Safeguarding Single-Agency Children Centres 23 September 2014

1. Safeguarding Single-AgencyChildren Centres23 September 2014 Developed by MKSCB

2. Housekeeping • Fire alarms and exits • Toilets • Breaks and refreshment arrangements • Non smoking policy of venue • Switch mobiles OFF • Sign in

3. TRAINING PRINCIPLES • (Limited confidentiality) Trainers required to help individuals address dangerous practice • Respect for others • Timekeeping • Style of training • Naïve questions are OK • KEEP YOURSELF SAFE

4. Aims To provide a basic introduction to safeguarding and child protection for those who work in an organisation where they have direct or indirect contact with children and young people, or with adults who may be parents/carers

5. Objectives By the end of the training participants should • Be aware of relevant legislation and local Procedures • Be familiar with signs and indicators of abuse and neglect • Understand their own role and responsibility in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people • Know what to do if they have concerns about the welfare of a child • Understand the concepts of safeguarding and child protection and the difference between the two • Be aware of recent Child Protection cases and learning from them

6. What do we mean by Safeguarding & Child Protection?

7. Safeguarding Is an Umbrella that covers: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. Working Together 2013

8. Working Together to Safeguard Children March 2013

9. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 Guidance covers: • Legislative requirements and expectations on services to safeguard children • Framework for Local Safeguarding Children Boards to monitor effectiveness of services Changes: • Slimmed down • Moved from national directive to local responsibility • Early Help strengthened • Training requirements have been removed but MKSCB has adopted the 2010 training requirements.

10. Child protection Child protection is a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. ‘This refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer significant harm.’ Working Together 2010

11. Safeguarding is Everybody’s Business “If safeguarding children is everybody’s responsibility, then everybody should know how, and who to contact if they are concerned about a child or young person’ ref:3.6, Lord Laming progress Report

12. Principles of Children Act 1989 • All children deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential • There is no perfect way of bringing up children. Asking for help should be seen as a sign of responsibility rather than failure • Only exceptionally should there be compulsory intervention in family life • All work with children should retain a clear focus on the welfare of the child • Promoting children’s wellbeing and safeguarding them from significant harm depends on competent professional judgement based on sound assessment and effective information sharing, collaboration and understanding between families, agencies and professionals Childrens Act 1989

13. Safeguarding continuum of concern Safe Child Protection

14. Caf windscreen Effective Support Windscreen

16. One Referral Process

17. STRENGTHENING FAMILIES

18. Localities: Early Help Integrated Early Help Service in 3 localities – North, South & Central • Children and Families Practices • Children Centres • Youth and Play • (Specialist Teachers)

19. Children & Families Practices • 3 CFP Practices – approx.16 staff in each practice • Referrals come via the Hub – Lev 2/3 cases. Step downs from CSC (and step ups) • CFP complete initial assessment (need family’s consent to work with them) • Lead Professional role unless it is better for agency to continue • Support & monitor the plan

20. Child Abuse • Child Abuse is taken to refer to any child under the age of 18 who through the actions or failure to act of the parents or other caretaker has suffered or is at risk of physical or serious emotional harm • Working Together 2010

21. Significant harm The Children Act 1989 uses the concept of significant harm to justify compulsory intervention in family life in the best interests of children The local authority is under a duty to make enquiries where it has reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering significant harm. They will need to consider • the nature of harm • the impact on the child’s health and development • the child’s development within the context of their family and wider environment • any special needs such as a medical condition, communication impairment or disability that may affect the child’s development and care within the family • the capacity of the parents to adequately meet the child’s needs • the wider environmental context • ill-treatment (including sexual abuse and physical abuse) • impairment of health (physical or mental) or development (physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural) as comparedto a similar child

22. Child in Need (Section 17) A child shall be taken to be in need if: • He/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him /her of services by a local authority under this part • His/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision of such services • He/she is disabled

23. Child in Need of Protection (section 47) • Duty of local authority to investigate Reasonable cause to suspect that a child is likely to suffer significant harm • Where they have obtained an emergency protection order • Where informed a child in the area is subject to an emergency protection order or is under police protection • Where a family court directs them to investigate • Where a local education authority inform that a child is not complying to an education order

24. Legislation and Guidance • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 • Children Acts 1989, 2004 • Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006, 2010, 2013 • The Education Act2002, 2011 • Adoption and Children Act 2002 • Sexual Offences Act 2003 • Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 • Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 • Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 • The Childcare Act 2006 • Forced Marriage Act 2007 • Children and Young Persons Act 2008 • Children Schools and Families Act 2010 NSPCC Introduction to child protection legislation in UK – NSPCC website Reports • 2010 The Foundation Years: preventing poor children becoming poor adults – Frank Field • 2011 Early Intervention: The Next Steps – Graham Allen • 2011 Munro Review of Child Protection – Eileen Munro • 2011 Supporting Families in the Foundation Years

25. Legislation and Guidance • Milton Keynes Interagency Policy and Procedure document available on MKSCB website www.mkscb.org • Information Sharing: Guidance for Practitioners and Managers 2008 CWDC • Think Family reports 2006, 2008 • Disclosure & Barring

26. EDUCATION ACT 2002 – SECTION 175 & 157 Section 175 • requires LAs and Governing Bodies of maintained schools and further education institutions to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are carried out with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children Section 157 • requires proprietors of Independent Schools, Academies and City Technology Colleges to have arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children

27. Significant casesVictoria Climbié • Victoria Climbié died in February 2000, aged 8 years • Kouao and Manning were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2001 • Inquiry set up in April 2001, chaired by Lord Laming • Report published on 28 January 2003 • Report makes 108 recommendations • Victoria was known to three housing departments, four social services departments, two GPs, two hospitals, an NSPCC-run family centre, two police child protection teams and the housing department

28. Children Act 2004 A Children’s Commissioner A duty to co-operate to improve the well-being of children Local Safeguarding Children Boards A Director of Children’s Services accountable for local authority education and children’s social services, and a lead council member for children, to ensure clear accountability politically

29. Baby Peter Connelly • 17 month old Baby Peter died in August 2007, seven years after the death of Victoria and in Haringey – the same borough as Victoria • Government ordered a National Child Protection Review headed again by Lord Laming • Report ‘The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report’ March 2009 made 58 recommendations • 66 different agencies involved • Hidden men in family

30. Other Significant Cases Daniel Pelka Megan Stammers Callum Wilson Hamzah Khan Nigel Leat Vanessa George Rochdale Case

31. Yew Tree Investigation Stuart Hall Jimmy Savile Rolf Harris

32. Daniel Pelka • 4 year old • Starved and beaten for months before he died in March 2012 at his Coventry home

33. Daniel Pelka SCR Sept 2013 Serious Case Review Key Findings: • Police called to 26 separate incidents at the family home, many involving DV and alcohol abuse • Excuses made by Daniel’s “controlling” mum were accepted by agencies • Professionals needed to “think the unthinkable” and act upon what they saw , rather than accept parental versions • Daniel’s “voice was not heard” because English was not his first language and he lacked confidence • No record of “any conversation” with Daniel about his home life, his experiences outside school, or his relationships with his siblings, mother and her partners • None of the agencies involved could have predicted Daniel’s death • There were “committed attempts” by his school and health workers to address his “health and behavioural” issues in the months before his death. • But “too many opportunities were missed for more urgent and purposeful interventions” • Two of those chances were when Daniel was taken to an accident and emergency department with injuries.

34. Hamzah Khan • 4 year old boy found dead in his cot Sept 2011 • Died on 15 Dec 2009 • Mother convicted of manslaughter and child cruelty Oct 2013

35. Hamzah Khan SCR Nov 2013 Points of learning: • Developing mindsets that are open to fresh information. Avoid normalisation. • Put child’s needs, views and wishes at the forefront • Identify patterns or inconsistencies that could lead to significant harm to children • Multi agency understanding of ‘good enough’ parenting • Promote well-being of children (especially pre-school); more assertive forms of help when required

36. Callum Wilson • 11 month old boy died in March 2011 • Suffered a detached retina, broken bones and bruising and an “unsurvivable brain injury” • Mother jailed for life in January 2014

37. Callum Wilson SCR Nov 2011 Points of learning – significance of: • Concealed/denied pregnancies • Minor injuries to pre-mobile infants • Current concerns in the context of past history • Listening to, taking account of the views of others, including members of public • Other professionals may have information • Child being returned from care must be subject to a child in need plan • Clarity about family relationships • Involvement of key family members in assessments

38. Serious Case Reviews January – August 2014 • How many cases? 37 • How many of these are under 5 years of age? 25! - 68% • 45% of all SCRs involve a child under 1 year of age. 1st 3 months most vulnerable (source NSPCC) • Find SCRs on NSPCC website

39. Key Findings of significant cases • Lack of communication and joined-up working between agencies • Important information is not always shared because data protection laws are "still not well understood" by staff • Lack of Professional Curiosity • Three parental issues occur in nearly all SCR cases- Parental substance misuse, mental health issues and domestic violence

40. What is Abuse? There are 4 categories of abuse • Physical • Sexual • Emotional • Neglect In groups write a definition for each type

41. DEFINITION OF PHYSICAL ABUSE Physical abuse may involve hitting shaking throwing poisoning burning 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 (Working Together 2010)

42. DEFINITION OF EMOTIONAL ABUSE 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. It may include 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. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone. Working Together 2010

43. DEFINITION OF SEXUAL ABUSE Sexual abuse involves 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. They may also include 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). Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children. (Working Together 2010)

44. DEFINITION OF NEGLECT 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 occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, 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 and emotional harm or danger; ● ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ● ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs. (Working Together 2010)

45. Case studies

46. Zac Roberts

47. Mrs Wishart & Lemar

48. Yolanda Belinski

49. Chloe and Aimee

50. Signs and Symptoms • Physical • Sexual • Emotional • NeglectWhat might you see, what changes in behaviour, how might they or others act differently