Safeguarding Childrens Policy

1 . Introduction

• 1.1 Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment

• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development

• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Safeguarding means protecting a child’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It involves people and companies working together to prevent and stop abuse and ensuring the child’s wellbeing is promoted.

 1.2 For the purpose of his policy, (re: the Children Acts 1989 and 2004), a child is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday.

1.3 Abuse of a child may consist of a single act or repeated acts. It may occur as a result of a failure to undertake action or appropriate care tasks. It may be an act of neglect or an omission to act. Abuse can occur in any relationship and may result in significant harm to, or exploitation of, the individual.

1. This policy is created with the best interests of children at heart following National guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ DfE 2013.

2 . Guidance

Write on the Tyne adhere to the protocols on child protection or safeguarding children as set down by the relevant Local Authorities / Safeguarding Children Boards and follow local and national guidelines, including:

• UN Conventions on the rights of the child 1989

• Every Child Matters agenda 2004

            • Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018

            • Children Act 1989 & Children Act 2004

            • Children and Social Care Act 2017

            • Equality act 2010

            • General Data Protection Regulations 2018

            And Safeguarding Adults legislation and guidance in The Care Act 2014

•  Although Write on the Tyne does not directly work with children, they work in places where children are present and work with parents and carers of children.

• Write on the Tyne has a duty of care to ensure the safeguarding of children in partnership with the local authorities which cover the geographical area of the company’s services. Write on the Tyne is committed to promoting best practice in regard to the protection of children.

• We will ensure all staff and volunteers are aware of their responsibilities and receive training on what is expected of them to safeguard children.

3 . Safeguarding Principles

 Write on the Tyne’s designated safeguarding lead, Helen Aitchison, has the duty to refer all concerns regarding child safeguarding to the local authority where the person of concern is, in order for professionals to carry out an assessment on any individual.

4 . Categories of abuse

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Abuse against a child may involve inflicting harm, or failing to act to prevent harm and may be perpetrated by an adult(s) or another child(ren).

Write on the Tyne have a responsibility to act if there is a concern about a child’s welfare or safety, and to pass concerns the local authority and police to investigate.

Abusive behaviours include, but are not limited to the following:

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. Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment);

• Protect a child from physical or emotional harm and danger;

• Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers);

• Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

• It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Physical abuse may involve:

• Hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.

• Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve:

• Conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.

• Not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or making fun of what they say or how they communicate.

• It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction.

• Seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.

• Bullying (including cyber bullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children.

Sexual abuse may include:

• Forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing.

• Non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet).

Exploitation. Children may be vulnerable to abuse or exploitation from outside their families. These extra-familial threats might arise at school and other educational establishments, from within peer groups, or more widely from within the wider community and/or online. These threats can take a variety of different forms and children can be vulnerable to multiple threats, including:

• Exploitation by criminal gangs and organised crime groups such as county lines; trafficking, online abuse; sexual exploitation and the influences of extremism leading to radicalisation. Extremist groups make use of the internet to radicalise and recruit and to promote extremist materials. Any potential harmful effects to individuals identified as vulnerable to extremist ideologies or being drawn into terrorism should also be considered.

• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) of children and young people under 18 involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Child sexual exploitation can occur through the use of technology without the child’s immediate recognition; for example, being persuaded to post sexual images on the Internet/mobile phones without immediate payment or gain. In all cases, those exploiting the child/young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources.

• Modern Day Slavery & Trafficking Modern Slavery is the term used within the UK and is defined within the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Act categorises offences as: forced labour, domestic servitude, organ harvesting, child related crimes such as child sexual exploitation, forced begging, illegal drug cultivation, organised theft, related benefit frauds etc., forced marriage and illegal adoption.

• Child Criminal Exploitation CCE “County Lines” CCE is also known as “county lines” and is when gangs and organised criminal networks groom and exploit children and young people to sell drugs. Often the children and young people are moved across counties, this type exploitation is on the increase, vulnerable children and young people are most at risk.

All exploitation concerns should be referred through local safeguarding mechanisms including the police.

Domestic Abuse. Where domestic abuse is present within the home then safeguarding procedures must be followed. Domestic violence and abuse presents a risk to children living in an abusive situation, whether or not they have directly witnessed the abuse themselves.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM is dangerous and a criminal offence, both to perform FGM in this country and to take someone abroad with the intention of making them undergo FGM. Specific information, advice and support on FGM is available from the NSPCC FGM helpline: 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk

Terrorism and Violent Extremism. Prevent is one of the four elements of CONTEST, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Prevent strategy:

• Responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views

• Provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support

• Works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health) where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to deal with.

Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism. Extremism is defined by the Government in the Prevent Strategy as: ‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.’

If there is a concern that someone is being drawn into terrorist or radicalisation activities, the safeguarding lead will make a safeguarding and police referral.

5 . Consent

• Where safe to do so, Write on the Tyne will advise any individual of a referral for their child to safeguarding.

6 . Information Sharing

• Write on the Tyne has an Information Sharing procedure in place. No Write on the Tyne staff member should assume that someone else will pass on information which they think may be critical to the safety and wellbeing of the adult.

• Protection of the public outweighs an individual’s right to confidentiality. However, it is still vital to only inform others on a ‘need to know’ basis.

• Anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare and believes they are suffering or likely to suffer abuse or neglect, then they should share the information with the local authority and, or, the police if they believe or suspect that a crime has been committed.

7 . Governance

• Write on the Tyne has Non-executive Directors who form a governance group and ensure services are delivered in an accountable, safe and ethical way.

• Write on the Tyne operates procedures that take account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable adults, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks on all staff. Write on the Tyne Director is a qualified Social Worker and IDVA.

• Staff at Write on the Tyne are trained in Safeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children and the director, Helen Aitchison, is a qualified social worker.

8 . Procedure

• Write on the Tyne must safeguard all children at risk.

• An accurate record should be made at the time of the disclosure or discovery giving details of the incident and/or the grounds for suspecting abuse.

• Reporting
  • An alert should be submitted to the Local Authority Safeguarding Childrens’ Team.
  • If there is any suspicion that a crime has been committed the police should also be contacted.
  • Where Domestic Abuse is involved, a MARAC referral must be considered, using the threshold/assessment tools provided by the local MARAC.

9 . Colleagues accused of abuse

• If a Write on the Tyne member of staff is accused of abuse, this will go directly to the Non-executive Directors (both who have been trained in safeguarding children).