Safeguarding Update for SchoolsSummer Term 2014

Jo Barclay

Safeguarding Adviser to Schools

Standards & Excellence Service

Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE, April 2014)

• New document - replaces ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (DfES, 2006)

• Should be read in conjunction with ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (DfE, 2013)

• Annex B (p.42) – ‘Role of the designated safeguarding lead’

• All staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn

• All staff have a responsibility to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. All staff then have a responsibility to take appropriate action, working with other services as needed

• Staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, they should always act in the interests of the child.

• All staff should be aware of systems within their school which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This includes: – Safeguarding Policy – Staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct)– The name of the designated safeguarding lead and how to

access them

• All staff should also receive appropriate child protection training which is regularly updated (At least every two years for Designated Lead)

• All staff should be aware of the signs of abuse and neglect so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection.

It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address risks and prevent issues escalating. Research and Serious Case Reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective action. Poor practice includes:

– failure to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect

– poor record keeping– failure to listen to the views of the child– failure to re-assess concerns when situations do

not improve – sharing information too slowly – a lack of challenge to those who appear not to be

taking action

How to access support in Essex…

www.escb.co.uk

‘Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex’ (ESCB, 2013)

Essex Effective Support Windscreen

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Universal (Level 1)

All children who live in the area have core needs such as parenting, health and education – children are supported by their family and in universal services to meet all their needs

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Additional (Level 2)

Children and families with additional needs who would benefit from or who require extra help to improve education, parenting and / or behaviour, or to meet specific health or emotional needs or to improve material situation

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Intensive (Level 3)

Vulnerable children and their families with multiple needs or whose needs are more complex, such as children and families who:

• Have a disability resulting in complex needs• Exhibit anti-social or challenging behaviour• Suffer neglect or poor family relationships• Have poor engagement with key services such • as school and health• Are not in education or work long term

Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex – Specialist (Level 4)

• Children or young people who have suffered or are likely to suffer significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect

• Children with significant impairment of function / learning and / or life limiting illness

• Children whose parents and wider family are unable to care for them

• Families involved in crime / misuse of drugs at a significant level

• Families with significant mental or physical health needs

Update on Child and Family Single Assessment

• From January 2014 the Single Assessment will replace both the 10 and 35 days Combined Assessments

• The Single assessment framework will: • Encourage the use of systemic social work • Aid relationship building with children and their families • Strengthen reflective social work and supervision • Strengthen use of research in assessments • Identify the balance of risks and resilience • Assist in explaining why Social Care are involved in a

child’s life

Update on Child and Family Single Assessment and link with Family Solutions

• Single Assessment completed and outcome is that Social Care intervention not required and no CiN or other plan started: case can be referred to Early Help Hub for referral to Family Solutions (consent from family required). Case will go through normal screening process and progressed to the local Family Solutions team as appropriate

• Single Assessment completed and leads to CiN plan: once plan completed (after at least two months), if step down to Family Solutions is appropriate, case will be brought to the regular local Step Up / Step Down meeting for discussion and agreement on next steps as per the existing protocol

Update on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE):

• All schools now have named ‘CSE Champion’

• CSE Champions Training – new dates now available on ESCB website

• ‘Aide Memoire’ from Essex Police

• Guidance pack for schools to be produced – will be available Autumn term 2014

Update on Domestic Abuse Notifications:

• Specialist team within Essex Police – JDAT – Joint Domestic Abuse Triage

• Each school now has a named person for DV notifications

• Essex sharing domestic abuse notifications High or medium risk case Open to Childrens Social Care

• 58 notifications from November 2013 – March 2014

Update on Prevention of Teenage Suicide in Essex:

• ESCB to lead on strategy document for Essex

• Working group already established to produce guidance pack for schools

• Pack for schools to include information on Critical Incident response and support

• Pack due by Autumn term 2014

Update on Safeguarding Network Groups for Schools:

• 10 groups to be established across Essex for Designated Leads to attend

• Will be a training and development forum and an opportunity to network with colleagues from other schools

• Will have input from Social Care, CAMHS and other key partners to develop professional networks and effective partnership working

• Sessions to be held termly – first dates in Summer 2014

Update on Section 11 Audit for schools:

• ESCB has commissioned a company to produce a version for schools and FE establishments

• Will be an on-line tool

• Content currently being populated

• Due for Summer 2014

Update on other current work:• Updated training

presentation for new school staff members / whole school ‘refresher’ now available

• Work on e-safely central resource tool on ESCB website being worked on – to be available Summer term 2014

• Training on managing sexualised behaviour of children in school being planned for Autumn 2014 (will be delivered through Safeguarding Network Groups)

• Model Safeguarding policy is being updated and will be available Summer term 2014

Learning from Serious Case Reviews:East Sussex SCR (December 2013)

This involved a sexual relationship between a teacher (Mr K) and child (G). Mr K received a custodial sentence of five and a half years

Events in 2012:• Holding hands on school trip• G truanted from lessons and made her way to Mr K’s class

instead• Communication between the two over Twitter• Former students reported a relation between the two• Report that G had inappropriate photos of Mr K on her phone

East Sussex SCR (cont.)

Learning Points for agencies:• Multi-agency approach was required but school was left to follow

up concerns (despite fact it was felt they had consistently avoided doing so during previous seven months)

• Agencies were ‘swayed’ by fact mother did not believe the rumours (thought is was a crush)

• Mr K was not interviewed by statutory agencies about the allegations during the initial investigation

• Missed opportunities over seven months for school to recognise that safeguarding intervention was required – lack of overall awareness of safeguarding implications

• G (the child) was perceived to be the problem by the school and there was too much focus on needs of Mr K (his personal difficulties / under pressure)

East Sussex SCR (cont.)

Learning Points for agencies:• School agreed to suggestion that Mr K speak to G’s mother to

reassure her there was no relationship (intentional grooming of parent?)

• School failed to identify abuse / exploitation of G and the breach of boundaries by Mr K (G was seen as the ‘instigator’)

• School did not keep any formal contemporaneous records of concerns about Mr K, or of any action taken to address these

• Little evidence of school seeking to involve mother of G in responding to concerns

• No evidence of school working with G in a ‘supportive’ way• Appeared to be lack of understanding of acceptable /

unacceptable communication between teachers and pupils on social networking sites

East Sussex SCR – Key messages for schools:• There must be effective arrangements for support and

supervision of staff with specialist child protection responsibilities

• There must be compliance with requirements around recording of child protection concerns (accurate, signed, dated, collated in a central place)

• There must be clear and robust ‘E-safety’ procedures in school and an understanding of all staff of the boundaries and the issues raised in this review– E-safety policy– Code of Conduct policy

• Schools should ask ‘what would stop this

happening in our school?’

Additional useful documents:

• SET Procedures (September 2011 but in process of being updated)

• Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE, 2013)

• You Have Someone to Trust – Outstanding Safeguarding Practice in Primary Schools (September 2012)

• Feeling Safe, Keeping Safe: Good Practice in Safeguarding and Child Protection in Secondary Schools (September 2013)

Contact for Safeguarding Adviser to Schools:

jo.barclay@essex.gov.uk

033301 31078