This documentary film is being broadcast on Tuesday 30th September at 10.00pm on Channel More4

While we cannot comment on the accuracy or importance of the documentary, we have been made aware of the film and a flyer being distributed with it, which reads as follows. (Text transcribed below)

“Every school should care about child protection and be able to answer these 4 basic questions. Can yours?

Expected answers:

1          Where is the school’s child protection policy freely available for parents to read?

Every school is expected to have a child protection (Child Safeguarding) policy that is revised annually, is made available to all staff and volunteers and is freely available to parents on request. Some schools will put this policy on the school’s website to ensure ease of access.

There can be no good reason as to why this policy is not readily available to parents; indeed guidance from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) requires schools to make it available.
 
2          Who are the child protection officers at the school, other than the Headteacher?

A named, senior member of staff is expected to take on the role of designated child protection officer (Safeguarding Officer). Some larger schools will need more than one such designated person; and there should always be an identified deputy for occasions when the named designated person is not available.

To equip them for their role, the designated child protection officers ought to receive basic child protection training (to understand the different categories of child abuse and signs to look out for); and advanced training (Level 2) in inter-agency working, so that they understand the roles of the key statutory agencies (local authority children’s services, health, police etc) as well as mechanisms for making a referral.

They should attend refresher training at least every two years.

3          `What training do staff receive in child protection? What does this training cover and is it ongoing?

All staff who work with children in schools are expected to have received, during their induction period, basic child protection (safeguarding) training, which is updated every three years.

As well as being made aware of the categories of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional and neglect) and the identity of the designated child protection (Safeguarding) officer and his/her deputy, they should also be given a copy of the school’s child protection (Safeguarding) policy, which will include details of how and where to take forward a concern or to report an allegation.

Whilst the normal route for concerns and allegations will be through the designated child protection (safeguarding) officer, staff should also be informed about how to take forward concerns or report allegations directly to the Local Authority or Police.

It is important that even temporary staff and volunteers are made aware of the school’s child protection (safeguarding) policy and mechanism for reporting any concerns and allegations.

4          Is it the school’s written policy to report child protection (safeguarding) allegations to the Local Authority Designated Officer (“LADO”) or the Police?

Where an allegation is received by a school that a staff member or volunteer has behaved in a way that has harmed a child (physically, emotionally, sexually or through neglect); or has behaved in a way that indicates that he or she is unsuitable to work with children, a referral should be made to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or to the police. The LADO is readily available, including by telephone, to discuss and take referrals about allegations or concerns - even those that may not, on the face of it, appear particularly serious. It is particularly important that schools ensure all allegations are examined objectively by the LADO, so that an independent, expert view is obtained.

To find out more visit: www.chosen.org.uk/forparents

1          Is the school’s child protection (safeguarding) policy freely available for parents to read?

Every school is expected to have a child protection (Child Safeguarding) policy that is revised annually, is made available to all staff and volunteers and is freely available to parents on request. Some schools will put this policy on the school’s website to ensure ease of access.

There can be no good reason as to why this policy is not readily available to parents; indeed guidance from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) requires schools to make it available.
 
2          Who are the child protection (safeguarding) officers at the school, other than the Headteacher?

A named, senior member of staff is expected to take on the role of designated child protection officer (Safeguarding Officer). Some larger schools will need more than one such designated person; and there should always be an identified deputy for occasions when the named designated person is not available.

To equip them for their role, the designated child protection officers ought to receive basic child protection training (to understand the different categories of child abuse and signs to look out for); and advanced training (Level 2) in inter-agency working, so that they understand the roles of the key statutory agencies (local authority children’s services, health, police etc) as well as mechanisms for making a referral.

They should attend refresher training at least every two years.

3          What training do staff receive in child protection (safeguarding)? What does this training cover and is it ongoing?

All staff who work with children in schools are expected to have received, during their induction period, basic child protection (safeguarding) training, which is updated every three years.

As well as being made aware of the categories of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional and neglect) and the identity of the designated child protection (Safeguarding) officer and his/her deputy, they should also be given a copy of the school’s child protection (Safeguarding) policy, which will include details of how and where to take forward a concern or to report an allegation.

Whilst the normal route for concerns and allegations will be through the designated child protection (safeguarding) officer, staff should also be informed about how to take forward concerns or report allegations directly to the Local Authority or Police.

It is important that even temporary staff and volunteers are made aware of the school’s child protection (safeguarding) policy and mechanism for reporting any concerns and allegations.

4          Is the school’s written policy to report child protection (safeguarding) allegations to the Local Authority Designated Officer (“LADO”) or the Police?

Where an allegation is received by a school that a staff member or volunteer has behaved in a way that has harmed a child (physically, emotionally, sexually or through neglect); or has behaved in a way that indicates that he or she is unsuitable to work with children, a referral should be made to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or to the police. The LADO is readily available, including by telephone, to discuss and take referrals about allegations or concerns - even those that may not, on the face of it, appear particularly serious. It is particularly important that schools ensure all allegations are examined objectively by the LADO, so that an independent, expert view is obtained.

This guidance document is available from the DCSF ………..

This document sets out the responsibilities of all local authorities, schools and Further Education (FE) colleges in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. It sets out recruitment best practice, some underpinned by legislation, for the school, local authority, and FE education sectors. This guidance is also relevant for supply agencies who supply staff to the education sector, contractors who work in education establishments responsible for under 18s, as well as other providers of education and training for those under 18 funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The document also details the process for dealing with allegations of abuse against staff. This guidance does not cover the requirements of the new vetting and barring scheme to be introduced under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. These will be phased in from 2008, and updated guidance will be prepared in due course.

This guidance replaces:

It also replaces the guidance contained in Checks on Supply Teachers which was issued in September 2004, Circular 7/96, Use of Supply Teachers, and in the associated Guidance Notes for Teacher Employment Businesses and Agencies.

Chapter 1 provides brief information on the responsibilities of local authorities, schools and FE colleges and details of relevant legislation. It confirms the scope and audience for the guidance and sets out details of superseded documents.

Chapter 2 sets out the responsibilities of local authorities, schools of all kinds and FE colleges to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It provides guidance on the organisational and management arrangements which need to be put in place to safeguard children in the education service. It supports educational organisations in delivering their responsibilities under sections 175 and 157 of the Education Act 2002 and replaces the guidance issued in September 2004 as Safeguarding Children in Education. Annex A at the end of the document provides a wide range of guidance and advice to those in the education service on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and details of where to access further advice and guidance on those issues.

Chapter 3 provides guidance on safer recruitment and selection in education settings. This includes recruitment and selection best practice, other human resources processes that help to recruit candidates who have the skills, knowledge and aptitudes to work, whether paid or unpaid, in the education services and to deter, reject or identify people who are unsuitable. It sets out all the steps in the process and briefly describes the recruitment and vetting checks required.

This supports the delivery of the on-line training course produced by the National College for School Leadership and replaces the guidance, Safeguarding Children: Safer Recruitment and Selection in Education Settings, issued in June 2005.

Chapter 4 provides detailed guidance on the recruitment and vetting checks to be made in education settings. It sets out what checks must be undertaken and for which staff whether paid or unpaid and what checks should be undertaken and for which staff whether paid or unpaid. It provides detailed guidance to support the delivery of the recruitment and selection processes set out in Chapter 3.

It replaces:

Chapter 5 provides guidance on handling allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff or volunteers in the education service. This guidance was first issued to the education service in November 2005 and, covering the whole of the children’s workforce, it forms Appendix 5 of Working Together to Safeguard Children issued in April 2006.

There then follow an annex and a number of appendices which support this guidance, including flowcharts to assist schools and FE colleges with the recruitment and checking process.

For more information visit:

www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/AD6343FE3EF01D9FC86617FE11940A48.pdf

Education Act 2002: Sections 175 and 157
Statutory responsibilities of maintained and independent schools, FE colleges, local authorities and other education providers.

This Act places a responsibility on Local Authorities and governors to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children. Section 175 places responsibility on Local Authorities and maintained schools and FE colleges. Section 157 places similar responsibilities on independent schools and any other education provider.

Section 175: Duties of LEAs and governing bodies in relation to welfare of children

(1)        A local education authority shall make arrangements for ensuring that the functions conferred on them in their capacity as a local education authority are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

(2)        The governing body of a maintained school shall make arrangements for ensuring that their functions relating to the conduct of the school are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children who are pupils at the school.

(3)        The governing body of an institution within the further education sector shall make arrangements for ensuring that their functions relating to the conduct of the institution are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children receiving education or training at the institution.

(4)        An authority or body mentioned in any of subsections (1) to (3) shall, in considering what arrangements are required to be made by them under that subsection, have regard to any guidance given from time to time (in relation to England) by the Secretary of State or (in relation to Wales) by the National Assembly for Wales.

(5)        In this section—

Section 157: Independent school standards
(1)        For the purposes of this Chapter, regulations shall prescribe standards about the following matters—
(a)        the quality of education provided at independent schools;
(b)        the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at independent schools;
(c)        the welfare, health and safety of pupils at independent schools;
(d)        the suitability of proprietors of and staff at independent schools;
(e)        the premises of and accommodation at independent schools;
(f)         the provision of information by independent schools;
(g)        the manner in which independent schools handle complaints.

Staying Safe: Action Plan

Staying Safe was launched for consultation in July 2007, and during that period, parents, children and young people, members of the general public and practitioners were consulted about their concerns in relation to children’s safety.

This action plan sets out the work which the Government will take forward over the next three years to drive improvements in children and young people’s safety, which will be measured by the new Public Service Agreement to improve children and young people’s safety.

The Staying Safe Action Plan covers three main areas: universal safeguarding, involving work to keep all children and young people safe and to create safe environments for them; targeted safeguarding to reduce the risks of harm for vulnerable groups of children and young people; and responsive safeguarding, involving responding effectively when children are harmed.

The action plan sets out new commitments on children’s safety, including a new £18m home safety equipment scheme targeted at vulnerable areas, a Child Safety Education Coalition and a new National Safeguarding Unit for the Third Sector.

www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/stayingsafe/

Cyber bullying & internet safety


What is cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is when one person or a group of people aim to threaten, tease or embarrass someone else by using a mobile phone, the internet or other technologies.

"You can have 60 people bullying you on the internet, but in real life there wouldn’t be 60 people beating you up."

Those who take part in online bullying often use a group of friends to target their victims by asking them to add a comment to a photo on a blog, or asking them to forward it onto another group of friends. Sometimes, these people don’t even realise they’re actually bullying someone.

Cyberbullying takes many forms. These are the main ones:

Email
Sending emails that can be threatening or upsetting. Emails can be sent directly to a single target, or to a group of people to encourage them to become part of the bullying. These messages or ‘hate mails’ can include examples of racism, sexism and other types of prejudice.
If someone sends you a message and you forward or laugh at it, you’re actually adding to the problem.

Instant messenger and chatrooms
Sending instant messenger and chatroom messages to friends or direct to a victim. Others can be invited into the bullying conversation, who then become part of it by laughing.

Social networking sites
Setting up profiles on social networking sites to make fun of someone. By visiting these pages or contributing to them, you become part of the problem and add to the feelings of unhappiness felt by the victim.

Mobile phone
Sending humiliating and abusive text or video messages, as well as photo messages and phone calls over a mobile phone. This includes anonymous text messages over short distances using Bluetooth technology and sharing videos of physical attacks on individuals (happy slapping).

Interactive gaming
Games consoles allow players to chat online with anyone they find themselves matched with in a multi-player game. Sometimes cyber bullies abuse other players and use threats.
They can also lock victims out of games, spread false rumours about someone or hack into someone’s account.

Sending viruses
Some people send viruses or hacking programs to another person that can destroy their computers or delete personal information from their hard drive.

Abusing personal information
Many victims of cyberbullying have complained that they have seen personal photos, emails or blog postings posted where others could see it without their permission.
Social networking sites make it a lot easier for web users to get hold of personal information and photos of people. They can also get hold of someone else’s messaging accounts and chat to people pretending to be the victim.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Youngpeople/CrimeAndJustice/KeepingSafe/DG_10027670

The effects of cyberbullying

Even though cyberbullying cannot physically hurt you, it can still leave you feeling mentally vulnerable and very upset. You can also feel scared, lonely and stressed and that there’s no way out.

Escaping cyberbullying can be very difficult. Because anyone can get access to a mobile phone or the internet almost anywhere, it can even be tough for those on the receiving end to avoid it, even in the safety of their own home.

There’s no simple answer for why some people choose to cause pain to others by bullying them. There are lots of possible reasons, but here are some common ones:

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is part of UK police and is dedicated to protecting children from sexual abuse wherever they may be. That means building intelligence around the risks, tracking and bringing offenders to account either directly or with local and international forces and working with children and parents to deliver the unique ThinkuKnow educational programme. The approach is truly holistic, the style is totally inclusive and the appeal is to everyone in society to work with them in making every child matter, everywhere.

Friday 11 September 2008: Latest online offender ‘grooming’ tactics revealed

UK centre for tackling the sexual abuse of children advises parents to increase vigilance as latest intelligence report is published

Online child sex offenders are using more intimidating tactics to engage with, exploit and abuse children in an increasingly converged technological environment according to the UK’s police agency dedicated to tackling child sex abuse – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

In its latest strategic intelligence dossier, the organisation reports an increase in online offenders using threats such as hacking online profiles and email accounts and using blackmail techniques as a response to an increasingly empowered internet generation who are recognising and reporting online ‘grooming’ behaviour to the police agency.

To date 2.2 million children and young people have seen the Centre’s Thinkuknow education programme and together with public awareness around international law enforcement activity in tracing and arresting internet offenders, this is resulting in offenders changing their tactics to approach and groom children.

The emergence of ‘social sites’ is having an effect on online offending patterns too. Websites which incorporate personal profiles, social networking, instant messaging, games and photo sharing into the same online space (rather than previously distinct services or applications), mean that information gathering on a child and grooming can take place in one online environment.

According to the intelligence document - based on reports submitted to the Centre from young people, adults, domestic and international law enforcement agencies over the course of a 12 month period - instant messaging applications remain the most common area for grooming to be detected (56% of reports) with social networking sites following second (11.4% of reports). As instant messaging applications are increasingly embedded into social networking sites, the Centre expects to see an increase in reports of grooming in these environments.

In addition, with a growing move towards wireless broadband in the home and wi-fi zones in public areas, young people are increasingly accessing the internet via mobile phones and laptops from a variety of locations.

Despite the trends, the CEOP Centre insists that parents should be concerned but not alarmed at these new developments and parents themselves can take a few simple steps to help keep their children safe whilst surfing the internet.

“As parents can’t always keep an eye on what their children are doing on the internet, it is more important than ever that they have an open dialogue with their children about what they are doing online and to give them the skills to navigate safely in the online world as much as the physical world.

Parents can ask their child to show them around the www.thinkuknow.co.uk website and go to the age-appropriate sections or watch one of our films. Parents need to make sure children understand to keep their online friends online, only chat to and webcam with people they know in the real world and most importantly, know how to report to the CEOP Centre if there are concerns about someone’s online behaviour towards their child.

Whilst we can empower children and keep parents up to speed with the latest information on this crime, the online industry also has a role to play. By adopting our unique ‘report abuse’ button into the online environments where children go, reporting directly to CEOP will not only be easier for children but will send out a deterrent message to ‘would-be’ offenders that abuse will not be tolerated in that online space."

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre;

Other key findings from the Centre’s latest intelligence report include:

For more information visit:                  www.ceop.gov.uk

To download a copy of the CEOP Centre’s Strategic Overview 2007-08, visit:
www.ceop.gov.uk/publications

View the CEOP corporate film:          www.ceop.gov.uk/mediacentre/video.asp

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

Christian Webb-Jenkins, of Browne Jacobson LLP, discusses the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, which came into force in November 2006, heralds very significant changes in the way that people who work with children or vulnerable adults are vetted. Indeed the reforms are so substantial that the government intends to phase them in over the next two years, as it fears teething problems. Therefore the new regime will not be fully in place until 2008 at the earliest. 

The roots of this act lie in the Bichard report. Sir Michael Bichard was very critical of the current vetting and barring scheme, and the government accepted all his recommendations, so substantial reform in one form or another was inevitable.

It is not difficult to identify aspects of the current vetting and barring system that need to be changed. Currently we have two overlapping barring lists that relate to children, List 99 and the Protection of Children Act (POCA) list, a recipe for confusion. Furthermore, the current CRB check is simply a snapshot, telling you what is known about an individual at the time the application is made.

The new regime will tackle these problems. There will be only a single barring list relating to children (but still a separate one for vulnerable adults, as with the current Protection of Vulnerable Adults list). Furthermore, the new system will be able to react to new information about an individual. If it works as planned, individuals will be barred as soon as information justifying this is to hand.

Before explaining how the new system will work, it is necessary to cover a couple of its features.

Independent Barring Board

In early 2006 Ruth Kelly found herself in the middle of a political storm, defending decisions by civil servants to allow individuals with convictions for sexual offences to work with children. She announced that an advisory board of child protection specialists would be created to help civil servants take these decisions. The act takes this one stage further. It creates an independent organisation, the Independent Barring Board (IBB). Although this will be funded by the government, it is truly independent. While this organisation will not do much of the legwork of process applications, crucially it will be this body that assesses the information to hand about an individual. It will decide whether that person should be barred, taking this potentially contentious decision out of the hands of civil servants.

Regulated activity and controlled activity

The act defines two types of activity relating to children or vulnerable adults. The type that will apply to most individuals working with children is ‘regulated activity’. This is broadly defined, and covers what might be called ‘frontline’ activity, where individuals have direct contact with the children or vulnerable adults. It will cover teaching, social work, healthcare, counselling, guidance, and even moderating internet chatrooms used by children, and driving school buses. The barring provisions provided for in the act relate to regulated activity – the IBB considers whether an individual should be engaged in regulated activity; if an individual is barred, they are barred from regulated activity. A late amendment to the act, brought in during debate in the House of Lords, means that fostering, whether public or private, is regulated activity.

The act contains many provisions relating to individuals or organisations who recruit people for regulated activity, such as employers, voluntary organisations, and employment agencies who supply individuals for regulated activity. These people are covered under the generic term ‘regulated activity providers (RAPs)’. Schools, local authorities and NHS Trusts will be RAPs in relation to the services they provide.

The other type is ‘controlled activity’. Broadly speaking, this is activity that, although it gives some opportunity for contact with children or vulnerable adults, does not fall within the definition of regulated activity. It also covers roles where individuals will have access to children’s records.

One of the features of the act is the lack of detail in key areas. The act simply says that the secretary of state will fill the gap at a later date through regulations. One of these gaps concerns controlled activity. All we have is the definition. We do not know who the secretary of state will permit to engage in controlled activity, or what steps should be taken by those responsible for allowing people to engage in controlled activity. We also do not know what criminal offences may be committed in relation to controlled activity. 

How will the new system operate?

Under the new system, an individual who wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults will need to apply for a check (separate applications will be needed for children and for adults, as there will be separate barring lists). The application will require proof of identity and a fee. The check will take a few weeks, while information about that individual is gathered. So far, the new system sounds much like the current one for CRB checks. 

It is envisaged that the Criminal Records Bureau will administer the application for a check. It will gather information about the individual, and pass it on to the IBB. In some circumstances (such as where an individual has been convicted of a sexual offence), the barring will be automatic. The IBB will not have to make any barring decision. 

In other circumstances, the bar will not be automatic, and the IBB will need to assess the information. If the IBB considers it may be necessary to bar an individual, it must give that individual the right to make representations. In some instances the individual will be barred initially, and subsequently removed from the barring list if the representations persuade the IBB not to bar. In other circumstances, people will not be placed onto the barring list at all until after the IBB receives and assesses the representations.

An individual who is barred will be told. Usually the application will be made jointly by the individual and the RAP who wishes to engage that individual, and both will be told that the individual is barred. 

If an individual is not barred, he (and the RAP if the application is joint) will be told that the individual is ‘subject to monitoring’.  This rather strange phrase means that the individual is cleared to work with children or vulnerable adults. 
However, it hints at a major change in the new system. Once a person applies for a check, effectively a file is opened on them. While this file is open, the IBB may receive information about that individual from a variety of sources, such as the police, local authorities, employers, professional bodies or inspectorates. Furthermore, periodically the CRB will request any new information about the individual. Whenever such new information is received, it is passed to the IBB, who then consider whether it should lead to a decision to bar, with representations being sought when appropriate. Therefore it is hoped that as soon as there is evidence to hand that an individual has behaved inappropriately towards children or vulnerable adults (such as a conviction of a relevant offence, a dismissal from employment, or removal from a professional register), then that information will be passed to the IBB, who will give it due consideration and, where appropriate, bar the individual. The barring decision will then be communicated to the individual and to the RAP engaged with that individual (provided they have registered their interest with the IBB).

So a school may receive a phone call from the IBB saying that a particular member of staff has been barred. The school will then need to take immediate action to remove that individual from regulated activity, and it is likely that the individual will have to be dismissed summarily. While the individual may know that the IBB is considering a bar, because representations were sought, the RAP will not be given any advanced warning of the barring decision. This, inevitably, will cause some practical problems, but it is difficult to see a sensible alternative.

As well as the opportunity to make representations before a bar is imposed, individuals also have the right to appeal a barring decision and to have it reviewed. However these rights are not as far reaching as they might sound. 

Appeals are limited only to questions of law, or to factual decisions that the IBB has made. So, for example, if the IBB relied upon a dismissal by an employer, it would not be possible for an appeal to open up that dismissal decision.  

A barring decision can only be reviewed after a certain period of time (yet to be specified, but likely to be a matter of years rather than months), and even then the IBB should only agree to review a decision if there are reasons to believe that circumstances have changed. 
 
Online checks

One aspect of the new system that the government is keen to highlight is the ability to make online checks on an individual, but in truth these are of limited use.  The only information that will be available online is simply whether an individual is barred, or is ‘subject to monitoring’ (ie clear to work). It will not give any further information. It will, in effect, be similar to the current standard level CRB check. However, for recruitment into almost every regulated activity role, the RAP will need information equivalent to an enhanced CRB check and this will only be available through an application, rather than online. 

Offences

In order to give the new system a degree of compulsion, the Act creates several offences. So, for example, offences are committed by an individual who seeks or engages in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults when either he is barred, or not subject to monitoring (ie he has not applied for a check).

However, RAPs also commit offences if they engage an individual in regulated activity who is either barred or not subject to monitoring. Where the RAP is an organisation, this offence is committed by both the organisation, and by any manager who is complicit or reckless.

As mentioned above, the IBB may receive information about individuals from a variety of sources including local authorities, inspectorates, professional bodies and RAPs. Indeed there are positive obligations under the act to provide proactively to the IBB any evidence of inappropriate behaviour towards children or vulnerable adults. There are also obligations to provide information to the IBB when asked to do so, and RAPs (but no other type of organisation) commit a criminal offence if they refuse to provide information requested by the IBB.

Summary

Overall, the new system does have some obvious benefits. It combines List 99 and the POCA list, and it can react to new information. However, the facility for online checks appears to be of limited value.

Importantly, the government is keen to stress that the new regime is not a silver bullet for all recruitment issues. It will still be necessary for employers to have robust recruitment procedures, involving interviews and references.

This article first appeared in Protecting Children Update - February 2007Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

September 8 2008

Staff at a new agency created to strengthen the protection of children and vulnerable adults moved into their new headquarters in Darlington at the weekend.

 

Almost 60 workers, employed by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), relocated from Mowden Hall to Stephenson House at Morton Palms as the organisation prepares to launch next year.

The ISA was created as a direct result of recommendations of the 2004 Bichard Inquiry which followed the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham in 2002. It will work to safeguard children and vulnerable adults by bringing together, for the first time, information from a variety of sources.

Highly trained caseworkers, backed by a board of members with considerable expertise, will take independent decisions to prevent unsuitable people gaining access to the vulnerable. Ultimately, this new registration and barring process will replace, expand and enhance the various vetting schemes currently in operation.

ISA Chief Executive Adrian McAllister said: “I’m very pleased to welcome our staff to their new offices as moving in here is one of the key milestones in our progress towards an official start date.

“It’s been a time of upheaval as the organisation develops and I thank staff for their patience and hard work to make the move happen, whilst maintaining their commitment to existing workloads.”

The ISA will eventually employ 250 staff at Stephenson House.

More than 100 new employees will be taken on by the ISA over the next few months, as preparations for a ‘go-live’ date of 12 October 2009 gather pace.

“It’s great to move in here, the offices are really light and airy,” said casework supervisor Dawn Wayman, one of the staff who made the move.

“The workspace is logically laid out and planned specifically for the casework and administration process to run as efficiently as possible. I’m very happy to be here.”

It will do this by:

For more information visit:   www.isa-gov.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=0

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006

This document sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to
safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

It is addressed to practitioners and front-line managers who have particular responsibilities
for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and to senior and operational
managers, in:

l organisations that are responsible for commissioning or providing services to children,
young people, and adults who are parents/carers, and
l organisations that have a particular responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the
welfare of children.

Part 1 of the document comprises Chapters 1 to 8, which are issued as statutory guidance.
Practitioners and agencies will have different responsibilities that apply to different areas of
the guidance and should look in the preface for a fuller explanation of their statutory
duties. Part 2 of the document incorporates Chapters 9 to 12 and is issued as non-statutory
practice guidance.

This executive summary is not guidance in itself. It is included to help readers gain an
overview of the document.

Part 1: Statutory guidance
Chapter 1 – Introduction: working together to safeguard and promote the welfare of
children and families

Chapter 1 sets the context for the revised guidance by discussing the reasons for the
changes in safeguarding policy and practice since 1999. It also outlines the key definitions
and concepts used in the guidance.

The statutory inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié (2003), and the first joint Chief
Inspectors’ Report on safeguarding children (2002), highlighted the lack of priority status
given to safeguarding.The Government’s responses to these findings included the Green

Working Together to Safeguard Children: Executive Summary Paper Every Child Matters and the provisions in the Children Act 2004.Three of the most important in this context are:

l the creation of children’s trusts under the duty to co-operate
l the setting up of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs)
l the duty on all agencies to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare
of children.
A shared responsibility and the need for effective joint working between agencies and
professionals that have different roles and expertise are required if children are to be
protected from harm and their welfare promoted. In order to achieve this joint working,
there must be constructive relationships between individual practitioners, promoted and
supported by:
l the commitment of senior managers to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
and
l clear lines of accountability.

Chapter 2 – Roles and responsibilities

Chapter 2 explains the roles, responsibilities and duties of the different people and
organisations that work directly with, and whose work affects, children and young people. It
states that all organisations that provide services or work with children and young people
should:

l have senior managers who are committed to children’s and young people’s wellbeing
and safety
l be clear about people’s responsibilities to safeguard and promote children’s and young
people’s welfare
l have effective recruitment and human resources procedures, including checking all new
staff and volunteers to make sure they are safe to work with children and young people
l have procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff and
volunteers
l make sure staff get training that helps them do their job well
l have procedures about how to safeguard and promote the welfare of young people
l have agreements about working with other organisations.

Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 and s175 of the Education Act 2002 place duties on
organisations and individuals to ensure that their functions are discharged with regard to
the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. An overview of these duties

10 Working Together to Safeguard Children Executive Summary

11and the structure of children’s services under the Children Act 2004 are set out in the
preface to this guidance and Appendix 1.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the responsibility of the local
authority (LA),working in partnership with other public organisations, the voluntary sector,
children and young people, parents and carers, and the wider community. A key objective
for LAs is to ensure that children are protected from harm.Other functions in LAs that play
an important role in safeguarding are housing, sport, culture and leisure services, and youth
services.

Health professionals and organisations have a key role to play in safeguarding and
promoting the welfare of children.The general principles they should apply are:

l aim to ensure that all affected children receive appropriate and timely therapeutic and
preventative interventions
l those professionals who work directly with children should ensure that safeguarding
and promoting their welfare forms an integral part of all stages of care they offer
l those professionals who come into contact with children, parents and carers in the
course of their work also need to be aware of their safeguarding responsibilities
l ensure that all health professionals can recognise risk factors and contribute to reviews,
enquiries and child protection plans, as well as planning support for children and
providing ongoing promotional and preventative support through proactive work.

Standard 5 of the National Service Framework for Children,Young People and Maternity
Services sets the standards for health and social care agencies’work to prevent children
suffering harm and to promote their welfare.

The police recognise the fundamental importance of inter-agency working in combating
child abuse, as illustrated by well-established arrangements for joint training involving
police and social work colleagues. All forces have child abuse investigation units (CAIU) and
while they normally take responsibility for investigating such cases, safeguarding children is
a fundamental part of the duties of all police officers.The police are committed to sharing
information and intelligence with other organisations and should be notified as soon as
possible where a criminal offence has been, or is suspected of, being committed.

LSCBs should have in place a protocol agreed between the LA and the police, to guide both
organisations in deciding how child protection enquiries should be conducted, and in
which circumstances joint enquiries are appropriate.

Probation services supervise offenders with the aim of reducing re-offending and
protecting the public. By working with offenders who are parents/carers,Offender
Managers can safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Probation areas will also:
l supervise 16- and 17-year-olds on Community Punishment
l second staff to Youth Offending Teams
l provide a service to child victims of serious sexual or violent offences.

Offender Managers should also ensure there is clarity and communication between risk
management processes; these are described in greater detail in Chapter 12.

Governors/Directors of all prison establishments must have in place arrangements that
protect the public from prisoners in their care. All prisoners who have been identified as
presenting a risk to children will not be allowed contact with them unless a favourable risk
assessment has been undertaken by the police, probation, prison and social care services.
Governors/Directors of women’s establishments with Mother and Baby Units need to
ensure that staff working on duty are prioritised for child protection training.

Governors/Directors of juvenile Young Offenders’ Institutions are required to adhere to the
policies, agreed by the Prison Service and the Youth Justice Board, for safeguarding and
promoting the welfare of children held in custody.

Secure Training Centres (STCs) house vulnerable, sentenced and remanded juveniles aged
between 12 and 17. Each STC has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of the
children in its custody.

Youth Offending Teams (Yots) are responsible for the supervision of children and young
people subject to pre-court interventions and statutory court disposals.Yots have a duty to
make arrangements to ensure that their functions are discharged with regard to the need
to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Schools (including independent and non-maintained schools) and further education
institutions have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils under the
Education Act 2002.They should create and maintain a safe learning environment for
children and young people, and identify where there are child welfare concerns and take
action to address them, in partnership with other organisations where appropriate.
Childminders and everyone working in day care services should know how to recognise
and respond to the possible abuse and neglect of a child. All organisations providing day
care must have a designated person who liaises with local child protection agencies and
Ofsted on child protection issues.

In care and related proceedings under the Children Act 1989, the responsibility of the
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) is to safeguard and
promote the interests of individual children who are the subject of family proceedings by
providing independent social work advice to the court.

Looking after under-18s in the armed forces comes under the MoD’s comprehensive
welfare arrangements, which apply to all members of the armed forces.There is already a
responsibility on social care services to monitor the wellbeing of care leavers, and those
joining the armed forces have unrestricted access to LA social services workers.

12 Working Together to Safeguard Children Executive Summary

13 The voluntary sector is active in working to safeguard the children and young people with
whom they work, and provides a key role in providing information and resources to the
wider public about the needs of children.

Faith communities provide a wide range of activities for children and, as such, should have
appropriate arrangements in place to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Chapter 3 – Local Safeguarding Children Boards

Chapter 3 explains the role, functions, governance and operation of Local Safeguarding
Children Boards (LSCBs).

The LSCB is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in
each local area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and for
ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.

The scope of the LSCB role falls into three categories: firstly, they will engage in activities
that safeguard all children and aim to identify and prevent maltreatment, or impairment of
health or development, and ensure that children are growing up in circumstances
consistent with safe and effective care; secondly, they will lead and co-ordinate proactive
work that aims to target particular groups; and thirdly, they will lead and co-ordinate
arrangements for responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or at risk of
suffering, maltreatment.

The core functions of an LSCB are set out in Regulations and are:
l policies and procedures including those on:
l action taken where there are concerns, including thresholds for intervention
l training of people who work with children or in services affecting the safety and

welfare of children

l recruitment and supervision of people who work with children
l investigation of allegations concerning people who work with children
l safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered
l co-operation with neighbouring children’s services authorities (i.e. LAs) and their

LSCB partners

l communicating and raising awareness
l monitoring and evaluation
l participating in planning and commissioning
l reviewing the deaths of children
l serious case reviews.

County-level and unitary LAs are responsible for establishing an LSCB in their area and
ensuring that it is run effectively. LSCBs should have a clear and distinct identity within local
children’s trust governance arrangements. It is the responsibility of the LA to appoint the
Chair.

Membership of the LSCB is made up of senior managers from different services and
agencies in a local area, including the independent and voluntary sector. In addition, the
Board receives input from experts – e.g. the designated nurse or doctor.

To function effectively, LSCBs need to be supported by their member organisations with
adequate and reliable resources.The budget for each LSCB and the contribution made by
each member organisation should be agreed locally.

LSCB work should be effectively planned and is usually part of the Children and Young
People’s Plan.

The LSCBs’work to ensure the effectiveness of work by member organisations will be a peer
review process, based on self-evaluation, performance indicators and joint audit.

Chapter 4 – Inter-agency training and development

Chapter 4 is about training and development.Training for multi- and inter-agency working
means training that will equip people to work effectively with those from other agencies.
Employers are responsible for ensuring their employees are confident and competent in
carrying out their responsibilities, and for ensuring employees are aware of how to
recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns. Employers should also identify adequate
resources and support for inter-agency training.

LAs and their partners are responsible for ensuring that workforce strategies are developed
in the local area, including making sure that the training opportunities to meet the needs of
the workforce are identified and met by LSCBs.The LSCBs should work within the workforce
strategy to manage the identification of training needs; use the information to inform the
planning and commissioning of training; and check and evaluate single- and inter-agency
training.

All training in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children should create an ethos
that:

l values working collaboratively
l respects diversity
l promotes equality
l is child-centred
l promotes the participation of children and families in the processes.

14 Working Together to Safeguard Children Executive Summary

15 It should also work within The Common Core of Skills and Knowledge (2005) for the Children’s
Workforce.This sets out the six areas of expertise that everyone working with children,
young people and families should be able to demonstrate.
It can be found at:
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/commoncore/.