1 Child abuse is a sensitive issue, and much of your evidence will be gathered by methods other than direct observation. You must be able to recognise the signs and symptoms that may indicate child abuse.
* Draw a chart indicating the four main types of abuse. Write 'child abuse' in a box in the centre, and divide the rest of the page into four sections. List the related signs and symptoms, one heading in each of the boxes. Signs mean what you can see, symptoms what the child tells you.
2 Observation of children is an important aspect of identifying potential child abuse that needs to be carried out in a sensitive way.
* Make a list of all the opportunities in a normal day in the setting when you might pick up clues to alert you to altered behaviour or injuries. Consider what you can see and hear.
3 Consider how you might respond if a child disclosed possible abuse to you in some way.
* To enable a child to feel confident enough to seek help through disclosure, use opportunities in everyday activities such as making happy faces and sad faces or using stories about things that make them unhappy, and encourage them to talk to adults they can trust. Write up your experiences in a reflective account.
4 Confidentiality is clearly an important aspect in relation to suspected child abuse.
* Find out which individuals with whom it is permissible to share your concerns. If you have witnessed any suspicious injuries, observed actions or unusual body language, heard inappropriate language, or if a child has made a disclosure to you, you need to record this. Invent a situation in which this has happened and use the record as evidence of your understanding.
5 Although it is unlikely that you will be responsible for child protection issues in your setting, it is important that you know what you have to do, what will happen after a referral has been made, and what the consequences are.
* Find out about the child protection procedures in your setting. Discuss them with your assessor. Explain what the procedure is for reporting incidents and concerns. Give information on what needs to be included in the records.
6 The more children are aware of personal safety, their rights and the responsibilities of caring adults, the better we are able to protect them.
* There may be various opportunities to raise these issues with the children in a straightforward and non-threatening manner. Activities about caring for others, role-play on first aid following injury, stories on bullying, and self-esteem building exercises can all be planned, implemented and evaluated. Keep all records. This work can also be cross-referenced to M7.
7 Learning about their bodies, identifying parts of the body, using appropriate words, and being able to discuss normal functions, all help a child to feel comfortable about themselves.
* Develop a project on 'All about me' to include all areas of learning within the curriculum. Implement some of the activities for your assessor to observe.
8 Devising simple games is a useful method to get over a message and encourage discussion.
* Make a game by cutting out a body, head, two arms and two legs. Number the parts: body - 6, head - 5, one arm - 4, the other arm - 3, leg - 2, the other leg -1. Throw a dice and pick the part of the body for that number. Continue until the body is complete. Use as a point of discussion. Record your experiences.
9 Understanding the complex issues around child abuse is required at a level appropriate to your position.
* Ask your tutor/assessor to give you a case study, with a situation for you to work through, and some questions to answer. Use textbooks and your own knowledge to give a written response.
10 Top Tip! Sheila Mayer, education and care officer at Repton Primary School and NVQ candidate, says, 'Keep your eyes and ears open, and don't be afraid to write it down or tell somebody.'