Legislation to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Children and Young People

Understand How to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Children and Young People.

LO 1 – Understand the main legislation, guidelines policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people.

1.1 Outline current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within the UK that affects the safeguarding of children and young people.

The Department of Education helps set out laws to follow for the safeguarding of young people and children, as they are responsible children and also those who work with them. There isn’t just one law that covers safeguarding, it is made up of different laws that all interact together and create the law of safeguarding. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 details how all children have the same human rights as adults, and they have the right to live safely, be educated, and have their medical needs met. Article 27 of the UNCRC states that it is “the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.” (1)

The Education Act 2002 saw the law change the face of the school staff and their governing of schools in order to more effectively safeguard the children.

The Children Act 1989 sets out what parental responsibility is and what is expected of those who take care of children permanently. The act also outlines what services can offer and do to help protect the welfare of children. In 1989 the act reconstructed the way the family courts work. In 2004 the Children’s Act was updated, this was due to the death of Victoria Climbie who was 8 years old when she was tortured and murdered by her guardians, there were several events where the abuse could have been picked up. However, due to negligence and procedures lacking, her abuse was never properly reported. Because of this The Laming Report made several amendments that should be made to keep this from happening again. For example there should be better communication between all agencies that care for children so no information is missed and there is a bigger picture of the child’s life, on top of this there would be a database that all relevant child services would be able to access that would contain important information on the child.

The guidelines which affect the safeguarding of children are:

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 uses The Children Act to set out how to safeguard children and covers a wide range of issues that may arise when working with children. This document applies to all school settings and local authorities and sets out how to protect the welfare of children while in their care. The first half of the document contains statutory guidance on issues such as safeguarding, the roles of staff and organisations, the local safeguarding board, training and development, issues on a particular child’s welfare and serious case reviews. The second half of the document is non statutory guidance and covers how to apply the principles, criminal offenders and working with children, and safeguarding children and young people who are more vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

Another guideline that is followed when safeguarding children is the What to Do If You’re Worried About Abuse 2010 document which gives advice on what to do should you suspect a child is been abused, it advises how and who to report your concerns to, and also details what will happen once your concerns have been reported. This helps aid the Working Together to Safeguard Children document.

Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education highlights the responsibilities of the agencies who work with children and how to recruit the right people. It shows the best way to keep both the employee’s and children safe.

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for Children and Young People is another non statutory guidance for practitioners. However, even if it is non statutory, practitioners have to look at using this guideline first and if they don’t use they must have a good reason for not using the CAF.

The CAF is for practitioners to assess the children’s needs. It also guides on how to share relevant information with other agencies to help aid the child and get a clear picture of any needs the child might have. The framework includes assessments that should be used to assess children and young people “there are four main stages in completing a common assessment: identifying needs early, assessing those needs, delivering integrated services and reviewing progress.” (2)

My placement’s safeguarding policy follows the guidelines set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children and the North Lincolnshire Safeguarding Board. The school works to prevent issues that can impair the safety of both students and staff, and believes early intervention is the key to a successful safeguarding school. The Multi Agency Approach is very much supported in my school as this helps to make sure issues are spotted early and dealt with correctly. The head teacher is responsible for making sure that all staff are up to date on the laws and procedures of safeguarding. Staff are also trained on what signs of neglect and abuse to look out for and should follow the procedure of reporting any concerns to Michelle who is our Safeguarding Lead.

The attendance of the students is one way in which the school helps safeguard the children. The attendance is taken very seriously and is up to the staff to make sure they are accurately updating the registers for every lesson. This helps the school know that every pupil is where they should be. If there any unexplained absences or a pupil has quite a lot of absences it is easy to see there may be a problem that needs addressing and can then be done quickly and efficiently.

Another way in which the School safeguards children is through their exclusion policy “to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the school community” (3)

This protects the student himself and his peers around him, it also protects the staff. This is for safety reasons and so safeguards the staff and students from physical abuse.

Staff are not allowed electronical devices that have the ability to take photos. This protects the students from been photographed without their knowledge, but also safeguards staff from been accused of any wrongdoing. If staff were to be accused of doing something unethical then the school will follow the procedure set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 Page 40-50 and the LSCB procedures on managing allegations against staff.

Staff will also have to complete a CRB check in order to work with children at the school. This ensures all staff and volunteers at the school are not criminal offenders or have serious mental health problems that will impair their work with the children.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is an important policy that helps to keep children and young people safe. Risk assessments are carried out by the Lead safeguarding officer and are used for any outing the school may take part in; risk assessments are also carried out on equipment to make sure it is suitable and safe. The building itself is checked to make sure it is a safe environment and reaches a certain standard. Door codes and doors are locked in certain class rooms for children that have had a risk assessment on them and have been assessed to be a danger as they are likely to run away if given the chance.

1.2 Explain child protection within the wider concept of safeguarding children and young people.

Child Protection is something that is a term that is specific to certain children who have been identified as being abused, neglected, or are suspected to be. Child protection is more of a term that is only used for specific children as not all children will need to be covered by child protection, only those in certain situations who have been classed as at risk. Safeguarding is a very broad term and although covers the same principles of child protection (protecting the child’s welfare from physical, mental and sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation) applies to all children no matter their situation. Safeguarding protects the welfare of every single child, Safeguarding isn’t just about protecting children from abuse though, it also helps children develop their life skills and makes sure all children are healthy in order to develop to where they should be. Safeguarding is not just focused on abuse of the child like child protection is. It is making sure every child can reach their potential, and keeping them safe while doing so.

1.3 Analyse how national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding affect day to day work with children.

Every school has a personalised safeguarding policy; every council also has a safeguarding policy that the schools in their borough should follow. The North Lincolnshire Local Safeguarding Children Board is the Board that is my local’s schools council and the policy’s which they create are what our school follows. For example the statutory section includes assessing the needs and offering help to the children, the organization’s responsibilities, the local safeguarding children’s board and what it does, learning and improvement framework, child death review and overview panel, procedures for allegations against staff, and safer recruitment in education.

Section 10 of the Children’s Act states that all agencies must cooperate together and share relevant information that may affect a child’s welfare, this helps to create a bigger picture and helps to protect the child when the school has all relevant information regarding the child. In my setting if there are any causes for concern about a child only those who need to know are informed to help protect the child. However information is shared with social services. If you have any concerns about a child my settings policy is to record any concerns you have and report it to the safeguarding officer of the school, the child’s key worker or the Head teacher who will then escalate the matter depending on the situation.

Whistleblowing is if when you at work and you see something that breaks the law or if you believe the broken law has been covered up and nothing has been done about it. The matter also has to be in the public’s interest. Then you have the right to blow the whistle on the wrong doing you’ve seen. It is against the law for you to be dismissed or discriminated against because you have blown the whistle.

My school’s policy on whistleblowing is that if we feel our concerns have not been addressed or followed sufficiently then we are protected by the whistleblowing legislation that is set out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Health and Safety Regulations, the main piece of legislation that companies and business use to create a safe and effective practice is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The school that I am in follows a variety of different health and safety legislation to ensure that a wide range of issues are met and are up to the health and safety standards. For example risk assessments are carried out regularly on activities, equipment and any outings the children will go on to ensure maximum safety. Checks are also carried out on the grounds and buildings and furniture to ensure they all meet safety standards. This means for me knowing who to report to if for example I see a broken door. Each teacher on site has a duty to carry out a mental risk assessment when in and out of the classroom, and making sure that any dangers are dealt with quickly and safely.

Adult to child ratios must always be met to ensure all children have the required supervision. So in this instance if I’m not required in a certain class I will do a walk around the classes and see if they need any extra staff in with them to help out.

There is also an accident and incident procedure that must be followed which includes knowing who the first aiders on site are, what to do if a child is injured and where to take them (the front office) and the incident or accident should be noted down on SIMS the school system, in the book and also noted in the child’s planner. If a head injury occurs parents should be informed immediately.

There are lots of different pieces of legislation that make up the safeguarding of the school. From the Children Act to Worried About Abuse Guideline, my schools takes bits and pieces from each of these legislative documents to create their school’s safeguarding policy. The School’s policy gives training and advice to staff on what to look out for if we have a concern about a child’s welfare. For example we are told to report any concerns to our Safeguarding Officer who will then speak to the child’s key worker and the SENCO team. Concerns which we should report on are if we see any signs of:

Emotional abuse – the child has developmental delay

Sexual abuse – sexual behaviour that doesn’t match up with the child’s age

Physical abuse – bruises/cuts/injuries on the child and the child gives unsatisfactory answers when questioned

Neglect – the child’s basic needs are not been met and the child is often dirty, hungry etc.

This means I always have to observe the children closely and anything suspicious or is a cause for concern I must report to ensure the child is safeguarded as effectively as possible.

1.4 Explain when and why inquiries and serious case reviews are required and how the sharing of the findings informs practice.

The Serious Case Review is set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children and is used when a child has died because of neglect or abuse (or it is suspected). The Local Safeguarding Board can also initiate a SCR if a child has been seriously harmed and abuse is suspected. The purpose of an SCR is for agencies to review and learn from mistakes made that led to the child’s death. Therefore, information gathered and shared with agencies will hopefully prevent a child dying in the future. This then leads to better safeguarding of children in the future.

1.5 Explain how the process used by own work setting comply with legislation that covers data protection information handling and sharing.

The Data Protection Act 1998 is a piece of legislation that is all about how businesses keep confidential information on individuals and sets out how the company will use that information, who will have access to the information and how it should be stored.

My setting follows this law by locking up all personal information and only certain people have the key to those files. Files are not to be taken of the grounds without written permission from the Head teacher. There are two lots of files for each child one is a public record on the child which anyone can access the other is a file on the child if they have issues with child protection which can only be seen by certain people who have the clearance. Information should be shared with other agencies if needed.

There is also a need to know approach on information of the child, which means that only those who need to directly know the information is told. So information is kept confidential and is not shared with every single member of staff.

We work with other organisations and share information of concerned about the welfare of the child, as it’s our responsibility to put the needs of the child first and this uses the Multi Agency Approach set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

The children in the school are all subject to annual reviews and information about the child that is on their file has to be passed on to the SENCO Team and this is in order to ensure the child’s needs are been met and they are in the best place to learn and grow, so the information that is passed on is to ensure the child’s welfare.

Staff are also advised that they should record and report any concerns that they may have about a child to either the safeguarding officer or the child’s keyworker.

LO 2 – Understand the importance of working in partnership with other organisations to safeguard children and young people.

2.1 Explain the importance of safeguarding children and young people.

Safeguarding isn’t just about protecting children from abuse, all though that’s a big part of it. It’s also about protecting their welfare which includes their mental, physical and emotional health by doing all these you ensure the child has a good outcome of childhood and is protected from all different kinds of harm that will affect the child’s developmental outcome.

All who work or interact with children have a duty of care to protect and safeguard children that are in their care for that period. It also the adults responsibility to ensure that children are also protected when not in their care, so for example teachers must ensure the children are safeguarded in school hours and are also safeguarded when not at school. Everyone who works or interacts with children also has a duty to report any concerns they have about the child’s safety and welfare. It is important the records that are kept on children are shared with appropriate agencies when needed in order to stick to the Multi Agency approach which ensures a full and accurate picture of the child’s life is captured in order to best assess the child’s needs and help to protect their welfare and keep them safe from harm.

2.2 Explain the importance of a child or young person centred approach.

A child centred approach is where the child is always put first and is given a voice to speak their opinions, it is important they feel they are listened too and respected. It is important to adopt a child centred approach when working with children because by involving the child in their own meetings and discussions in which concern the child you are talking with them rather than about them. You make the child feel included and by talking with respect towards the child they will come to respect you, this makes the child feel involved and reassures them that they matter, which in turn does wonders for their mental health. By treating them with respect and helping them to get what they feel they need helps aid their development. And by involving them it helps the child to speak up when things go wrong. By including them when they are small and using this approach all the way through to when they graduate we reinforce the fact that they are important and there voice matters.

2.3 Explain what is meant by the term partnership in the context of safeguarding.

Partnership in the terms of safeguarding means working with other agencies and sharing appropriate information to appropriate agencies when needed. This make sure should intervention is needed that it happens earlier rather than later which gives the child a better chance. There are lots of agencies that need to work together to safeguard children from the police, to doctors, to teachers. It’s extremely important all these agencies communicate effectively with each other in order to ensure the safety and protection of the children in concern. Each agency has a different profession and each professional will have different experience and views so for example a doctor may report to social services that the child has bruises which appear to be from fingers grabbing the child’s arm. If a teacher has also reported bruises on the child this causes for concern and can also be matched up with the doctor’s statement and helps to create a clear picture of what is happening within the child’s life. Which is why it is important everyone works together to protect the children’s welfare.

2.4 Describe the roles and responsibilities of the different organisations that may be involved when a child or young person has been harmed or abused.

Health Visitors have regular contact with children under 5; they have been trained to detect signs and indicators of child abuse or neglect. As health visitors visit the homes of the children they may be able to see a bigger part of a picture, for example if a teacher reported suspected abuse, the health visitor may be able to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

Doctors are also trained to detect abuse. Doctors may also be called in on certain cases to investigate a child’s serious injury or recurring injuries to detect if they thick child abuse has been causing the injuries, they would then report any findings to the police or social services.

The police would then work closely with social services. The police also have a special unit that deals solely with allegations of child abuse and are specially trained to investigate and see if action needs to be taken.

NSPCC provides support for those children who have been abused and they give advice and help to children and also their families or friends if they have reported the abuse or neglect. The NSPCC is only a charity but does have statutory rights to become involved if there is a case of child abuse that is reported to them.

Social Services are responsible for keeping children safe and protected from abuse. They work closely with schools and families in order to ensure the child’s welfare is protected. Social Services try and keep children with the family when it’s appropriate and if it’s in the child’s best interest. If it is not in the child’s best interest and the child would be put in an unsafe situation by remaining with the family then social services would remove the child from that environment and care for them until a suitable substitute could be found.

LO 3 – Understand the importance of ensuring children and young people’s safety and protection in the work setting.

3.1 Explain why it is important to ensure children and young people are protected from harm in a work setting.

It’s important that children and young people are protected from harm as they’re classed as being vulnerable and so extra care and precaution must be taken to protect their welfare. Within school settings parents are entrusting their children with practitioners and so practitioners must then take on Loco Parentis which is Latin for in place of the parent and means that those who care for children in place of the parents have a legal obligation to care for the children’s wellbeing as a parent would. To do this schools have various procedures and policies in place that must be followed in order to keep the child safe whilst in the care of the school.

3.2 Explain policies and procedures that are in place to protect children and young people and adults who work with them.

To ensure children are kept safe at all times when in school (and out of school if they go on trips) there are policies and procedures that are to be followed.

Guidance for Safer Working Practice for Adults who Work with Children and Young People in Education Settings is a policy that aids those working with children and gives advice on how to safeguard. The document highlights actions that can be taken to safeguard the pupils.

Within my setting the policies and procedures that we follow in order to safeguard the child are as follows:

Teachers or volunteers must try not to work with children on a one to one basis as this allows the teacher to become vulnerable to allegations of taking advantage of the child. If it is required to work in a one to one basis the room of the classroom should be left open.

All staff must work in a very open and honest way, and if a teacher believes an action could be taken the wrong way then they are to report and record the incident down straight away to give a clear representation of what happened. This then protects the staff from being falsely accused of misconduct.

Physical contact is allowed in the school as long as it is appropriate and does not last for longer than it should. Permission from the student should try and be acquired before touching. For example ask the child if you can put your hand on their shoulder, maintain contact for as long as is needed.

We also have the right to physically restrain a child if they are putting themselves, a student or staff in danger. This is covered in the Education Act 1996. While restraining a child staff must be aware of their own limitations with regards to manual handling and the health and safety act (if a heavy child needs to be carried, do not do it and have another teacher step in for you). This then safeguards both the staff and children within the work setting.

Staff are to always act and dress in a professional manner, there timekeeping should be on point and always be present before students arrive in their classes. By setting a high standard we show the students what is expected of them, as we are seen as the higher power, by acting respectful and listening to the students we show them that they can trust us and we won’t abuse that trust. If a child tells us something that is a concern and asks us not to tell anyone we have a duty of care to that child, we have to report the concern to the correct person and we have to explain this as empathetically as is possible to the child and explain why we can’t just keep it a secret between us.

No pictures or videos of children should be taken unless there is written consent from the parents/guardians there should also be an explanation of what the picture is for and who will see the picture. If a parent hasn’t given written consent then no picture or video will be took in order to safeguard the child.

Outside of the school if going on visits the school should carry out risk assessments so both staff and students are protected when they leave the school site.

3.3 Evaluate ways in which concerns about poor practice can be reported whilst ensuring those who whistle blow and those whose practice is questioned are protected.

Whistleblowing is an incident you’ve witnessed at work which is in the public’s interest, it must be something that is categorized as a criminal offence, someone is put in a dangerous situation, there has been a miscarriage of justice or you know or believe that someone is covering up any of the previous acts. Whistle-blowing is covered by The Public and Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

If an employee has a problem at work which needs reporting the person should report directly to their line manager, the claim can be made either verbally or written and include what happened and the names of people involved. It should also include that dates and times if possible. If the grievance is about the Line Manager then you should go to someone above your Line Manager. In this case working at a school my first point of call would be to the Head Teacher, if about the Head Teacher I would then go to the Board of Governors. If nothing happened about the concern that I’d reported I could then take it further and report to North Lincolnshire Council.

The Whistle blower has certain statutory rights when reporting a concern. The whistle-blower cannot be discriminated against or fired for blowing the whistle and if they are they can go to the Employment Tribunal and claim. If you’ve made an accusation and truly believe you were right to do so then you cannot be disciplined even if not evidence is found of wrongdoing. However if you falsely make claim the whistle-blower would face a disciplinary action and possibly also legal action.

The accused also have certain rights, for example, they have a right to know exactly what it is they’ve been accused off, they have a right to defend themselves and can have representation (as can the whistle-blower). Details are to be kept as confidential as they can for both parties, but if this is not possible then both parties will be offered help and advice. Both the whistle-blower and the accused should be kept up to date on the investigation and if possible be given a rough time scale of when they will be given an answer on if the wrongdoing has been committed.

3.4 Explain how practitioners can take steps to protect themselves within their everyday work setting and on off site visits.

To protect yourself when working with children practitioners must try and avoid been alone with children, if you have to be alone with a child make sure the door to the classroom door is open and making sure you are working in an open way. If you have to work with a child on one to one basis make sure other staff are informed and know where you will be with the child.

Health and Safety regulations must be followed so for example risk assessments must be carried out on equipment that the children use to make sure it is safe for the intended use and also appropriate for them (you wouldn’t give a 6 year old with severe anger issues a sharp tool to use).

If using physical contact with a child it is always advisable to ask the child if you can touch them. The person should take into account the age of the child and what would be appropriate touching. The school should give clear guidelines to both staff and pupils.

Mobile phones should not be on the staff’s person while at school and that keeps the children from making accusations that the teacher was taking pictures of them or showing them inappropriate material.

If you have to supervise the children getting changed make sure it is appropriate for you to do so.

Staff should not accept gifts from students that can be interpreted as bribes and staff should not give gifts to students as this could be mistaken for grooming.

Teachers should not have any students on social media; this is because the content is unsupervised and leaves them in a situation which allegations could be made.

LO 4 – Understand how to respond to evidence or concerns that a child or young person has been abused or harmed.

4.1 Describe the possible signs, symptoms, indicators and behaviours that may cause concern in the context of safeguarding.

For an adult there are signs and indicators that we are told to look out for among the children in case of sexual, physical and emotional/verbal abuse, and also neglect.

Physical abuse tends to be one of the easiest signs to spot as it leaves physical marks on the child such as bruises, burns or cuts. However practitioners should also be aware that children are very clumsy and the majority of cuts or bruises that children will get involve no foul play. However if the injuries are always there or the child gives inconsistent answers to how they got the injuries this causes concern. As well as physical signs the child may also refuse to get changed in front of people as this would hide their injuries, or they may keep their long sleeved jumper on during summer. Children may also show signs of being frightened of their parents or guardians for example not wanting the teacher to contact them about a bad test result. They may respond to simple things with violence. And these are all indicators that physical abuse may be happening and should be investigated.

Emotional Abuse is where the child is verbally bullied either by parents/guardians or friends. It can be racist, homophobic, discrimination, and bullying. The child will be constantly put down and told that they are worthless. This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy for the child, if they are always told they are worthless they start to believe it, this can affect their development and they may even regress to a mental younger year in order to cope with the stress. The child will have no self-esteem or self confidence in themselves and this will show when working in a group, as the child is likely to try and blend into the back ground and be very quiet and even anxious. The child may become withdrawn and will refuse to work or play with the other students.

Sexual abuse can happen to a child at any age and is done by either an adult or another child. Sexual abuse is been touched inappropriately, having sexual intercourse and can also include letting the child view explicit sexual material. Sexual abuse is one of the hardest to determine as the genitals are always covered and so if there were any markings to indicate rape or sexual abuse it would be extremely hard to spot. Some children may show physical signs if they are being sexually abused, such as pregnancy in the girls, bruising around the throat, children may be scared of a certain gender so for example a boy might be scared of any other males and will only interact with females. Children who have been sexually abused may also show sexual behaviour that is inappropriate and doesn’t match their age, and may not understand why the behaviour they have shown is inappropriate.

All these three abuses can be a result of abuse from parents/guardians at home or could be the result of bullying by peers.

Neglect of a child is also another sign that should be watched for carefully. Signs of neglect can be the child doesn’t appear to be cared for. Parents may be absent for parents evening, have the general air of their disinterested when spoken too. The child maybe hungry all the time and dirty. The child may not speak about their home life but seems to really thrive at school and is very active when in school.

4.2 Describe the actions to take if a child or young person alleges harm or abuse in the line of your own setting.

If you have any concerns at all no matter how big or small you feel it maybe share the concerns with the school’s safeguarding officer they will then follow the school’s safeguarding policy for allegations of abuse and progress will go from there. If a child comes to you and alleges abuse write down everything that was said, the time and date and how you proceeded.

The policy in my school for reporting allegations of abuse are as follows:

The allegation of abuse is to be reported immediately to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) (if DSL is not available then it should be reported to deputy safeguarding lead). The DSL will then inform the head teacher, the DSL will then investigate the allegation before the school day is over, and the head teacher will be kept up to date on all goings on. The DSL will follow the local LSCB procedures in working out which action is appropriate to take.

4.3 Explain the rights that children, young people and their carers have in situations where harm or abuse is suspected or alleged.

Children and their carers have a right to be treated with respect at all times, they have a right to be listened to, evidence investigated fairly and confidentiality. They have a right to be listened to and more importantly believed. The claim should go through all the correct channels of investigation and the end decision should be recorded and all parties made aware of what is happening. Children should never be made to feel like it is their fault and should be praised for coming forward. If it is the parent that is been accused children have a right to be protected from the parent until the investigation is over. The child’s opinion should be listened to and tried to be met where possible. Any extra help should be offered to both parents and the child for example counselling.

LO 5 – Understand how to respond to evidence or concerns that a child or young person has been bullied.

5.1 Explain different types of bullying and the potential effects on children and young people.

Bullying can be because of all different situations, it could be due to someone being racist, homophobic, and the bully could discriminate against gender or against someone who has a mental or physical disability. The bullying can take on different forms such as:

Physical violence such as kicking, hitting etc.

Verbal bullying such as name calling, teasing, not letting a child join in, making fun of a child etc.

Cyber bullying which is using technology to bully a child by leaving hurtful comments/texts.

The effects that bullying has on a child depends on the personality of the child and the severeness of the bullying. Obviously all bullying is harmful to a child but there are different degrees of severity.

Bullying can affect a child’s emotional, social and cognitive development

If a child is being bullied at school they may not want to attend school which means they miss out on important lessons, this then affects their academic ability. The child may become withdrawn and isolate themselves to avoid the bullies.

If a bully is name calling another student for example calling them fat, the victim’s self-esteem and self-confidence may drop and could in extreme circumstances develop an eating disorder.

Children may develop anxiety and or depression and may attempt to harm themselves or commit suicide to deal with the stress of bullying. There have been an increasing number over the past few years of children committing suicide due to. Victims of bullying can also become bullies themselves, this is because they feel like they have no power so bullying is a way to make them feel powerful and give them some control back.

5.2 Outline the policies and procedures that should be followed in response to concerns or evidence of bullying and explain the reasons why they are in place.

It is the duty of each member of staff to be on the lookout for any forms of bullying. The policy on bullying at the school is that all children, staff and parents are encouraged to speak openly about any issues they have in order to prevent bullying. Our school also works closely with bully to make them see why their actions are wrong and to see if there’s a problem behind the bullying. Bullying at the school is dealt with immediately. However because of the complex emotional and behavioural needs of the children within the school, signs of bullying that are displayed in mainstream schools may just be a part of the child’s normal behaviour, so a pattern of the child’s behaviour should be noted and if the normal behaviour for that child changes then an investigation should be carried out. By incorporating the bullying policy into everyday school life we help reduce instances of bullying so for example students are praised for their similarities and differences, we help to encourage empathy and emotional growth, so this was everyone can think before they act and realise themselves if they are making a good choice.

The process in our school if a child/teacher/parent reports bullying is outlined in out Bullying Policy and is paraphrased as follows:

Step 1 – Talk to all children involved together and find out both points of view and what is going on. The person who is bullying will be given a warning and a sanction. The teacher will speak to the bully and see if there’s a reason as to why he is bullying.

Step 2 – If the bullying continues after the pupil has been warned and punished with a sanction then the Bullying Co Coordinator will speak to both children separately and the children will have mediation together to see if the problem can be resolved with the both of them and to see if a solution can be arranged.

Step 3 – If the bullying still continues the bully will then lose privileges for example if the bullying takes places at break, the bully will then loose his breaks. One on One session with the Bullying Coordinator will be offered for the bully this could include anger management or self-esteem building.

Step 4 – The next step if this still hasn’t resolved the bullying is to involve the bully’s parents and tell them of what has been done up to this point. The Police Community Support Officer will be brought into school to have a meeting to talk about bullying.

Detention and loss of privileges will remain in place until appropriate.

Step 5 – If these steps haven’t worked and the pupil still continues to bully, then suspension is the next option. Counselling services may also be called in to see if they can help the bully.

5.3 Explain how to support a child or young person and or their family when bullying is suspected or alleged.

If a child is been bullied you must believe them and support them. Be sympathetic, offer advice. If possible move classes around so they don’t have to be with the bully. Speak to the bully and find out why they are bullying, they may have problems of their own and are being a bully as this is how they deal with their problems. Offer them phone lines like NSPCC who they can speak to if they feel the need to talk to someone. The parents should also receive the same attention and support the child is receiving as they may feel they are to blame.

LO 6 – Understand how to work with children and young people to support their safety and wellbeing.

6.1 Explain how to support children and young people’s confidence and self-esteem.

For children to have high self-esteem and confidence children need to often be reminded of how well they are doing, so by regularly praising children and making them feel good about themselves we can help raise their confidence and esteem. By letting them know it is okay to make mistakes and not always win, when they make a mistake or loose at a game they know that doesn’t affect their self-worth. By creating a good relationship with children and gaining their trust, when you tell a child they have done well they are more likely to believe you then if you tell a child who you don’t have a positive relationship with. So by creating strong and positive relationships with children you help to boost their confidence as they will listen to you when you praise them. By letting children take part in team activities they can see that everyone has different abilities and everyone is good at something. By giving them opportunities to develop new skills we encourage them to try new things and they can work at a skill and gain confidence in something new and taking part in new challenges. Children who don’t have these opportunities may lack self-esteem and confidence in themselves, this can then affect them academically and also emotionally and mentally, as they won’t believe that they can achieve new challenges and therefore will not attempt anything new. When children have low self-confidence they usually won’t report any abuse or bullying that is going on because they are either too scared to speak up or think that they won’t be believed. This is why we should praise children and let them know it is okay to be different and it’s okay to try new things and sometimes it’s okay to fail at these new things. As long as we encourage children to always do their best and give them the confidence to speak up if something is wrong.

6.2 Analyse the importance of supporting the resilience in children and young people.

Children who have low self-confidence and esteem may not know how to cope when something tough happens so by helping to improve children’s self-confidence and esteem we help teach children how to be resilient. It is very important to support resilience in children because it has been shown to have a positive long term effects that will help them all the way through their childhood and adult life. It helps the children adjust to changes that occur in everyday life. If a child encounters a traumatic event it will help them deal with it, and get through it. This is important for when children are growing up and becoming teenagers and then adults. Life is full of difficult situations and by helping them while they are young we teach the children skills that they can take and apply through their life.

6.3 Explain why it’s important to work with the child or young person to ensure they have strategies to protect themselves and make decisions about their safety.

It is important we teach children from an early age that they deserve to feel safe and protected at all times, that they have a right to be healthy and grow up happy. To do this we must make sure children are properly educated on what are good choices and bad choices, and how certain risks are okay to take and some aren’t. By letting children be independent and decided for themselves we help children decided for themselves and can therefore learn from their mistakes (as long as it is safe to let them make the wrong choice). We need to teach children all sorts of things from how to look both ways when they cross road to how to say no if they feel uncomfortable in a certain situation.

Children should be taught about the dangers of speaking to strangers and especially in the world we are in now the dangers of the internet, and giving personal information out as it can be seen by everyone and anyone. Children need to know that there are good people in the world but also bad people, and they need to know what to do if they ever find themselves in the presence of someone who makes them feel uncomfortable, by asking the children hypothetical questions such as ‘what would you do if a man asked you to get in his car and come to his house to see his puppies’. By giving the children real life situations we help children to make the right choice and if that ever did happen to them they would know what to do and how to handle the situation.

This also applies to teenagers with giving them information about drinking, drugs, sex etc. If we work with them as children when they grow up they will be well educated on how to make good decisions on their safety.

6.4 Explain ways of empowering children and young people to make positive and informed choices that support their wellbeing and safety.

To help empower children and help them make positive choices about their safety is important to have a good and positive relationship with the children, by creating a strong relationship you make sure that if the child will ever feel threatened they would come to you to tell you of their worries. The positive relationship puts the teacher into a good position to act as a role model for the child and the behaviour you exhibit and show will be watched and copied by the child. By giving the children choices about what they want to do and letting them know they have a right to have what they want (within reason) for example, letting the children pick what colour cup they want, or letting them pick the story you are showing the child that their opinions matters.

Talking to younger children at their level is another way to engage children and by getting down to their level you are showing an active interest in what they are saying and you won’t seem like a giant towering over them, it relaxes the child and lets them feel more comfortable.

By having circle time and talking about themselves and their worries you show children that is okay to have worries and everyone has them and it’s nothing to be ashamed off, and maybe another child has a solution to the other child’s worry which then shows the children that is good to trust others with their problems.

Sex Education is also something that helps children and teenager understand how to keep themselves safe, and that if someone does something that makes them uncomfortable they have the right to say no and if someone makes them do something they didn’t want to do they should tell someone their worries.

LO 7 – Understand the importance of e-safety for children and young people.

7.1 Explain the risks and possible consequences for children and young people of being online and using a mobile phone.

There are a lot of risks to children using mobile phones and being online. One of these risks is cyber bullying. In the past bullying would only happen at school as the bullies wouldn’t be able to reach the child at home, now with mobiles and social networks it is easier than ever for bullies to carry on the bullying and reach the victim at home. This gives the child no safe place to be. If a computer doesn’t have the correct filters and parental controls on then children could view explicit images that aren’t appropriate to their age. They may also know how to buy things over the internet which can lead to children racking up hundreds of pounds of bills, but more seriously can also lead identity fraud if they are not careful about which sites they visit.

7.2 Describe ways of reducing risk to children and young people from:

When using a computer in school parents are now required to sign a consent form that allows their child access to the internet, children also have to sign this form to say they will use the computer and internet responsibly.

Children should be given talks by teachers on how to stay safe on the internet and how they can protect themselves while sat behind a screen, because to a child sat behind a screen may not seem like real life, but it is, and they have to make the children aware of all the risks. Teach the children to be responsible and show them the effects of what giving out personal information can do. There could also be classes set up for parents and guardians that teaches the adults how to ensure their children are being responsible at home and also helps to teach the parents what they should be doing to the home computer to keep it safe.

Social networks – don’t let children under a certain age use social media and even when they reach that age make sure they understand they should never accept requests from people they don’t know or give out private and sensitive information. Parents and guardians should know all passwords and regularly check what their child is doing. This also makes the child an easier target for bullies.

Internet Use – filters should be applied to the computer so they can’t see inappropriate content. The computer could also be in a public place in the house so it is easy to check up on the content that the child is viewing.

Buying Online – passwords should be applied to computers and should not be remembered on the computer so it has to be manually out in every time. Credit card information should also not be saved on the computer.

Using a Mobile Phone – many children now have mobile phones as parents believe this is a good way of staying in touch with the child and trying to keep them safe, and while that is true it’s also dangerous, most phones are now capable of reaching the internet and access to social media sites, and also accessing banking and purchasing apps for the phone, so all above information would still apply for mobiles. But also there is a danger of children giving out their phone numbers which could also lead to the child being bullied.