
• Frequent illness’s
• Poor development
• Under or over weight
• No dinner money or pack up if not free meals

Describe the possible risks and consequences for children using the internet and mobile phones Internet
Risks
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Giving out personal information about themselves
• Accessing inappropriate information
• Cyber bullying

Consequences
• Child been groomed
• Children been encourage to join in conversations which are sexual in nature
• Taking and distributing photos using the internet
• Children committing suicide/self harming

Mobile phones
Risks
• Sexting
• Bullying
• access to unsuitable sites
• Lured into giving personal information; name, age, address and telephone numbers which could be used for identity theft or fraud. • Young people also use mobile phones to send images of themselves to their friends or publish them on the internet

Consequences
• Identity theft or fraud
• Children’s photos may be used in contexts other than what it was originally intended for • Children with their phones on show may be mugged or have it stolen off them

Describe actions to take in response to evidence or concerns that a child has been abused, harmed (including self harm) or bullied, or may be at risk of harm, abuse or bullying As a teaching assistant or learning support assistant you will build relationships with children in your school, even more so if you work on a one to one basis, you are likely to be the person in which a child would trust and feel comfortable with to open up about something. If a child was to open up you it is important to take the right steps in response to this. You have a statutory duty to report concerns under the Education Act 2002.

You must always report any concerns about any changes in behavior to the designated person or manager, make sure when a child/young person is opening up to you about a topic you must take them seriously as it will have took them a lot of courage to tell you and children very rarely lie about a topic such as abuse, always reassure the child/ren that they are not to blame for the abuse or for telling you. It is also important that you tell the child that you cannot keep a secret and you may need to tell another person about this and write everything down, what was seen/heard/told, when and where, the time and what you did so you have back up and also so you can follow up on the matter, but make sure you keep this information secure, safe and private.

Describe the actions to take in response to concerns that a colleague may be -failing to comply with safeguarding procedures
If a college was failing to comply with safeguarding procedures I would report it to the designated person for safeguarding or to the head teacher. I would also take a note of this with when it happened the time and what happened for future reference and then would follow it up and keep a close eye. -harming, abusing or bullying a child or young person

If I had concerns that a college may be harming, abusing or bullying a young person I would immediately report this to the head teacher. If the allegations were about the head teacher I would then report my concerns to the designated person for child protection or straight to the education authority. My first priority would always be the child.

Describe the principles and boundaries of confidentiality, and when to share information. Confidentiality is very important in schools. The principles and boundaries of confidentiality are to do with safeguarding children and young people. The main reason for having confidentiality is to maintain positive, supportive, respectful relationships with children and young people that recognises each individual’s right to privacy, their right to protection and their right to free expression. This could be done by finding quiet less public areas for discussing information, ensuring information given within a setting isn’t repeated outside of the setting for less professional reasons, everyone connected with a setting understands how sharing information relating to safeguarding is valued. A boundary of confidentiality is that it isn’t always appropriate/safe to keep information confidential where there may be a risk of harm to a child or young person.

Task 2
Illness and symptoms Recommended time to be kept of school and Comments treatment Chicken Pox Five days after onset of rash. It is not necessary to keep the child of Fever, itchiness, spots Schools own policy. school until all the spots have Treat with calamine lotion to relive disappeared. The spots clear 5- days after itching. on-set of rash. German measles 6 days after onset with of rash. The child is more infectious before Swollen glands, runny nose, red/pink rash, Treat by resting. You can put a bowl of diagnosis. Keep them away from pregnant fever, sore throat water in room to raise humidity. women. Impetigo When lesions are crusted or healed. Antibiotic cream may speed up healing. Wash Cracking skin, lesions, weeping, blisters, Treat with medicine or antibiotic cream. ands well after touching the child’s skin redness as impetigo is contagious. Ringworm None, but some may prefer to return to Treat with anti-fungal ointment; it may Raised ring, red rash, circular in shape school when treatment has started. require antibiotics.

Do not share towels flannels etc. Diarroea and vomiting 24-48 hours after last episode of diarroea There is no specific diagnosis or treatment Cramps, stomach pain, dehydration, sicknessor vomiting although drink plenty of clear fluids and no milk. Conjunctivitis No time is need off school although some GP may prescribe antibiotics. Infection in eye, allergy, irritation. schools may have different policies on Do not share towels flannels etc. this. Bathe eye with a cotton wool swab dipped in warm water, you can buy lubricant eye drops from over the counter. Measles Five days after onset of rash. This is now more likely down to parents Rash starts with small spots that get Give rest, plenty of fluids and paracetamolrefusing the MMR inoculation bigger and often join together, high for fever. fever/temp. Rash appears 2-4 days after other symptoms. Meningitis Get urgent medical attention. It is treatedIt can have severe complications and be with antibiotics fatal.

When do children need urgent medical attention?
Children may need medical attention in any of the following circumstances; • An open wound that won’t stop bleeding or where the blood is pumping out. • Burns or scalds to the child’s skin

• Meningitis symptoms such as a stiff neck, fever, headache and a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed by a glass. • Confusion, headache, vomiting or blurred vision after a head injury. • Being floppy, unresponsive or unconscious.

• Difficulty breathing and blueness around the lips.
• Suspected fractures
• Choking
• Taken drugs/substances
• Head injuries
Describe the actions to take in response to emergency situations including -Fires
All schools are required to have a health and safety policy and should give guidelines for emergency procedures and you should make sure you are fully aware of these. The school should have practice fire drills regularly at different times of the day so that all adults and children aware of what to do at wherever they may be on the school premises for example, lunchtimes so all lunch supervisors are present, or breakfast club time as they may be different staff on site and the children may be in a different part of the school. All children/adults should be aware of all fire exits and they should never be blocked or made hard to open. All children/adults must be made aware of fire alarms and how to set one off if needed. All fire drills and building evacuation practices must be recorded and displayed and all adults should know exactly what their role is and were to assemble pupils.

-Security incidents
Security covers all aspects of the school. Any one entering or leaving the school should sign in and be identified before entering, visitors should be issued with a badge so it is clear to any other adult/young person that they are visitors, the school should have secure entry and exit points. If their was anybody in the school unidentified you should challenge them instantly and the same if you were on duty outside the school and you noticed anything suspicious you should also send for help. Visitors should be escorted to their designated point. -Missing children

It is extremely rare for children to go missing while under school supervision but if a child was to go missing under any circumstance you should raise the alarm immediately. You should inform all staff present, do a check of the register to ensure all the other children are present and safe, checking all other areas and grounds of the school, and contact the child’s parents to see if they have gone home then if needed call the police. This could happen more on school trips for example in which you should regularly check your group of children for who you are responsible for as well as keeping an eye our for children who may be supervised by helpers. You could also put high visible or fluorescent bibs on the children so they stand out.