CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

1. Introduction

The Children’s Act 1989 brings together in a single coherent legislative framework the private and public law relating to children. The Act places a duty on the proprietor(s) of a school to safeguard and promote the welfare of each child in the school. This is known as the school’s ‘welfare duty’.

Every school has to designate at least one senior member of staff to take specific responsibility for child protection matters in that school. At Saint Michael’s College we have two people - the Principal and the School Counsellor (Mrs Sue Grove).

As the person responsible for child protection matters at Saint Michael’s College the Principal is responsible for:

• Holding the school’s copy of the current Hereford and Worcester Area Child Protection Committee procedures;
• Holding the school’s copy of &lsquoWorking Together under the Children’s Act’, which is a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse;
• Holding Volume 5 of the Guidance and Regulations relating to the Children Act 1989 entitled &lsquoIndependent Schools’;
• Briefing all school staff on the relevant contents of the above guidance and procedures, and on the procedures the school should follow;
• Liaison over child protection procedures with the OfSTED and
• Receiving reports of alleged or suspected child abuse within the school, or reported by a pupil relating to incidents at home or outside the school, contacting OfSTED and taking other action in response, as set out later in this document.

2. Indicators of abuse

Individual indicators of abuse may not be particularly worrying in isolation, but in combination they can suggest that there is some cause for concern.

Indicators of physical abuse:

Bruises

• To the eyes, mouth or ears
• Finger tip bruising (grasp mark)
• Bruises of different ages in the same place
• Outline bruises (prints of hands, belts, shoes, etc)
• Bruises without obvious and verifiable explanations

Burns, Bites and Scars

• Clear impressions of teeth (more than 3cms across unlikely to have been made by a child)
• Burns or scalds with clear outlines
• Small round burns which may be from cigarettes
• Large number of different aged scars
• Unusual shaped scars
• Scars that indicate the child did not receive medical treatment

Other Injuries

• Poisoning, injections, ingestion or other applications of damaging substances including drugs and alcohol
• Female genital mutilation, including female circumcision

Indicators of neglect include children who are:

• Not receiving adequate food
• Exposed to inadequate, dirty and or cold environments
• Abandoned or left in circumstances without appropriate adult supervision which are likely to endanger them
• Prevented by their carers from receiving appropriate medical care or treatment

Indicators of sexual abuse include:

• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Recurrent urinary infections
• Genital and rectal itching and soreness
• Unexplained bleeding and discharges
• Bruising in genital region
• Sexual play/masturbation that is inappropriate to a child’s age, development and circumstances
• Sexually abusive behaviour towards other children, particularly those younger and more vulnerable than themselves
• Unexplained pregnancy

Indicators of emotional abuse include:

• Abnormally passive, lethargic or attention seeking behaviour
• Specific habit disorders, e.g. faecal smearing, excessive drinking, eating unusual substances and self harm
• Severely delayed social development, poor language and speech development not otherwise explained
• Excessively nervous behaviour such as rocking or hair twisting
• Low self esteem

The following indicators may occur to children being abused but are particularly important in cases of sexual or emotional abuse where outward physical signs may not be present:

• Onset of enuresis day or night (involuntary passing of urine)
• Sleeping and eating disturbance
• Recurrent abdominal pains
• Recurrent headaches
• Social withdrawal
• Restlessness and aimlessness
• Inexplicable school failure
• Poor trust and secretiveness
• Indiscriminate and careless sexual behaviour
• Drug abuse
• Running away
• Self-mutilation and other forms of self harm
• Hysterical fits, faints, etc
• Fear of a particular individual
• Cruelty towards others
• Cruelty towards animals
• Destructive behaviour
• Aggressive behaviour

The Department of Health has issued guidelines entitled &lsquoWhat to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused’. This can be downloaded from: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/13/03/04061303.pdf

Copies of this document can be obtained from: Department of Health Publications, PO Box 777, London SE1 6XH Tel: 08701 555 455

3. What to do in the event of a suspicion / allegation of child abuse

Any member of staff who is told of any incident or suspicion of child abuse occurring in the school, or to a pupil of the school at home or outside the school (or who him or herself knows of, or suspects such abuse), must report the information immediately to the Principal. If the allegation or suspicion is about the Principal, the report should be made to our Local Authority Designated Officer (LADOs). His name is John Hancock and he can be contacted on 01527 556665. The Emergency Duty No is: 01905 768020.

Child abuse to be reported includes abuse to the pupil by a staff member or another adult, abuse at home which the pupil reports to staff, abuse by a stranger outside the school, and abuse of one pupil by another pupil.

Referrals of allegations or suspicions should be made within 24 hours and should be in writing (if done by phone, with written confirmation of the telephone conversation).

Who will conduct the investigation?

School staff should not investigate reports of abuse themselves. Alleged victims, perpetrators, those reporting abuse and others involved should not be interviewed by school staff beyond the point at which it is clear that there is an allegation of abuse.

The interviewing of children and adults involved is carried out by specially trained staff only.

4. Initial action

Any staff member to whom an allegation of child abuse is made should:

1. Limit any questioning to the minimum necessary to seek clarification only, strictly avoiding &lsquoleading’ the pupil or adult who has approached them by making suggestions or asking questions that introduce their own ideas about what may have happened.
2. Stop asking any more questions as soon as the pupil or adult has disclosed that he or she believes that something abusive has happened to him or her, or to someone else.
3. Tell the informing pupil or adult that the staff member will now make sure that the appropriate people are brought in to follow the problem up.
4. Ask the informing pupil or adult what steps they would like taken to protect them now that they have made an allegation, and assure them that the school will try to follow their wishes.
5. Refer the matter immediately, with all relevant details, to the Principal.
6. Make a written record as soon as possible of what they have been told, and make a copy of this available to the Principal. The report should be hand-written.

5. Procedures

On receiving an allegation of abuse the Principal will:

1. Take any steps needed to protect any pupil involved from risk of immediate harm. This may involve allocating an appropriate member of staff (as far as possible a person chosen by the pupil him or herself) to stay with him or her.
2. Not interview or investigate the allegation further, but refer the matter immediately to our LADO ­ John Hancock Tel: 01527 556665. Also notify Dawn Taylor of OfSTED.
3. Not him or herself contact parents, other staff, police, doctor or alleged perpetrator or witness direct, but consult the Team Leader, and follow his or her advice in relation to:
   • Informing a student’s parents
   • Medical examination or treatment
   • Immediate protection (this may be needed for a pupil who has been the victim of abuse, a pupil who has given information about abuse, and a pupil against whom an allegation has been made)
   • Informing other people at the school of the allegation and its investigation.
4. Inform the pupil or adult who made the initial allegation of what the next steps are to be, having agreed these with the Team Manager.
5. If necessary, suspend from duty pending investigation, any staff member who is alleged to have abused a pupil or pupils.
6. Take any necessary steps for the longer-term protection and support of each pupil who has made allegations of abuse, or is alleged to have suffered from abuse, taking his or her wishes fully into account.
7. Take any necessary steps to protect and support a pupil who has made an allegation of abuse. The allegation may not later be substantiated, but even so the school has a statutory welfare responsibility towards this pupil.
8. Ensure that any pupil being interviewed by the police has available a supportive member of staff of his or her own choice to accompany him or her if this becomes necessary.
   • Notify the County Inspector of the allegation and action taken. The County Inspector will be concerned about the issues of safeguarding and promoting welfare in the school, rather than the specific interviewing and investigation of the allegation itself. He or she will therefore be concerned with assessing:
   • Whether the alleged incident indicates any significant failure by the school to safeguard and promote the pupil’s welfare (e.g. by failing to carry out the required police checks); 
   • Whether the school acted appropriately and in line with local child protection procedures in responding to the allegation when it was made; 
   • Whether the welfare of pupils involved in the alleged abuse or in giving information is now adequately safeguarded in the light of the allegation; and
9. Whether there are any lessons to be learned or recommendations to be made for the future of the school in the light of the allegation and its investigation. 
10. Notify the Department for Education of any allegation that is being investigated by the Social Services Department and / or the Police. 
11. Ensure co-operation by the school in any subsequent investigation by the SSD or the Police. 
12. Make arrangements where feasible for any pupil who has been the subject of abuse to receive any necessary counselling and support, by agreement with his or her parents where appropriate.

6. Staff Training in Child Protection

It is the policy of Saint Michael’s College that all staff undergo training in Child Protection issues. For existing staff the training will form part of the annual induction procedure in September each year. For newly appointed staff it will form part of their pre-employment induction.

7. Preventing abuse

It is important that we try to create an environment that prevents abuse occurring. We can do this by:

• Encouraging students to express any concerns they may have.
• Encouraging students to discuss their hopes and feelings in a non-judgemental environment, where they know their concerns will be taken seriously.
• Letting students know they will not be victimised for speaking out.

8. Whistle blowing

All allegations of child abuse, whether ultimately proven to be accurate or not, will be taken seriously by the school. Those making allegations will not be discriminated against in any way, nor will the school’s disciplinary procedure be invoked against those making allegations in good faith.

9. Unfounded allegations

All allegations of child abuse will be treated seriously by the school. In the event of an allegation against a member of staff being unfounded then normally the member of staff will be free to resume their duties. However, each case will be treated on an individual basis and the following may be considered before a member of staff is able to resume his or her duties:

• A risk assessment may be necessary.

• The school’s disciplinary procedure may be invoked, even if the member of staff has been cleared of the initial allegations.

• Additional support will be offered if necessary. This may take the form of, for example, extra training or even the offer of a different role within the school, if practicable.

Notes:

Staff need to know what should happen after a referral has been made as one way of monitoring whether an allegation has been properly referred. The DfES Circular number 10/95 &lsquoProtecting Children from Abuse: The Role of the Education Service’ (kept in the Principal’s office), provides valuable information here.

Staff members should never give absolute guarantees of confidentiality. They should, however, guarantee that they will only pass on information to the minimum number of people who must be told in order to ensure proper action is taken to sort the problem out.

All child protection reports and information on individual students should be kept in a separate lockable cabinet and held until the individual is at least 24 years of age.

Child Protection Referral Form (Form CP001). The appendix contains a model referral form for notifying Social Services of suspected, admitted or known abuse of child(ren).

Child Protection Conference Reports (Form CP002). Also in the appendix, this is a model form for Reports to Child Protection Conferences.

Reviewed and updated 27th August 2009