Child Protection Course : Part 1

Protecting Children and Ensuring their Wellbeing

Standard Circular 57

Updated Jan 2015

Aims of Part 1 course

• To clarify roles and responsibilities.

• To describe the procedures to follow in response to evidence, allegation or suspicion of child abuse.

• To provide guidance and support to carry out these responsibilities and procedures.

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Role of Education and Leisure Services

The role of Education and Leisure Services is to be alert to the need to act in the best interests of children and in co-operation with other key agencies to keep our children safe and well.

SC57 3.2

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Responsibilities of Education and Leisure Services• The responsibilities of the authority, establishments,

services and individual staff are:

• training

• prevention

• reporting a concern

• inter-agency co-operation

• support

Staff may be involved in monitoring a child’s wellbeing and behaviour and have a responsibility to gather and record information. SC57 3.2

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• Children (Scotland) Act 1995

• Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Protecting Children and Ensuring their Well-beingProtecting Children and Ensuring their Well-being

Legal Context

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Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)

Protecting children and Protecting children and Ensuring their Well-being

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Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)means children and young people:

• will feel confident about the help they are getting• understand what is happening and why• have been listened to carefully and their wishes have been

heard and understood• are appropriately involved in discussions and decisions that

affect them• can rely on appropriate help being available as soon as

possible• will have experienced a more streamlined and co-ordinated

response from practitioners

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Getting it Right for Every Child

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Scenario Cards

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Definition of Child Abuse

• Child abuse is what happens or might happen to a child.

• Three key elements need to be present for an incident to be described as child abuse:• harm to the child

• familial or carer responsibility for that harm

• the link between harm and responsibility.

Thus for the definition of child abuse to apply there needs to be a significant degree of harm to the child, linked to a significant degree of familial or carer responsibility for that harm.

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Child Abuse – the main elements

• An act or omission can be defined as abusive if:

• there is demonstrable damage or harm to a child or a likelihood of harm to the child

• the injury or state of the child was avoidable through action of the parents or carers responsible for that child

• concern about potential harm or risk is linked to the action or the inaction of the parent or carer.

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The concept of child protection

Child protection is protection from child abuse.

•It is important to note that child abuse does not need to have taken place for child protection measures to be required.

•Equally, child abuse may have taken place but on assessment, the child may not be felt to be in need of child protection measures.

•The Child Protection Register should be used solely as an estimate of future harm.

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Primary Known/Suspected Abuser

Referrals resulting in Case Conference in 2013/14

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•Physical abuse

•Emotional abuse

•Sexual Abuse

•Neglect

* ‘The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland’ Scot. Gov 2014

Definitions of child abuse *:

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Physical abuse is the causing of physical harm to a child or young person. Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning or suffocating. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child they are looking after.

Physical abuse

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Emotional abuse is persistent emotional neglect or ill treatment that has severe and persistent adverse effects on a child's emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may involve the imposition of age - or developmentally -inappropriate expectations on a child. It may involve causing children to feel frightened or in danger, or exploiting or corrupting children. Some level of emotional abuse is present in all types of ill treatment of a child; it can also occur independently of other forms of abuse.

Emotional abuse

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Sexual abuse is any act that involves the child in any activity for the sexual gratification of another person, whether or not it is claimed that the child either consented or assented. Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or in watching sexual activities, using sexual language towards a child or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Sexual Abuse

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Neglect (One)Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or failure to respond to, a child's basic emotional needs.

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Neglect may also result in the child being diagnosed as suffering from 'non-organic failure to thrive', where they have significantly failed to reach normal weight and growth or development milestones and where physical and genetic reasons have been medically eliminated. In its extreme form children can be at serious risk from the effects of malnutrition, lack of nurturing and stimulation. This can lead to serious long-term effects such as greater susceptibility to serious childhood illnesses and reduction in potential stature. With young children in particular, the consequences may be life-threatening within a relatively short period of time.

Neglect (Two)

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Know the indicatorsKnow the indicators

Keep an open mindKeep an open mind

Be vigilant but consider possible

explanations

Be vigilant but consider possible

explanations

Be vigilant – children do not always disclose

Be vigilant – children do not always disclose

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Young children , looked after children, children with a disability and children with specific needs can be particularly vulnerable:

• they may have greater difficulty in understanding the boundaries of appropriate behaviour and contact

• they may have difficulty telling staff, especially if they have no code for describing words relating to abuse

• they may have much more contact with people other than their primary carers and this may involve exposure to physical contact and care, including intimate care.

Children with Additional Support Needs and Very Young Children

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• Grooming

• Social Networking

• Cyberbullying

Internet Safety

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• Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)

• www.ceop.police.uk

• www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Internet Safety

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• A specific incident

• A disclosure made by a child or parent or carer

• Information from a third party

• Adult behaviour or circumstances that may place the child at risk of harm

• Child behaviour or circumstances that may place the child at risk of harm

SC57 4.3

Grounds for Concern

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Grounds for concernAction guidance for all staff (Appendix 1)

Step 1• Alert the head of establishment or manager to your concerns

immediately• Confirm your report in writing by completing Appendix 3

Record of concern Alert for Staff as soon as possible and that same day.

• Give your report to the head of establishment or manager.

Step 2• Follow the guidance of the head of establishment or manager in

supporting the child and cooperating with subsequent actions by social work and/or police.

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Who Investigates?

• Social Work

• Police

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Supporting the Child

When a child is disclosing abuse, a member of staff should respond in the following ways:

• listen with care

• treat the allegation in a serious manner

• reassure the child that he or she is right to tell

• affirm the child’s feelings as expressed by the child

• do not give a guarantee of confidentiality or secrecy

• do not ask leading questions

• ask open ended questions which seek to clarify information already given

• do not interrogate the child

• do not show disbelief

• do not introduce personal or third party experiences of abuse

• avoid being judgmental

• avoid displaying strong emotions

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Appendix 3Record of Concern AlertPlease use black ink (or type) and CAPITAL letters.When you have a concern about a child or young person you must report it immediately to the head or manager. Once you have reported the concern to the head or manager you are required to complete this form on the same day.

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SC57 4.6

Record what has been said in the child’s own words; write down the exact words said.

Key Features of Record (Appendix 3)

• accurate• factual• concise• confidential

• immediate• signed• dated

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Working in 2s or 3s, discuss and complete Appendix 3. Choose one of these statements as your starting point.

•My dad hit me last night.

•At the weekend, I woke up during the night and my mum was not in the house.

Protecting Children and Ensuring their Well-being

Practice Improvement Task

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• Caring

• Loyal

• Loving

• Truthful

• Helping

• Supportive

• Trusting

Child’s List

It helps if the person you tell is:

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The clear message from children and young people is:

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The difference between

child protection and child

abuse could be you.

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