The emphasis placed on protecting young children from harm has been underlined in the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) coming into effect in September. What were formerly the Welfare Requirements become the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements in the new framework.
'The starting point in practice is for all settings to have an emotionally-safe working environment,' says Laura Henry, managing director of the Childcare Consultancy.
'Every early years setting must have a clear and robust safeguarding or child protection policy and procedure. It is important that the policy and procedure links to each specific safeguarding and welfare requirement of the revised EYFS.'
Ms Henry recommends that every member of staff should read the Serious Case Review from the Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board. 'This reports on, and makes recommendations on, the case relating to Vanessa George and Little Teds Nursery,' she says. 'The policy and procedure should state the steps that staff would need to take if they were concerned about one of their colleagues.'
In the wake of this, the new requirements state that settings must have policies controlling the use of mobile telephones and cameras as part of their safeguarding policies and procedures. At Oakwood House Nursery in Huddersfield, part of the Portland Nurseries group, manager Samantha Richmond reports there was a specific policy on the use of mobile phones before the Vanessa George case.
She says, 'We brought in the policy when mobile telephones became more common-place and we realised that people could not have their mobile phones with them within a nursery environment. The policy is that mobile telephones have to be kept switched off in lockers. If someone wants to ring a member of staff during the working day they have to call our normal landline. Staff are allowed to use their mobile telephones but only in the staffroom during their lunch break.'
The nursery also has a camera and recording policy. 'Each room has a camera that is used by the staff for recording things that go into the children's learning journeys and every month all the photographs are uploaded onto our system,' says Ms Richmond. 'They are stored on the hard drive, which is locked in the safe. The photographs are sent away to be developed and they are checked.'
Ms Henry points to the fact many settings are now using social media in many different formats to share information about their nursery and for marketing purposes. 'So settings will need to have a statement about this as well - including how they use social media and how staff use social media for their own personal use,' she says.
AN OPEN DIALOGUE
All providers should regularly review their policies and procedures in line with the new guidance. Ms Richmond stresses that policies have to be specific to an individual setting, and should be robust and understood by all staff.
'It's important that staff take ownership of them,' she says. 'At our staff meetings we set scenario-based problems so they know what they should do. At our last meeting they were asked to discuss everything we do in the nursery to keep the children safe and write it down.
'The staff know about our whistle blowing policy. If they suspect something is happening that they are not happy about or feel uncomfortable with, they know who to go to and what they need to do about it - even if it is the manager.'
Ms Richmond reports that the nursery has just made an important addition to its policy. 'We had listed four types of abuse - physical, sexual, emotional and neglect - and we have just added fabricated illness (Munchausen by proxy) where a child presents with an illness fabricated by their carer.
'Depending on the area, these signs and symptoms are not things you are seeing generally day-to-day. They are quite rare, which is why you need an open dialogue about them. So if a child says something or a member of staff says something that is not appropriate it is embedded in your culture that you know what to do.'
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) have an important role to play and staff should have contact details for their local designated officer. The LSCB website provides useful information on the signs and symptoms of abuse that can be used to inform policies.
Ms Henry stresses the importance of having a well-informed lead practitioner for safeguarding, who can oversee training and the dissemination of information to all staff.
'While they have a duty to cascade all relevant safeguarding or child protection information to the team, ideally all staff should receive at least generic training in order to be able to spot the signs and symptoms of abuse and, even more importantly, make sure that they carry out the procedures correctly. This could involve making use of training from local authorities and organisations such as the NSPCC, and using staff meetings effectively to discuss safeguarding issues. It is only when we all work together that we are able to safeguard and protect children.'
Part 2 in Nursery World 11-24 June will look at 'suitable people'
IDENTIFYING ABUSE
A provider's safeguarding policy and procedures should be in line with the guidance and procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. It must ensure all its staff are trained to identify signs of possible abuse and neglect. These include:
- significant changes in children's behaviour
- deterioration in children's general well-being
- unexplained bruising, marks or signs of possible abuse or neglect
- children's comments that give cause for concern
- any reasons to suspect neglect or abuse outside the setting, for example in the child's home; and/or
- inappropriate behaviour displayed by other members of staff, or any other person working with the children. For example, inappropriate sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention beyond the requirements of their usual role and responsibilities, or inappropriate sharing of images.
It is an offence for providers to fail to inform Ofsted within 14 days of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by any person living, working, or looking after children at the premises and the action taken in respect of the allegations.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage - setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five is downloadable from the DfE website. See www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/a0068102/ear ly-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
- Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board Serious Case Review - www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/socialcareandhealth/childrenssocialcare/loc alsafeguardingchildrenboard/littletednurseryreview.htm
- The NSPCC provides detailed information on Local Safeguarding Children Boards at www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/cpsu/helpandadvice/organisations/lscbs/lscbs_wda 67729.html
- Part 2 in Nursery World 11-24 June will look at 'suitable people'