‘Providers must have regard to the government's statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015’.
This means that we need to know the statutory guidance has been updated – and we need a working knowledge of the main changes – and some of the changes might need to be reflected in the Safeguarding / Child Protection Policy and Procedures.
We do not need a printed copy of it and we do not need to buy a copy – we can keep it in our computer files for reference if needed. Some Local Authority trainers advise providers to print the 1st page and put it in their Safeguarding Files… this is not a requirement, it is local advice.
You can find a copy of the revised ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ here and some information about the changes here. The statutory guidance applies to all organisations and agencies who work with children up to the age of 18 years.
There is a version to share with younger children from the Children’s Commissioner here.
Changes we need to be aware of include:
As a result of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Local Safeguarding Children Boards will be replaced by Local Safeguarding Partners – these will be made up of representatives from Local Authorities, police and health agencies. The partners will be responsible for making arrangements to work together to safeguard children. This will not happen immediately – there will be a transition period.
**Things to do: you will need to find out what your new Local Safeguarding Partnership is called and then update this wording in your Safeguarding Policy.
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Early years and childcare
There is a new duty on early years providers to ensure they are aware of any current issues of concern in a child’s life – and to have a Safeguarding Policy which includes an explanation of the action that will be taken where there are safeguarding concerns, or in the event of an allegation against a staff member; to have a policy for the use of mobile phones and cameras; and to organise staff training.
Staff training should enable staff to recognise new and emerging threats to child safety including, for example, grooming, sexual exploitation, radicalisation etc and safeguarding partners should monitor the effectiveness of safeguarding.
**Things to do: we already have this to comply with the EYFS. You should check your wording is robust.
You might also need to attend updated local training.
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Vulnerable groups referred to in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ now include children involved in gangs, children who go missing, children with alcohol or drug problems and children at risk of being radicalised or exposed to extremism (Prevent Duty, 2015).
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protecting-children-from-radicalisation-the-prevent-duty.
**Things to do: you should check you refer to the Prevent Duty in your Safeguarding Policy and have information about it in your Safeguarding File (if you have a Safeguarding File – it is not a requirement of the EYFS). While these changes mostly relate to older children the EYFS states that we must ‘have regard’ to the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (Sept 2016) - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
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Roles of practitioners are clarified in the new statutory guidance – practitioners refers to ‘all individuals who work with children and their families in any capacity’.
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Early help intervention assessments for children in need under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 – the wording has been updated to state that they should involve the child and take their wishes and feelings into account where possible and that relevant practitioners should help the Local Authority during enquiries.
This wording has also reflects the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to include the ‘rights for individuals’ and the ‘Principles of GDPR’ including transparency and accuracy –
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/.
Practitioners must be alert to the need for early help if a child has special educational needs and disabilities, whether they have an education, health and care plan or not – and for children who go missing from childcare, children at risk of being radicalised, children in families who are misusing drugs or alcohol, children who are privately fostered etc. This links to my guidance on the updated ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance.
**Things to do: you need to be aware of this and ensure your GDPR paperwork is updated as necessary.
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Important statement for early years providers:
‘Practitioners should always follow up their concerns if they are not satisfied with the local authority children’s social care response and should escalate their concerns if they remain dissatisfied.’
**Things to do: you might need to update your Safeguarding Policy to make it clear that you have a duty of care to follow-up child protection concerns.
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Information sharing is clarified in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ – especially in relation to patterns of behaviour of children who go missing, being alert to the signs and triggers of child abuse and neglect and not making an assumption that someone else will pass on information that they think may be critical to keeping a child safe.
The importance of information sharing between settings and agencies is highlighted – especially when a child moves from one Local Authority into another. The wording has been updated for GDPR to clarify consent (one of the lawful bases for processing data) when sharing information. You can find more information from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) about the 6 lawful bases for processing data under GDPR (May 2018) here.
**Things to do: your Local Authority should provide information about Data Sharing Agreements and document handover procedures which comply with GDPR.
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The Local Safeguarding Partners must publish local arrangements including a local needs assessment and details of agencies who can provide support for children and families.
**Things to do: you will need to look out for these on your newly named Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) website and read them / share them with parents.
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Serious case reviews - instead of serious case reviews there will be local and national Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Child Death Reviews. There is comprehensive guidance in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ on how these will be managed.
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In Appendix A there are new definitions of Child Sexual Exploitation and radicalisation and extremism.
**Things to do: if you have defined Child Sexual Exploitation and radicalisation and extremism in your Safeguarding / Child Protection Policy and Procedures you might need to check and update the wording.
This is a quick read through of the new document using HM Government (2018) ‘Changes to statutory guidance: Working Together to Safeguard Children; and new regulations’ – if I have missed anything and you spot it please share.
If you need further information, you should contact your local safeguarding to clarify any points I have raised and ask about access to updated safeguarding training which will hopefully be available in the autumn term.
Sarah.