It is more important than ever for organisations and groups to construct and implement policies aimed at preventing children and young people from being abused.
With this in mind, www.red-star-research.org.uk/rpm is re-producing in the following pages a policy document which was drawn up by workers in a Community Centre in West London in 1998 and which has since been used as the basis for policy documents in other parts of England, Scotland and Wales.
It should be pointed out that the document is a guide to action and has no legal basis. Nevertheless it is recommended as the starting point for anyone wanting to construct a policy document to prevent abuse of children and young people.
The Safe Children Community Group referred to is not an actual group.
An attempt to ensure the safety of children and young people less than 16 years of age when participating in supervised activities
It is known that there are adults who target children and young people in order to harm and exploit them. One of the ways they are able to do this is by involving themselves in supervised activities for children and young people.
This is why it is more important than ever for organisations and groups to construct and implement policies aimed at preventing children and young people from being abused.
The Safe Children Community Group [henceforth known as SAFE] has adapted and added to the guidelines for parents and carers, organisations and volunteers drawn up by the local council’s Area Child Protection Committee
There is no intention of being alarmist, and SAFE has no intention of preventing children and young people from enjoying themselves. Our aim is to take steps to ensure that, as far as possible, children and young people less than 16 years of age will be safe when they participate in activities supervised and/or involving adults.
SAFE sees the welfare of children and young people as being paramount. We believe users will share this view.
The lives of children and young people are enriched by participating in a wide variety of sports, clubs, outings, supervised activities and classes. Whether after school or during school holidays, children learn and have a good time pursuing their interests and hobbies.
Everyone who is concerned with the welfare of children and young people will want to ensure that the activities being offered are appropriate for the age and ability of the participants, the venue is safe and that the people running the activity do so in the best interests of the children and young people.
A small number of adults try to get access to children and young people in order to harm and exploit them. This may include physical harm, sexual exploitation, mental abuse, emotional damage or neglect. Children may also disclose abuse that has occurred to a worker or volunteer in the centre.
SAFE has adapted these guidelines from the local council’s Area Child Protection Committee to assist parents, volunteers and groups who use the village hall concerned with the safety and well being of children and young people. They outline steps that we will take to ensure that, as far as possible, children and young people less than 16 years of age will be safe when they participate in activities supervised and/or where adults are present.
This is not a list of standards by which children’s services are run – SAFE has a range of policies and is also developing some new ones, which outline these – they are available on request.
If you have any questions about the policy then you can speak to the development worker in the office and/or a member of the management committee.
Any allegation of abuse will be reported to the management committee who will respond to the allegations in an appropriate manner and follow the policy guidelines lad out in this booklet.
If you feel unable to speak to either the development worker or management committee member but you are concerned that an individual may be a danger to children and young people then you can contact the Child Protection Officers at the Council or the Police Child Protection Team. [See list of agencies at the end of this policy statement]
· Children and young people have the right to be protected from harm
· Disabled children and young people are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Many do not communicate verbally, but will have some means of communication. Because people associate disabled children and young people with charity and sympathy, they find it difficult to believe they can also be abused.
· Child abuse occurs when someone in a position of power causes the child harm. It may be physical, sexual, and emotional or it may be neglect.
· The nature of sexual abuse is different. Children and young people are often abused by people in a position of trust.
· Children and young people do not expect adults to harm them, especially those in a caring role, so it can be easy for abusers to persuade then that there is nothing wrong and that they shouldn’t tell.
· Who are the abusers?
· You can’t tell by looking at a person that they are an abuser. Abusers come from all classes of society, all professions and all communities.
· Abuse of children may sometimes be carried out by strangers. However, it is important to remember that more often the abuser is known to the child and is in a position of trust and/or authority.
· When a child wishes to make a complaint about abuse then they:-
· Should speak to any member of staff who they feel confident enough to talk to.
· Approach their parents and/or friends who should raise it with an appropriate member of staff or delegated members of the management committee.
· SAFE will bring to children’s attention verbally and in written form the above points.
All organisations working
with children in our area are required
to follow clear procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee for
dealing with allegations of child abuse.
For staff in SAFE this means that any concern they may have or any allegation that is made to them, whether it concerns a matter inside the centre or outside of it, must be discussed with their line manager as soon as possible It is not the responsibility of any members of staff to investigate the matter themselves.
The manager of SAFE or in his/her absence her assistant must decide if the matter is serious enough to formally refer to Social Services. Where it is unclear s/he may contact one of Council’s Child Protection Officers for advice.
Once a referral has been made Centre staff will have a continuing responsibility to assist Social Services with any enquiries they make. This may mean for example, contributing information about a child or attending meetings that Social Services convene within their child protection procedures
Unless specifically advised by Social Services not to do so, SAFE will inform the parents of the child that a referral has been made to Social Services.
A parent and/or child or young person should report any allegations of abuse against members of staff or volunteers to the manager of the community centre and/or a member of the management committee.
The manager, in conjunction
with a member of the management committee will use their judgment and
experience and the facts available to them to decide which of the following
procedures to adopt:-
1. If the matter is very minor or appears to be an issue of poor practice, the manager and management committee of the community centre will deal it with.
2. If the allegation is more serious it will be reported to Social Services who, if necessary, will convene a strategy meeting to decide whether an investigation is warranted. If so, the worker will be suspended on full pay until the conclusion of the investigation.
3. Where the allegation is very serious, e.g. that a child has been sexually assaulted the worker will be informed that a serious allegation has been made but not at this stage be given the details or questioned further. The worker will be immediately suspended and the matter reported at once to Social Services.
Any worker (s) under investigation has the right to be represented by a trade union representative of their choosing. Alternatively s/he has the right to be accompanied by a friend to any meetings with representatives of SAFE.
The Children Act 1989 gave local authorities the responsibility for registering and inspecting a wide range of activities and services provided for children under the age of eight years old.
However this only applies if: -
• sessions last more than two hours
• the activity operates more than five days a year
• activity is supervised by an adult
• parents are not present
Registrations and inspections are carried out by Early Years Advisers (for Under 5s) and Play Inspectors (for 5 and over).
Activities for children under eight are not inspected if they fall outside all of the above criteria.
Activities and services for children and young people over the age of eight are not required to register or to be inspected by the local authority.
Voluntary and private organisations
offering services to children under twelve are able to obtain police checks
to ensure their employees and volunteers do not have convictions related to
children. They can do this by affiliating to Kids Club Network or by contacting
the Personnel Section of the Education
Department who will make arrangements to contact the Criminal Records Bureau.
SAFE is affiliated to the
Kids Club Network and will use it to carry out police checks to ensure that
prospective employees and volunteers do not have convictions related to children.
We will also expect organisations using the community centre to employ the services
of the Kids Club Network or to contact the Personnel Section of the Education
Department for any activity being run by adults involving
children and young people. In addition we will also expect them to obtain references
from any new workers and check them.
It should be noted that a police check will not necessarily reveal an offender. Many people who abuse children are not known to the police.
The local Youth Service that normally works with young people over twelve, has an annual registration procedure, whereby all youth groups are encouraged to register with the authority as service providers. These groups are then given access to resources and have regular monitoring visits by Council Officers. Voluntary youth groups which are registered also have access to the current police checking within the Youth Service.
In order to prevent abuse, whilst also protecting staff and volunteers from unfounded allegations of abuse SAFE believes the following code of conduct should be observed by those working with children.
We believe the following is inappropriate behaviour: -
* Patting a child on the bottom
* Touching of any area of a child’s body which a child makes apparent they do not like, although there may be situations where an adult has to take hold of a child’s hand in order to ensure they safely cross, for example, a road.
* It is not felt inappropriate for children to be allowed to sit on adults laps but we recommend that this should be in the company of other adults
The following would be classified
as serious disciplinary offences (i.e. gross misconduct leading to instant
dismissal) -
* The hitting or smacking of children is a serious discipline offence, except in situations where a failure to defend oneself could lead to serious injuries
· It is deemed to be a serious disciplinary offence for a worker to take nude photographs and/or keep and/or display them.
We would recommend that
* When a worker or volunteer changes a child’s nappy or soiled pants this should be done in the company of another worker, parent or carer. It should be brought to the attention of the parent or carer who collects the child at the end of the shift that this has taken place.
* Where a child needs to
be accompanied to the toilet this should be done, where practically possible,
by the same sex adult. It is recognised that it would be best if two adults
accompanied the child/ren but this may well be embarrassing for s/he and could
be seen as voyeurism. Where a worker or volunteer is in the toilet for over
five minutes with a child they should be asked what caused the delay and this
should be
recorded in the incident book.
* In situations where a child’s parents are late at least two members of staff will remain with s/he until they are collected by a designated person or in serious situations by a member of Social Services
* When taking children swimming it is recommended that no worker accompanies a child into a cubicle at the baths. It is recommended that the children get changed in a cubicle
· SAFE will make available in written form, including leaflets, relevant information for children and young people on sex, sexual reproduction and sexual organs. We do so whilst recognising the need to respect different people’s cultures and religions.
· It is recommended that when children ask questions about any of the above that the worker (s) will endeavour to answer any questions as honestly and openly as possible.
Within SAFE there are a
variety of organisations running activities for children and young people.
Some are funded and have paid staff, others are completely voluntary, with parents
or other adults organising events and activities for children.
SAFE is fully committed to ensuring the safety of children and young people as far as possible.
I) As part of good employment practice we will carry out interviews, obtain references, and ask for employment history when recruiting employees. We will also carry out a similar process for volunteers.
Prospective staff or volunteers, whether working directly with children or not, will be:-
· given a copy of this policy on keeping children and young people safe from abuse
· given a written description of the proposed activity
· given a written job description, including their duty to work in the interests of children’s welfare and safety
· asked to fill in an application form which includes previous details of previous employment, paid or unpaid · asked to inform the community centre in writing if they have been convicted of any offences, in particular any involving children
· questioned about their particular experience’s of working with children if they are to work directly with children at the community centre or on activities organised by the centre
· asked for two references, ensuring, if possible that at least one is related to work with children
· asked to provide documentation relating to professional or other related qualifications - if an applicant or volunteer claims to be professionally qualified but can’t produce the evidence, they will not be permitted to work with children
· told that the provision of false information will lead to the job offer being withdrawn or the appointment terminated
· told that the appointment of paid staff and volunteers will be subject to successful completion of regular reviews
· trained so that all staff and volunteers are aware of what to do if a child discloses abuse to them, or if they discover evidence of abuse
· SAFE will find out about
the training needs of volunteers and staff in the area of child protection
and contact the Education, Leisure and Community Services or Social Services
Departments for information on training courses
· SAFE will seek advice from the Youth Service or the Play Service if we are uncertain about how to proceed on any aspect of child safety
ii) SAFE will make it clear to other organisations or individuals who use our premises that we regard the safety and security of children and young people as one of our top priority’s. We expect that they do the same.
We will do the following in regard to activities run by other organisations or individuals on our premises
· obtain a written description of the proposed activity
· carry out all those steps listed above for any individual who wishes to run activities for children and young people
· ensure that organisations who wish to run activities for children and young people have carried out all the above steps
· advise individuals or organisations to contact the Play Service or the Youth Service if they have any questions or require assistance
It is noted that an information pack is available to assist SAFE and other organizations that use the centre. It includes
· a sample application form for people wishing to volunteer to work with children and young people
· a sample application form for groups and individuals applying to use other organisations’ premises for children’s activities
· a sample job description
· what to look for in references
· sample Criminal Conviction and Health Declaration forms
We will use the pack, and
invite other organisations to do so. It is available from the Play Service,
the
Child Protection Unit and the Youth Service
Individuals who want to run activities for children and young people less than 16 years of age - this section is for people who want to volunteer or set up activities for children and young people
SAFE Centre appreciates
and values the involvement of volunteers and other individuals running
activities for children and young people. Without this commitment and goodwill
we would not be able to organise some of our current activities.
However, a small number of people try to get access to children and young people in order to harm and exploit them. We aim to prevent this happening.
All of us who are concerned with the welfare of children and young people want to ensure that the activities being offered are appropriate for the age of the children, that the venue is safe and that the people running the activity do so in the best interests of the children.
We would expect that anyone wanting to work with children and young people would understand that we will require information which would reassure parents and carers and ensure that children and young people are safe.
To this end we would expect them to familiarise themselves with the Children Act 1989 if they are intending to work with children aged less than eight years old. They should also be aware of basic health and safety considerations and child protection issues.
We will expect that anyone employed to work with children, which includes paid and unpaid work, to be checked to ensure that they have not been convicted of crimes which make them unsuitable to be looking after children. If a group or organisation is unable to carry this out himself or herself then SAFE is prepared to do this for them using Kids Club Network. There will be a minimum fee for this.
We will also expect standard procedures for paid staff to be followed including careful checking of relevant references, details of qualifications and experience and health checks.
As such we would expect that prospective workers would be asked:-
· to complete an application form with their name and address and details of previous employment
· to fill in a form asking for details of any criminal convictions - people working with children and young people should reveal all convictions
· to attend an interview and provide information about your experience of working with children and young people
· to provide two references, one of which, where possible should be from someone who knows about your experience of working with children and young people
· to encourage parents/carers to observe the activity and agree that it is regularly monitored
· to provide proof of professional or other qualifications if relevant to the area of work with children and young people in which you want to be involved
· to attend training and become familiar with what you should do if you are concerned about a child’s welfare, or if a child tells you that someone is hurting them
· to show evidence that you have an understanding of the social and political issues affecting young people
You have the primary responsibility for the care and upbringing of your child. You also have a wealth of knowledge about your child and will know when all is not well.
Be alert to signs. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and carry out other checks.
As a first step, ensure that the individual or organisation running the activity has followed the process outlined in the previous sections.
If you feel uncomfortable about something, talk to people you trust. These may be your child’s teacher, play worker, youth worker. Share your concerns with other parents.
If you still have concerns about the well being of children and young people, speak to the Child Protection Officers in Social Services.
· Maintain contact with workers in the organisation or club, and if practically possible, observe, or have some involvement in the activity or management of the organisation.
· Ensure that the organisation, club or individual running the organisation has:
· the names and relevant qualifications of all adults working with children and young people;
· references and information on any criminal convictions of these adults
· Find out if the organisation, club or individual has a policy or procedures or guidance on what to do to ensure the safety of children and young people.
· Ensure that the organisation, club or individual is aware of where to go for assistance and advice.
The local authority registers and inspects provision for children aged less than eight years old if it is covered by the criteria listed in the section on the Children Act and police checking [see earlier]
This includes:
· playgroups, crèches, nurseries
· after school clubs, holiday play schemes
· Out of school activities, clubs, classes
All child minders must also be registered and regularly inspected by the local authority
Nannies and au pairs are not covered by any legislation, and you must carry out thorough checks yourself.
If you have any questions about registration, please contact the Early Years Advisers or Play Inspectors
Police Child Protection Team
You can also phone 999 in an emergency or textphone 18000
Council Social Services - Child Protection Unit, Duty Social Workers
Leisure Services Department - Play Service, Head of Sports, Head of Parks, Voluntary Sector Unit, Play Inspectors
Education Department – Youth Service, Early Years Advisors
Voluntary Sector – Your local Council for Voluntary Service
Kids Club Network 020 7 512 2112
National Youth Agency 0116 285 6789
National Children’s Bureau 020 7 278 9441
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline 0808 800 5000
NSPCC 020 7 825 2775
The Sports Council 020 7 388 1277
Childline 0800 1111 free
Kidscape [preventing bullying] 020 7 730 3300
Drawing up a policy statement to Keep Children and Young People safe from abuse is only the start. Putting it into practice and doing so month in, month out is the hard part.
After you’ve produced the policy document make sure you do the following:-
1. Make everyone aware of its existence
2. Talk to children and parents about what it contains
3. Make sure all sessional workers know about the policy statement and how it affects them.
4. Obtain and distribute leaflets on bullying and paedophiles
5. Display the Childline posters advertising the free number on 0800 11111
6. Encourage informal discussions amongst parents and carers on its importance
7. Organise staff discussions on ‘Talking to children about difficult things’ and organise training for staff
8. Initiate basic ‘self-defence techniques’ on Play schemes and After Schools Club’s based on Kidscape’s ‘Yell, Run and Tell’ techniques.
9. Review, update and improve on the policy document as and when it is felt appropriate to do so