Safe guarding policy
Forms of child abuse and neglect
Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm. An individual may abuse or neglect a child directly, or by failing to protect a child from harm. The following are some signs often associated with particular types of child abuse and neglect. These types of abuse are more often found in combination than alone.
- Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child so as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve making the child feel that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
- Physical abuse can involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.
- Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This can involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts, or non-contact activities such as showing children pornographic materials, sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
- Neglectis the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs. Neglect can involve a failure to:
- provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
- protect a child from physical and emotional harm
- ensure adequate supervision
- allow access to medical treatment.
If abuse is suspected or disclosed
When a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff will:
- Reassure the child that they were not to blame and were right to talk to them
- Listen to the child but not question them
- Give reassurance that the staff member will take action
- Record the incident as soon as possible (see below).
If a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they will record the incident straightaway. The school will also be spoken to, to find out if they have suspected any abuse and whether they have or will be taking any action. If they will not do so, we will explain that the Club is obliged to and the incident will be logged accordingly.
Logging an incident
All information about the suspected abuse or disclosure will be recorded as soon as possible after the event. The record should include:
- Date of the disclosure or of the incident causing concern
- Date and time at which the record was made
- Name and date of birth of the child involved
- A factual report of what happened. If recording a disclosure, it is essential to use the child’s own words.
- Name, signature and job title of the person making the record.
The record will be given to the Club’s Manager who will decide whether they need to contact Social Care or make a referral. If other staff feel that the incident has not been adequately followed up, they may call Social Care themselves.
Promoting awareness among staff
The Club will promote awareness of child abuse issues throughout its staff training. The Club will ensure that:
- Its designated CPO has relevant experience and receives appropriate training
- Safe recruitment practices are followed for all staff
- All staff have a copy of the Safeguarding Children policy, understand its contents and are vigilant to signs of abuse or neglect
- All staff are aware of their statutory requirements with regard to the disclosure or discovery of child abuse
- Staff are familiar with the ‘What To Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused’ flowchart and booklet
Contact numbers
Social services: 0300 123 4040
Social services out of hours number: 0300 123 4040
LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer): 01432 261708
LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children Board): 0300 123 4043
Ofsted: 0300 123 1231
Police: 999
NSPCC: 0808 800 5000