Inspection

[Straws]

Hello all
I had my inspection on monday it went well. One of the questions I was asked during the inspection was, If you witnessed a parent smacking there own child what would you do, I got the answer wrong, The correct answer was to report to social services as abuse this is news to me I never heard this before nor have other childminders I have spoken too. Did everyone else know this?

Straws x

[Trouble]

no but thanks for the warning:panic:

[scottie]

smacking a child is against the law and under your duty of care yes you would have to contact SS
i must say i have never heared of any one doing this

[Straws]

smacking a child is against the law and under your duty of care yes you would have to contact SS
i must say i have never heared of any one doing this

A parent smacking there own child is not illegal, And thats the answer I gave

[sarah707]

That opens up a can of worms and is certainly not something I'd heard about...

It might be worth sending an email to Ofsted for written clarification.

enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk :D

[mrsbumbles]

Eeeekkkk, its not something that i would want to report to Ofsted. Unless it was a really harsh smack to a child which was out of control. :panic:

[sarah707]

Here you go! Make of it what you will :D

Hi,

Can you please clarify a query I have.

At a recent inspection a childminder friend was asked, 'What would you do if you saw a parent smack their child?'

Can you please tell me Ofsted's stance on this question and where this is stated in the current and future EYFS standards.

Thank you,

Sarah Neville.


Dear Miss Neville, thank you for your e-mail.

In response to your query the National Standards state that:

Standards 13: Child Protection:

13.1 The protection of the child is the childminder's first priority.

Coping with concerns about the possible abuse of a child is very stressful. However, your first responsibility is to the child. This means that you need to know about signs of abuse or neglect and what to do if concerns arise.

You need to be aware of the government booklet What to do if you're worried a child is being abused - summary (or any national guidance which replaces this). You need to find out how to contact your local social services department or the police if you are concerned about a child. This includes any situation where an allegation of abuse covers a period while the child is in your care.

You need to ensure that any co-worker, assistant or student also knows what to do.

13.2 The childminder is able to recognise possible signs and symptoms of abuse or neglect, is aware of the Government booklet 'What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused - Summary' (or any national guidance booklet which replaces this publication) and knows whom to contact in social services or the police if concerned about a child. This includes allegations of abuse which is alleged to have taken place while the child is in the care of the childminder.

13.3 Any concerns are recorded and reported to social services or the police in accordance with local Area Child Protection Committee** procedures, and to Ofsted without delay.*

The Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) is a committee of senior managers from all agencies working with children and their families within a local authority area (including police, health and social services). It has responsibility for ensuring that all agencies work together for the protection of children. It also ensures that national policies and procedures relating to child protection are put in place locally. It gives guidance on what to do if you have a concern and what will happen as a result of you reporting it.

Because you work closely with the children in your care, listening to them and playing with them, you know them and you are therefore in a position to notice:

- any significant changes in their behaviour
- any unexplained bruising or marks
- any comments they make which give you cause for concern
- any deterioration in their general wellbeing.

If you do have any cause for concern, or if an allegation is made against you, you should report it to the Social Services Department of your local authority in accordance with your local ACPC procedures and to your Ofsted regional centre without delay.

13.4 The childminder ensures that any concerns are kept confidential following the guidelines in 'What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused - Summary'.

It is a matter of your professional judgement whether or not you raise your concerns with the parents. However, it is important that you do not attempt to investigate for yourself and that you:

- keep accurate factual records of any concerns
- report concerns quickly to minimise any risk to the child.

Consider including in any record:

- the child's full name and address
- the date and time of your record
- details of what prompted your concern, for example observation of bruising, something told to you by the child
- details of any previous concerns
- details of any explanations given by the parent or child
- any action you have taken, such as speaking to parents.

Under certain circumstances inspectors may require to see records relating to child protection matters.

You should make sure that any child protection concerns that could identify a particular child are kept confidential and only shared with people who need to know this information. There are guidelines for you to follow in What to do if you're worried a child is being abused - summary.

** The Area Child Protection Committee in each local authority area brings together representatives from the main agencies responsible for helping to protect children from abuse and neglect. Area Child Protection Committees will be replaced by Local Safeguarding Children Boards by 1 April 2006.


What the inspector looks for - children's records.

The inspector bases judgements on the extent to which:

- you have a working knowledge of what child abuse and neglect means, and know possible signs of abuse or neglect;
- you know what to do if you suspect a child in your care is being abused (ACPC procedures);
- you know what to do if any allegations of abuse are made about you or other people who have access to a child while the child is in your care;
- you have dealt with any child protection concerns you have encountered.

Children Act Regulations - you must notify Ofsted about any allegations of serious harm or abuse against a child while the child is in your care.

A copy of the National Standards can be obtained from: www.surestart.gov.uk

The EYFS standards relating to this are still to be defined.

I hope the information I have provided will be of some assistance to you.

Regards,

Catherine Sefton, Customer Service Advisor, Ofsted - National Business Unit

TEL: 08456 404040

[Straws]

As per they just relate to the standards. Not really a answer is it, I have emailed by development officer still awaiting a reply.What do you make of it Sarah

Straws xx

[sarah707]

Well, I would not personally say that a parent smacking their child, whether in front of you or not, is abuse in itself if it's a one-off incident and it's not illegal yet -

- it's wrong

- it's not abuse going on behind closed doors. The parent probably thought they had good reason - although we know that's wrong and not a case for arguing, but sadly it's the parent's perogative in the end

- it's bad parenting... and if it happened regularly / there were other signs etc then yes, it becomes abuse...

... however, leaving a mark is abuse...

So your answer maybe should have been ...

'Did the parent leave a mark when he smacked the child? Because if he did I have a duty of care to record the incident and ring social services for further guidance'...

OR

'I would record the incident and, if I had other records of concerns about the child's welfare then or in the future, I would report them to social services.'

Those answers seem to follow Ofsted guidance but nowhere in the answer they have sent me does it say that, for a one-off smack, you must ring social services, which is what your inspector said to you...

So if you want to query it, I think you have a case... but it's a very grey area.

Tough one! :(