When it comes to the roles and responsibilities of early years practitioners regarding safeguarding, protection and welfare of children it is important to remember “Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”1
To help all practitioners achieve this responsibility the EYFS states:
“Providers must have and implement a policy, and procedures, to safeguard children.” 2
“Providers must train all staff to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures, and ensure that all staff have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues.” 3
Every setting must provide clear policies and procedures along with training covering all aspects of safeguarding, child protection, health and safety issue, identifying signs of possible abuse and neglect. However, it is a
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“You should not let other considerations, like the fear of damaging relationships with adults, get in the way of protecting children from abuse and neglect. If you think that referral to children’s social care is necessary, you should view it as the beginning of a process of inquiry, not as an accusation.” 4
It is very important to follow all procedures on safeguarding with special attention to those related to media and online safety including the use of cameras and mobile phones. With the expansion of model technology, people tend to forget that posting and sharing information and photos online is in breach of safeguarding policies and procedures.
Lead practitioner responsibility for safeguarding children
As set out in the EYFS “A practitioner must be designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children in every setting. Childminders must take the lead responsibility themselves. The lead practitioner is responsible for liaison with local statutory children's services agencies, and with the LSCB” 5(2017
The Children Act 1989 – Places a duty on all child care practitioners within a setting to not only identify but also to meet the needs of every individual child as well as keeping them safe. The Act introduced the idea of child led planning, placing the child at the center of any planning made regarding their own learning and development. The act also specifies the responsibility of the parent in keeping their own child safe and free from harm.
As a home based child-minder the safe supervision of children both in and out of the home is ultimately my complete and main responsibility. When considering the level of supervision required it is important to remember that ’supervision’ can be interpreted into 3 different level types- I.e. the depth of supervision that you adapt, and that safety requirements outlined by Ofsted determines supervision to be adapted at all times of children in my care primarily in the following activity areas;
All people working with children are governed by legislation that is in place to protect your children and the child care provider. In this document I have listed four important legislations that are of particular importance to home based child care providers and noted how I aim to incorporate them into my practice. Child care practitioners also have a regulatory body; in England it is Ofsted. This document gives you a brief description of their supervisory role in child care settings. However, the list of legislation is not comprehensive and nor is the short description of Ofsted’s Role, if you would like more information or would like to discuss
Safeguarding children When looking after children and keeping them safe its not just about protecting children from ill treatment, but also preventing impairment to their health and development. To be able to safeguard children you need to: - • to know what actions to take if you have any concerns about a child • to understand that every child is treated as an individual and have individual needs that must be met • to recognise when a child is not thriving or have been a victim of
The UK Government has defined the term ‘safeguarding children’ as: ‘The process of protecting children from abuse or neglect, preventing impairment of their health and development, and ensuring they are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care that enables children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.’
Today we use the term safeguarding instead of child protection because it covers a much broader range. These changes were influenced by the first Joint Chief Inspectors’ safeguarding report 2002 and formalised in the Every Child Matters legislation outlined in the Children Act 2004. By safeguarding a child or young person we ensure they get the very best of the opportunities available to them for them to achieve the best of their potential while keeping them safe from bullying, crime, accidents, neglect and abuse.
Polices and Procedures a. Crisis intervention 1. Anxiety: Staff should be supporting the child by trying to remove the child from the classroom, being empathetic, non-judgemental and actively listening to what is bothering the child, many situations at the onset of crisis development are defused. 2. Defensive: the best response staff can have is the directive approach, which requires setting behavioural limits for the child. The goal is for the child to realise that the consequences of their behaviour are up to them.
Ensuring children and young people’s safety and welfare in the work setting is an essential part of safeguarding. While children are at school, practitioners act in ‘loco parentis’ while their parents are away. As part of their legal and professional obligations, practitioners hold positions of trust and a duty of care to the children in their school, and therefore should always act in their best interests and ensure their safety – the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). The Children Act 2004 came in with the Every Child Matters (ECM) guidelines and greatly impacted the way schools look at the care and welfare of pupils. Children and young people should be helped to learn and thrive and be given the opportunity to
Working together to safeguard children 2006 sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children’s Act 1989 and the Children’s Act 2004. It is important that all practitioners within settings and environments looking and caring after children and young people must know their responsibilities and duties in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people, following their legislations, policies and procedures.
The safeguarding and welfare requirement contains cases of adults’ behaviour which covers the cyphers of abuse and neglect. It is essential that if staff becomes conscious of any such signs, they should respond suitably in order to protect children. Regular staff meeting should be help and staff trainings should also cover recognising adult behaviour. All childcare settings must implement a safeguarding policy and other procedures, which should be in agreement with the regulation of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board. The safeguarding policies and procedures must cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting, according to the revised EYFS.
Practitioners contribute to children’s care learning and development and safeguarding is reflected in every aspect if practice
Children are protected better when professionals who are supporting them know what the child needs and how they can work together to achieve this. Partnership working involves each professional identifying their own concerns, then sharing this with other professionals and finally taking prompt action if it is required. In order for this method to be effective, professionals need to be able to work together efficiently. In order to carry out sufficient safeguarding measures, it is beneficial to build a complete †̃pictureâ€TM of the child.
There has been certain legislation in the United Kingdom along with home policies and procedures that affect the safeguarding of children and young people. Policies and procedures for safeguarding and child protection in England and Wales are the result of the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004 brought more changes that affected the way the child protection system works here in the United Kingdom and so affecting the safeguarding of children and young people. Through the protection policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people, settings which work with children and young people have an important role in the
Safeguarding is for everyone and every organisation responsibility to protect children from any harm and promote their welfare (Children Act, 2004). However, the Department of Children, School
Working together to Safeguard Children (2010) sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004. Working Together is addressed to practitioners and frontline managers who have particular responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and to senior and operational managers in: