1. Safeguarding Awareness LSCB Training and Development Officer
Jan Blackburn
LSCB Training and Development Officer
Bexley Safeguarding Children Board

2. By the end of this session you will be aware of:
Aim: to raise awareness in the safeguarding of children and to remind you of your responsibilities whenever you have a concern about a child.
By the end of this session you will be aware of:
what is meant by the term safeguarding children;
the various types of intervention and their thresholds;
some signs and symptoms of possible abuse;
what you should do if you have a concern for a child’s welfare or safety.
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3. Legislation, Guidance, Procedure
Notes for Trainers
The above documents represent the main legislation and Government guidance as well as the London-wide procedures.
Point out that there are other guidance documents but the slide indicates the main, basic documents.

4. Bexley Safeguarding Childrens’ Board
Bexley Safeguarding Children Board

5. Working Together 2015
Safeguarding children and protecting them from harm is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play.3
Bexley Safeguarding Children Board 5

6. Working Together 2015
No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.
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7. Barriers to Working Together
With Families
Between Professionals
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8. Safeguarding and Promoting Welfare
Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Ensuring children
grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
London Child Protection Procedures 2015
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9. For children who need additional help, every day matters.
Academic research is consistent in underlining the damage to children from delaying intervention. The actions taken by professionals to meet the needs of these children as early as possible can be critical to their future.
Working Together to safeguard Children 2015
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10. Continuum Of Need s47 Common Assessment Framework s17
Complex support needs / Children in Need
Child protection needs
Simple support needs
Everyday needs
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11. Safeguarding Children
Child Protection is a part of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm.
Working together to safeguard Children 2010.
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12. area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.”
Child Protection
Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make enquiries if there is “reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their
area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.”
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13. Significant Harm
‘harm’ means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development, including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another;
‘development’ means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development;
‘health’ means physical or mental health; and
‘ill-treatment’ includes sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not physical.
(Source: Children Act 1989 as amended by the Adoption and
Children Act 2002)
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14. Significant Harm
Under s31 (10) of the Children Act 2004, the question of whether harm suffered by a child is significant relates specifically to the child’s health and development. Their health or development should be compared with that which could reasonably be expected of a similar child.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010,
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15. Recognising Abuse NEGLECT PHYSICAL ABUSE SEXUAL ABUSE EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Children can be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger for example, via the internet. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children.
(Source: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, 1.32, p37)
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16. Recognising Abuse Exercise: What are the signs of: Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Emotional Abuse
Neglect
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17. Vulnerability Children who may be more vulnerable to being harmed
babies and younger children
disabled children
children who are isolated
children who are already thought of as a problem (e.g. children in care; children in secure accommodation, children with emotional/behavioural difficulties)
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18. Vulnerability
Over two thirds (68%) of children killed at the hands of another person in England and Wales are aged under five years.
Infants aged under one year are more at risk of being killed at the hands of another person than any other single year age group in England and Wales.
Source: NSPCC, 2014
42% of children who are the subject of a child protection plan are under 4 years old.
Source: Department for Education, 2013
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19. Vulnerability 3.8 time more likely to be neglected;
Disabled children are:
3.8 time more likely to be neglected;
3.8 more likely to be physically abused;
3.1 times more likely to be emotionally abused.
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20. Children In Need
… 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;
those who are disabled.
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(Source: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, 1.25, p35)

21. Children in Need
Local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need.
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22. Identifying Early Need
Professionals should .. Be alert to the potential need for early help for a child who:
Is disabled and has specific additional needs;
Has special educational needs;
Is a young carer;
Is showing signs of engaging in anti-social or criminal behaviour;
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23. Identifying Early Need (2)
Is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for the child, such as substance abuse, adult mental health problems and domestic violence;
Has returned home to their family from care
Is showing early signs of abuse and / or neglect
Working Together 2015
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24. Continuum of need exercise
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25. Responding to a Concern
Try to be available to be spoken to. The child may not be ready when you are.
Think about what you might say/do/how you present before it happens
Take time to read local C.P. procedures and guidelines
Keep an open mind about what you are told.
Take any disclosure seriously, even if you cannot see any injury.
Listen carefully to what the child says without interrupting
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26. Responding
Be sensitive - arrange a safe and private environment for the child to talk.
Stay calm - don’t show shock or horror.
Be reassuring - tell the child that they were right to tell/have done nothing wrong.
Acknowledge how difficult it was for the child to tell, explain what needs to happen next.
Be honest - don’t make promises that you can’t keep.
Be supportive - put arrangements in place for initial support.
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27. Responding Don’t promise confidentiality.
Don’t delay action in response to a disclosure
Don’t pre-judge what you are told or make assumptions.
Don’t be afraid of being wrong, or be concerned about starting an investigation - you will be supported
At the earliest opportunity make a written record.
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28. Responding Questions should be:
Necessary – the purpose of questions at this stage is to establish whether or not there is a concern, not to interrogate the child or conduct an investigation.
Non-leading – do not use questions that suggest an answer.
Open – avoid questions that invite only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
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29. Legislation, Guidance and Procedure
ALWAYS
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30. Making a Referral
Always telephone children’s social care without delay if you suspect that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering harm.
Parents should be told of your concern and that you intend to refer (unless informing parents would place the child at risk of harm) – see London Procedures – if in doubt, seek advice.
You do not need parental agreement to make a referral in respect of a child at risk of harm.
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31. Making a Referral
Whenever you make a telephone referral, always back this up in writing (within 48 hours) using your local authority’s referral form.
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32. Making a Referral
If your referral is in respect of support for a Child-in Need where the threshold of significant harm has not been reached, a written referral can be submitted to children’s services.
This is sometimes made after assessment under the Common Assessment Framework has indicated that it is required.
An assessment under the Common Assessment Framework and/or referral for support for a ‘Child in Need’ should only occur with parental consent.
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33. Making a referral
When referring a child to children’s social care, you should consider and include any information you have on the child’s development needs and their parents / carers ability to respond to these needs within the context of their wider family and environment.
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused
March 2015
Bexley Safeguarding Children Board

34. Assessment Framework CH Child’s Developmental Needs Parenting Capacity
Health
Education
Identity
Emotional & Behavioural
Development
Family & Social
Relationships
Social Presentation
Self-care Skills
Basic Care
Emotional Warmth
Stimulation
Guidance &
Boundaries
Ensuring Safety
Stability CH
Parenting Capacity
CHILD
Safeguarding and Promoting Welfare
Child’s Developmental Needs
Family History
& functioning
Wider Family
Housing
Employment
Income
Family & Social
Integration
Community
Resources
Family and Environmental Factors
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35. Information Sharing
There are many situations in which professionals can share information legally without obtaining consent from a child or his carer …. When an assessment of the risk factors affecting a child or family is being undertaken, information will be shared without consent when consultation has taken place with a line manager or designated safeguarding professional.
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36. Information Sharing
You should weigh up what might be happen if the information is shared against the consequences of not sharing the information. Early sharing of information is key to providing effective early help where there are emerging problems.
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused 2015
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37. Bexley Procedures Front Door M.A.S.H. CAF
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38. CAF Process Child needing multi-agency support
TAF agreed with relevant agencies
Seek written consent from parent / young person (16+)
Smart Plan agreed and next TAF meeting agreed
Basic details and consent sent to CAF admin
Plan progresses, CAF closed and CAF admin notified
Assessment on child / family completed
Plan not achieved, consider referral for TF or CSC
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39. Responsibilities
Serious case reviews alert us to the fact that once a referral is made, professionals often believe they have no further responsibility. Criticisms have been made of this.
If you don’t hear about a referral, check out what decision has been made in respect of the child / family and if your concerns continue, consider escalating the case.
LSCB website contains an escalation form.
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40. Challenge
‘There had been plenty of opportunities to intervene in this child’s life, but this required the professionals involved to challenge the actions and decisions of other professionals, not to make assumptions about what others would do, and to take personal responsibility for following through on concerns about children’s safety and welfare’.
Brandon et al.
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41. Case Study
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42. Voice of the Child
Anyone working with children should see and speak to the child; listen to what they say; take their views seriously; and work with them collaboratively when deciding how to support their needs.
Working Together 2015
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43. Voice of the Child
Five key themes about the voice of the child have been identified …. In too many cases:
the child was not seen frequently enough by the professionals involved, or was not asked about their views and feelings
agencies did not listen to adults who tried to speak on behalf of the child and who had important information to contribute
parents and carers prevented professionals from seeing and listening to the child
Notes for Trainers
Achieving good outcomes for children begins with an understanding of their individual needs.

44. Voice of the Child
practitioners focused too much on the needs of the parents, especially vulnerable parents, and overlooked the implications for the child
agencies did not interpret their findings well enough to protect the child.
(Source: The voice of the child: learning lessons from serious case reviews, Ofsted 2011)
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45. Responsibilities
Know your establishment’s child protection procedures.
Know how to recognise the signs that should cause concern.
Discuss your concerns about a child with your manager, a senior manager or the person with responsibility for child protection.
Always make a referral to the local authority children’s social care services department when you have cause to believe that a child has suffered and/or may suffer harm.
Notes for Trainers
Automatic Animation - elements of this slide will appear automatically one at a time.
Conclude by reminding everyone present about their basic responsibilities.
Any questions.
Session concludes.
Seek advice from the local authority children’s social care services department if in any doubt about making a referral.

46. Useful Information http://www.bexleylscb.org.uk/
Bexley Safeguarding Children Board