Little Ozzies Nursery

Safeguarding Children/Child Protection Policy

At Little Ozzies Ltd we work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form.

We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. In our setting we strive to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and we promote acceptance and tolerance of other beliefs and cultures (please refer to our inclusion and equality policy for further information). Safeguarding children is everybody’s responsibility. All staff, students, any supply staff and visitors are made aware of and asked to adhere to, the policy.

Safeguarding is a much wider subject than the elements covered within this single policy, therefore this document should be used in conjunction with the nursery’s other policies and procedures including:

• Online safety
• Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery
• Prevent Duty and Radicalisation
• Domestic Abuse, Honour Based Abuse (HBA) and Forced Marriage
• Looked After Children
• Monitoring staff behaviour
• Social networking
• Mobile phone and electronic device use
• Safe recruitment of staff
• Disciplinary
• Grievance
• Promoting positive behaviour

Legal framework and definition of safeguarding

• Children Act 1989 and 2004
• Childcare Act 2006 (amended 2018)
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• Children and Social Work Act 2017
• The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2021
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020
• Data Protection Act 2018
• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused 2015
• Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
• Inspecting Safeguarding in Early years, Education and Skills settings 2019
• Prevent Duty 2015

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, in relation to this policy is defined as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing the impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

(Definition taken from the HM Government document ‘Working together to safeguard children 2018).

Policy intention

To safeguard children and promote their welfare we will:

• Create an environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image
• Provide positive role models and develop a safe culture where staff are confident to raise concerns about professional conduct
• Ensure all staff are able to identify the signs and indicators of abuse, including the softer signs of abuse, and know what action to take
• Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development
• Provide a safe and secure environment for all children
• Promote tolerance and acceptance of different beliefs, cultures and communities
• Help children to understand how they can influence and participate in decision-making and how to promote British values through play, discussion and role modelling
• Always listen to children
• Provide an environment where practitioners are confident to identify where children and families may need intervention and seek the help they need
• Share information with other agencies as appropriate.

The nursery staff are aware that abuse does occur in our society and we are vigilant in identifying signs of abuse and reporting concerns. Our practitioners have a duty to protect and promote the welfare of children. Staff working on the frontline with children and families are often the first people to identify a concern, observe changes in a child’s behaviour or receive information relating to indicators of abuse. They may well be the first people in whom children confide information that may suggest abuse or to spot changes in a child’s behaviour which may indicate abuse.

Our prime responsibility at Little Ozzies Ltd is the welfare and well-being of each child in our care. As such we believe we have a duty to the children, parents and staff to act quickly and responsibly in any instance that may come to our attention. This includes sharing information with any relevant agencies such as local authority services for Children’s Social Care, family support, health professionals including health visitors or the police. All staff will work with other agencies in the best interest of the child, including as part of a multi-agency team, where needed.

The nursery aims to:

• Keep the child at the centre of all we do, providing sensitive interactions that develops and builds children’s well-being, confidence and resilience. We will support children to develop an awareness of how to keep themselves safe, healthy and develop positive relationships
• Ensure staff are trained right from induction to understand the safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures, they are alert to identify possible signs of abuse (including the signs known as softer signs of abuse), understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed, including by other children (peer on peer) through bullying or discriminatory behaviour.
• Be aware of the increased vulnerability of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), isolated families and vulnerabilities in families; including the impact of toxic trio on children and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s).
• Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in the best interest of the child; maintaining professional curiosity around welfare of children and share information, and seek the help that the child may need at the earliest opportunity.
• Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection training and procedures and kept informed of changes to local/national procedures.
• Make any child protection referrals in a timely way, sharing relevant information as necessary in line with procedures set out by Bolton LEA
• Ensure that information is shared only with those people who need to know in order to protect the child and act in their best interest.
• Keep the setting safe online, we refer to 'Safeguarding children and protecting professionals in early years settings: online safety considerations and use appropriate filters, checks and safeguards, monitoring access at all times and maintaining safeguards around the use of technology by staff, parents and visitors in the setting.
• Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the care of nursery staff.
• Identify changes in staff behaviour and act on these as per the Staff Behaviour Policy.
• Take any appropriate action relating to allegations of serious harm or abuse against any person working with children or living or working on the nursery premises including reporting such allegations to Ofsted and other relevant authorities including the local authority.
• Ensure parents are fully aware of our safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures when they register with the nursery and are kept informed of all updates when they occur.
• Regularly review and update this policy with staff and parents where appropriate and make sure it complies with any legal requirements and any guidance or procedures issued by Bolton LA  

 Contact telephone numbers

Local authority children’s social care team (Multi Agency Screening team MASSS)

01204 331500

Local authority Designated Officer Bolton (LADO)

Lisa Kelly 01204 337474 LADO@bolton.gov.uk

Local Authority referral team 01204 337474

Local Authority out of hours - emergency duty team 01204 337777

NSPCC 0808 800 5000

Local Early Help services 01204 331500 (option 1)

Ofsted 0300 123 1231

Emergency police 999

Non-emergency police 101

Government helpline for extremism concerns 020 7340 7264

Child exploitation and Online protection command (CEOP) https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

Use the link below to make an online referral to the Integrated Front Door, Bolton:

Online referral – Make a referral (For referrals that are not immediate safeguarding concerns and or to request targeted early help)

Here are the number’s for the front door:

01204 331500 (Option 1) – Advice, support and guidance with Early Helps

01204 331500 (Option 2) – Immediate safeguarding concerns

01204 331500 (Option 3) - Consultation line with a social worker

Types of abuse and particular procedures followed

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused within a family, institution or community setting by those known to them or more rarely, a stranger.

This could be an adult or adults, another child or children.

What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused advice for practitioners (2015), Bolton’s Safeguarding Children website: keeping children safe in Bolton, and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)

The signs and indicators listed below may not necessarily indicate that a child has been abused, but will help us to recognise that something may be wrong, especially if a child shows a number of these symptoms or any of them to a marked degree.

Indicators of child abuse

• Failure to thrive and meet developmental milestones
• Fearful or withdrawn tendencies
• Unexplained injuries to a child or conflicting reports from parents or staff
• Repeated injuries
• Unaddressed illnesses or injuries
• Significant changes to behaviour patterns.

Softer signs of abuse as defined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) include:

Emotional states:

• Fearful
• Withdrawn
• Low self-esteem.

Behaviour:

• Aggressive
• Oppositional habitual body rocking.

Interpersonal behaviours:

• Indiscriminate contact or affection seeking
• Over-friendliness to strangers including healthcare professionals
• Excessive clinginess, persistently resorting to gaining attention
• Demonstrating excessively 'good' behaviour to prevent parental or carer disapproval
• Failing to seek or accept appropriate comfort or affection from an appropriate person when significantly distressed
• Coercive controlling behaviour towards parents or carers
• Lack of ability to understand and recognise emotions
• Very young children showing excessive comforting behaviours when witnessing parental or carer distress.

Peer-on-peer abuse

We are aware that peer-on-peer abuse does take place, so we include children in our policies when we talk about potential abusers. This may take the form of bullying, physically hurting another child, emotional abuse or sexual abuse. We will report this in the same way we do for adults abusing children, and will take advice from the appropriate bodies on this area; to support for both the victim and the perpetrator, as they could also be a victim of abuse. We know that children who develop harmful sexual behaviour have often experienced abuse and neglect themselves. 

Physical abuse

A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or 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.

All children can suffer injuries during their early years as they explore and develop. If an explanation of how a child received their injury doesn’t match the injury itself or if a child’s injuries are a regular occurrence or there is a pattern to their injuries, then we will report our concerns.

Fabricated illness

Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child. The parent or carer may seek out unnecessary medical treatment or investigation; they may exaggerate a real illness and symptoms or deliberately induce an illness through poisoning with medication or other substances or they may interfere with medical treatments. Fabricated illness is a form of physical abuse and any concerns will be reported, in line with our safeguarding procedures.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

FGM can also be known as Female Genital Cutting.  FGM is a procedure where the female genital organs are injured or changed and there is no medical reason for this. It is frequently a very traumatic and violent act for the victim and can cause harm in many ways. The practice can cause severe pain and there may be immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including mental health problems, difficulties in childbirth, causing danger to the child and mother; and/or death (definition taken from the Multi-Agency Statutory Guidance on Female Genital Mutilation).

The procedure may be carried out shortly after birth and during childhood as well as adolescence, just before marriage or during a woman’s first pregnancy and varies widely according to the community.

FGM is child abuse and is illegal in the UK. It can be extremely dangerous and can cause:

• Severe pain
• Shock
• Bleeding
• Infection such at tetanus, HIV and hepatitis B and C
• Organ damage
• Blood loss and infections
• Death in some cases

Any concerns about a child or family, will be reported to the children’s social care team in the same way as other types of physical abuse. We have a mandatory duty to report to police any case where an act of female genital mutilation appears to have been carried out on a girl under the age of 18.

Breast ironing/flattening

Breast ironing also known as "breast flattening" is the process where young girls' breasts are ironed, massaged and/or pounded down through the use of hard or heated objects in order for the breasts to disappear, or delay the development of the breasts entirely. It is believed that by carrying out this act, young girls will be protected from harassment, rape, abduction and early forced marriage.

Breast Ironing/Flattening is a form of physical abuse and can cause serious health issues such as:

• Abscesses
• Cysts
• Itching
• Tissue damage
• Infection
• Discharge of milk
• Dissymmetry of the breasts
• Severe fever.

Any concerns about a child or family, will be reported to the children’s social care team in the same way as other types of physical abuse.

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. Sexual abuse can take place online and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Adult males do not solely perpetrate sexual abuse; women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

Action must be taken if a staff member witnesses an occasion(s) where a child indicates sexual activity through words, play, drawing, has an excessive preoccupation with sexual matters; or has an inappropriate knowledge of adult sexual behaviour, or language, for their developmental age. This may include acting out sexual activity on dolls/toys or in the role-play area with their peers; drawing pictures that are inappropriate for a child, talking about sexual activities or using sexual language or words.

If a child is being sexually abused staff may observe both emotional and physical symptoms.

Emotional signs:

• Being overly affectionate or knowledgeable in a sexual way inappropriate to the child's age
• Personality changes such as becoming insecure or clingy
• Regressing to younger behaviour patterns such as thumb sucking or bringing out discarded cuddly toys
• Sudden loss of appetite or compulsive eating
• Being isolated or withdrawn
• Inability to concentrate
• Lack of trust or fear of someone they know well, such as not wanting to be alone with a carer
• Becoming worried about clothing being removed
• Suddenly drawing sexually explicit pictures or acting out actions inappropriate for their age
• Using sexually explicit language.

Physical Signs:

• Bruises
• Bleeding, discharge, pains or soreness in their genital or anal area
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Pregnancy

Any concerns about a child or family will be reported to the children’s social care team.

Child sexual exploitation (CSE)

Keeping Children Safe in Education (2020) describes CSE as: where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. CSE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology. CSE can affect any child or young person (male or female) under the age of 18 years, including 16 and 17 year olds who can legally consent to have sex. It can include both contact (penetrative and non-penetrative acts) and non-contact sexual activity and may occur without the child or young person’s immediate knowledge (e.g. through others copying videos or images they have created and posted on social media).

Signs and indicators may include:

• Physical injuries such as bruising or bleeding
• Having money or gifts they are unable to explain
• Sudden changes in their appearance
• Becoming involved in drugs or alcohol, particularly if you suspect they are being supplied by older men or women
• Becoming emotionally volatile (mood swings are common in all young people, but more severe changes could indicate that something is wrong)
• Using sexual language that you wouldn’t expect them to know
• Engaging less with their usual friends
• Appearing controlled by their phone
• Switching to a new screen when you come near the computer
• Nightmares or sleeping problems
• Running away, staying out overnight, missing school
• Changes in eating habits
• Talk of a new, older friend, boyfriend or girlfriend
• Losing contact with family and friends or becoming secretive
• Contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)

CCE is where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child into any criminal activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator and/or (c) through violence or the threat of violence. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. CCE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.

CCE can include children being forced to work in cannabis factories, being coerced into moving drugs or money across the country forced to shoplift or pickpocket, or to threaten other young people.

Some of the following can be indicators of CCE:

• Children who appear with unexplained gifts or new possessions;
• Children who associate with other young people involved in exploitation;
• Children who suffer from changes in emotional well-being;
• Children who misuse drugs and alcohol;
• Children who go missing for periods of time or regularly come home late; and
• Children who regularly miss school or education or do not take part in education.

If staff have any concerns regarding CSE or CCE, they will be reported in the usual way.

Emotional abuse

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) defines emotional abuse as ‘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 a child 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 a 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 cyber bullying), 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.

Signs and indicators may include:

• Physical, mental and emotional development lags
• Sudden speech disorders
• Overreaction to mistakes
• Extreme fear of any new situation
• Neurotic behaviour (rocking, hair twisting, self-mutilation)
• Extremes of passivity or aggression
• Appear unconfident or lack self-assurance.

Action will be taken if the staff member has reason to believe that there is a severe, adverse effect on the behaviour and emotional development of a child, caused by persistent or severe ill treatment or rejection. Children may also experience emotional abuse through witnessing domestic abuse and alcohol and drug misuse by adults caring for them. 

Neglect

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) defines Neglect as ‘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:

1. Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
2. Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
3. Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers)
4. Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Signs may include a child persistently arriving at nursery unwashed or unkempt, wearing clothes that are too small (especially shoes that may restrict the child’s growth or hurt them), arriving at nursery in the same nappy they went home in or a child having an illness or identified special educational need or disability that is not being addressed by the parent. A child may also be persistently hungry if a parent is withholding food or not providing enough for a child’s needs.

Neglect may also be shown through emotional signs, e.g. a child may not be receiving the attention they need at home and may crave love and support at nursery. In addition, neglect may occur through pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.

Action will be taken if the staff member has reason to believe that there has been any type of neglect of a child.

County Lines

The National Crime Agency (NCA) describe county lines as a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs from big cities into smaller towns, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line.’ Customers will live in a different area to where the dealers and networks are based, so drug runners are needed to transport the drugs and collect payment.

Offenders will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons to ensure compliance of victims. Children can be targeted and recruited into county lines in a number of locations including schools, further and higher educational institutions, pupil referral units, special educational needs schools, children’s homes and care homes.

Signs and indicators to be aware of include:

• Changes in the way young people you might know dress
• Unexplained, sometimes unaffordable new things (e.g. clothes, jewellery, cars etc.)
• Missing from home or schools and/or significant decline in performance
• New friends or relationships with those who don't share any mutual friendships with the victim or anyone else
• May be carrying a weapon
• Receiving more texts or calls than usual
• Sudden influx of cash, clothes or mobile phones
• Unexplained injuries
• Significant changes in emotional well-being
• Young people seen in different cars/taxis driven by unknown adults
• Young people seeming unfamiliar with your community or where they are
• Truancy, exclusion, disengagement from school
• An increase in anti-social behaviour in the community
• Unexplained injuries
• Gang association or isolation from peers or social networks.

Cuckooing

Cuckooing is a form of county lines crime in which drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person in order to criminally exploit them as a base for drug dealing, often in multi-occupancy or social housing properties. Signs that this is happening in a family property may be an increase in people entering or leaving the property, an increase in cars or bikes outside the home; windows covered or curtains closed for long periods, family not being seen for extended periods; signs of drug use or an increase in anti-social behaviour at the home. If we recognise any of these signs, we will report our concerns as per our reporting process.

If staff have any concerns regarding county lines/cuckooing they will be reported in the usual way.

Contextual safeguarding-

As young people grow and develop they may be vulnerable to abuse or exploitation from outside their family. These extra-familial threats might arise at school and other educational establishments, from within peer groups, or more widely from within the wider community and/or online.

As part of our safeguarding procedures we will work in partnership with parents/carers and other agencies to work together to safeguard children and provide the support around contextual safeguarding concerns.

Domestic Abuse / Honour Based Abuse / Forced Marriages

We look at these areas as a child protection concern. Please refer to the separate policy for further details on this.

Extremism – the Prevent Duty

Under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 we have a duty to safeguard at risk or vulnerable children under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and refer any concerns of extremism to the police (In Prevent priority areas the local authority will have a Prevent lead who can also provide support).

Children can be exposed to different views and receive information from various sources. Some of these views may be considered radical or extreme. Radicalisation is the way a person comes to support or be involved in extremism and terrorism. It’s a gradual process so young people who are affected may not realise what’s happening.

Radicalisation is a form of harm. The process may involve:

• Being groomed online or in person
• Exploitation, including sexual exploitation
• Psychological manipulation
• Exposure to violent material and other inappropriate information
• The risk of physical harm or death through extremist acts

We have a Prevent Duty and Radicalisation policy in place. Please refer to this for specific details.

Online Safety

We take the safety of our children very seriously and this includes their online safety. Please refer to the Online Safety policy for further details.

Human Trafficking and Slavery

Please refer to our Human Trafficking and Slavery policy for detail on how we keep children safe in this area.

Adult sexual exploitation

As part of our safeguarding procedures we will also ensure that staff and students are safeguarded from sexual exploitation.

Child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB)

Child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB) can happen in families when there is a concept of belief in:

• Witchcraft and spirit possession, demons or the devil acting through children or leading them astray (traditionally seen in some Christian beliefs)
• The evil eye or djinns (traditionally known in some Islamic faith contexts) and dakini (in the Hindu context)
• Ritual or multi murders where the killing of children is believed to bring supernatural benefits, or the use of their body parts is believed to produce potent magical remedies
• Use of belief in magic or witchcraft to create fear in children to make them more compliant when they are being trafficked for domestic slavery or sexual exploitation.

This is not an exhaustive list and there will be other examples where children have been harmed when adults think that their actions have brought bad fortune.

Reporting Procedures

All staff have a responsibility to report safeguarding/child protection concerns and suspicions of abuse. These concerns will be discussed with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL