Safeguarding...

[sarah707]

It is very important that we are all confident and know when to make the call to our local authority designated officer (or whatever you call them) if you are worried about a child.

It's not just when you think a child is being abused - you also have to be clear about your duty to report allegations - and you need to share the information with parents.

After supporting a childminder who has had problems with this recently I have tightened up the wording in my procedures and shared it with parents.

Please remember this is just ONE small part of the safeguarding procedures you will write...

Safeguarding procedures.pdf

I hope you find it useful - and never have to use it xx

[Rick]

Thanks Sarah, excellent as always

[Mrs Scrubbit]

Thanks soooooooooo much Sarah xx

[FloraDora]

It is very important that we are all confident and know when to make the call to our local authority designated officer (or whatever you call them) if you are worried about a child.

It's not just when you think a child is being abused - you also have to be clear about your duty to report allegations - and you need to share the information with parents.

After supporting a childminder who has had problems with this recently I have tightened up the wording in my procedures and shared it with parents.

Please remember this is just ONE small part of the safeguarding procedures you will write...

Safeguarding procedures.pdf

I hope you find it useful - and never have to use it xx

Thanks Sarah a good example to base my parents info on.

I have just updated my level 3 training in safeguarding ...in our area the LADO is used for professional accusation or suspicions only, our first port of call is First Response for a child safeguarding issue .
Not all areas have the same proceedure.

[miffy]

Thanks Sarah

Miffy xx

[FussyElmo]

I think that is something to be aware of Floradora that all areas have different procedures and names. So if you are going to use Sarahs letter adapt it to your la.

Lado here is the people we report allegations against ourselves, staff or any member of the family.

ART is the people we report abuse to the children against.

But my neighbouring la has a different procedure and names

[cathtee]

Thank you Sarah

[Simona]

Thanks Sarah a good example to base my parents info on.

I have just updated my level 3 training in safeguarding ...in our area the LADO is used for professional accusation or suspicions only, our first port of call is First Response for a child safeguarding issue .
Not all areas have the same proceedure.

The LADO (Local Authority Duty Officer) role is set by the govt not the individual LA so be careful of using anyone else's guidelines

Flora Dora is correct that the First Response team is the first port of call...in my LA it is called SPA (Single Point of Access) so every cm must be aware of the local LSCB guidelines and not copy anyone else's

[Simona]

I think that is something to be aware of Floradora that all areas have different procedures and names. So if you are going to use Sarahs letter adapt it to your la.

Lado here is the people we report allegations against ourselves, staff or any member of the family.

ART is the people we report abuse to the children against.

But my neighbouring la has a different procedure and names

That s what is current practice in your LA but not mine and probably no one else's...never heard of ART but obviously has a meaning to you...we must think independently and seek procedures that are pertinent to us ...in this area it is difficult to share info because there are probably 152 variations according to 152 LAs!

[FussyElmo]

That s what is current practice in your LA but not mine and probably no one else's...never heard of ART but obviously has a meaning to you...we must think independently and seek procedures that are pertinent to us ...in this area it is difficult to share info because there are probably 152 variations according to 152 LAs!

That was the point I was making. Sarah has wrote a really useful letter which will help a lot of members but to make sure its adapted to your las safeguarding procedures.

[tas]

Thanks Sarah!

[Simona]

That was the point I was making. Sarah has wrote a really useful letter which will help a lot of members but to make sure its adapted to your las safeguarding procedures.

I did understand your point but question why an additional letter to parents when all the info can be included in the Child Protection policy?
I am very mindful of not producing additional unnecessary paperwork

[Carol M]

Thank you Sarah for highlighting this.
I went to a Safeguarding conference yesterday, Worcestershire is rolling out a change with new names etc. We now have The Early Help Hub as a first point of call for those little niggles that we note. They emphasised the importance of gut feelings and making the call as a picture would not be complete without all the pieces of the jigsaw. We have the Access Centre to call if there are more obvious concerns for a child's safety immediately.
Here in leafy Worcestershire, there are 780 children under 5yrs old on the "in need" list and have an allocated Social Worker, of those, 183 have a Child Protection Plan!!! 55% of those are on a CPP for NEGLECT( Action for Children figures).Figures that scare me silly but it goes to show it IS happening everywhere and WE have a duty to be part of the jigsaw to protect our children. Please everyone be aware or your area procedures.
Carol

[sarah707]

I did understand your point but question why an additional letter to parents when all the info can be included in the Child Protection policy?
I am very mindful of not producing additional unnecessary paperwork

Thank you for your feedback.

I am not suggesting childminders write an additional letter to parents! I would never add to the paperwork burden if it is not necessary.

I am simply sharing my wording of something I have written and given to my parents - which I thought other members might find useful.

It has become very apparent to me after supporting a number of childminders who have been very severely dealt with by Ofsted over safeguarding issues that we need some clarity.

Most LA safeguarding training tells us to speak to the parent and ask their feedback unless we are seriously concerned about a child's welfare - and that is what most childminders currently have written in their procedures.

Sadly this is tripping them up - they are asking parents and parents are giving them plausible answers... when things later turn out to be serious concerns the childminders are being torn to pieces for not making the call.

All my parents now know that the safety and wellbeing of their child comes first - before any loyalty I have to them.

I am also very aware that many parents do not fully read policies and procedures. They will read this - a short note given to them mid month - so it reinforces the importance of what I am saying.

I simply thought other childminders might find it useful x

[Simona]

Thank you for your feedback.

I am not suggesting childminders write an additional letter to parents! I would never add to the paperwork burden if it is not necessary.

I am simply sharing my wording of something I have written and given to my parents - which I thought other members might find useful.

It has become very apparent to me after supporting a number of childminders who have been very severely dealt with by Ofsted over safeguarding issues that we need some clarity.

Most LA safeguarding training tells us to speak to the parent and ask their feedback unless we are seriously concerned about a child's welfare - and that is what most childminders currently have written in their procedures.

Sadly this is tripping them up - they are asking parents and parents are giving them plausible answers... when things later turn out to be serious concerns the childminders are being torn to pieces for not making the call.

All my parents now know that the safety and wellbeing of their child comes first - before any loyalty I have to them.

I am also very aware that many parents do not fully read policies and procedures. They will read this - a short note given to them mid month - so it reinforces the importance of what I am saying.

I simply thought other childminders might find it useful x

It is very useful Sarah...I was just trying to suggest putting it all in one document rather than adding another especially when some parents can 'loose' documents easily.

I assume we all have policies we give/send parents and get them to sign when read and understood

I have had many parents moan about the paperwork we have to give them (even when they understand it is my duty)and the lack of time they have in reading all plus the school's own ....for me a policy would work best because it gets filed in the parents' folder rather than a letter which can easily go missing under their pile of 'reading to do'?