The policy describes our safeguarding procedures and practices, which focus on promoting the welfare of children and young people in our care. Our primary focus is to prevent harm and abuse and to support multiagency collaboration that keeps our children and young people safe.
The policy is written in accordance with the following Acts and Legislation:
- Children Act 1989
- Children Act 2004
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023
- The Equality Act 2010
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- The Children’s Homes Regulations (2015)
It will be considered a disciplinary offence for staff not to comply with this policy and where their acts or inaction may have contributed to the harm of a child this may be deemed to be gross misconduct.
Contents
3. Our safeguarding principles and responsibilities 4
4. Definition and types of abuse 4
5. Preventative safeguarding practices 8
6. Children placement plans, Risk assessment and child in care reviews 10
8. Child/ young person’s voice. 11
10. Procedure for reporting concerns 13
11. Allegations of abuse and harm made against children / young people 14
12. Allegations made against children’s home staff 15
16. Managing concerns/ reports of abuse or harm 18
17. Management response to report of abuse and harm 20
Appendix A: Reporting Concerns Flowchart 22
- Introduction
A child centred approach is our fundamental practice model with safeguarding; meaning the individual needs of the child will be the centre of all decision making and actions we take while working with the child, their families and all other people important to the child. As a result we subscribe to the views of the children articulated within Working Together 2023 about what an effective safeguarding system should be.
Children have said that they need:
- Vigilance: to have adults notice when things are troubling them
- Understanding and action: to understand what is happening; to be heard and understood and to have that understanding acted upon
- Stability: to be able to develop an ongoing stable relationship of trust with those helping them
- Respect: to be treated with the expectation that they are competent rather than not
- Information and engagement: to be informed about and involved in procedures, decisions, concerns and plans
- Explanation: to be informed of the outcome of assessments and decisions and reasons when their views have not met with a positive response
- Support: to be provided with support in their own right as well as a member of their family
- Advocacy: to be provided with advocacy to assist them in putting forward their views
- Protection: to be protected against all forms of abuse and discrimination and the right to special protection and help if a refugee.
- Aim / objectives
- As a responsible employer we will ensure that our staff are competent and knowledgeable when it comes to their safeguarding responsibilities to protect the children and young people in our care, including staff familiarisation with child protection procedures. We have developed procedures to investigate safeguarding concerns including collaboration with local authorities and the police.
The policy provides a framework of our principles, values, standards and guidelines which support the work we do. The policy is therefore important because –
- We know that effective child protection practices safeguards children and protects the individual staff that has responsibility for them. Adherence to procedures will protect staff because it informs what action should be taken if abuse occurs or is suspected. Additionally, it helps staff to be consistent.
- We want to prevent maltreatment, harm and abuse.
- We want a loving, helpful and safe home for children and staff
- We want our staff, and others who work with us, to understand appropriate, harmful and inappropriate behaviour and practices.
- We have established a process of recording and reporting issues of concern, allegations and abuse.
- We need the policy to prevent and manage some behaviour from young people towards each other.
- We want to ensure that children and young people know how they will report concerns and express their views and wishes.
- Scope
This policy applies to the directors, responsible individual, all members of staff, relief workers agency staff, volunteers, visitors and contracted staff.
The children referred to includes children and young people currently in the home, children who have been previously accommodated but have left the home and children and young people visiting the home.
- Our safeguarding principles and responsibilities
Our safeguarding responsibilities are, the Responsible Person has the responsibility to ensure:
- That staff:
- Make the welfare of all children and young people paramount and that their views and wishes are listened to and considered in all aspects of running the home.
- Assess whether each child is at risk of harm, considering information in the child’s relevant plans, and, when required, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.
- Challenge any discrimination, oppression, or inequality.
- Ensure that all suspicion and allegations of abuse will be thoroughly investigated and responded to in an effective manner.
- Receive appropriate safeguarding training and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s safeguarding and child protection policies.
- That the managers put in place safe recruitment practices for individuals whom are employed to work with children and young people, including having set policies on when to obtain a DBS check.
- That the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.
- That the home is designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.
- Definition and types of abuse
(for the benefit of this policy maltreatment and abuse are used interchangeably to mean same thing)
- A child or young person is abused when another individual (adult or child) who is in a greater position of power than the victim (by virtue of age, profession, experience and/or emotional maturity and/or gender and/or physical strength), abuses that power or trust and exposes the child/young person to neglect, physical injury, sexual and/or emotional abuse. For the purposes of child protection, a child is deemed to be anyone up to the age of 18 years. A person may maltreat a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be maltreated in a family, institution, or community setting, by those known to them or by a stranger.
- 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, development or welfare. For the children and young people in our care this may result from a sustained breakdown of relationship between members of staff (or a staff member) and the child. Whether neglect is intentional or unintentional, it means failure to meet a child/young person’s needs.
Neglect can be in different ways,
- medical neglect: when staff do not provide appropriate medical care or assistance, refusing or ignoring medical recommendations, not seeking health advice or dental care when needed.
- nutritional neglect: for example when the food provided in the home consistently do not contain the required nourishment for the age of the young person
- emotional neglect: when staff fail to provide nurturing care, stimulation and acceptance. When a child is ignored, humiliated, is being isolated etc.
- educational neglect: when staff fail to support the educational development of a child/young person
- physical neglect: when the environment in the home is unkempt and dirty, when basic needs like food, clothing are not met or when children and young people are not kept safe.
- lack of supervision and guidance: this can be a failure to provide the right advice, to leave the home unsupervised or to allow children and young people to get involved with antisocial behaviour without adequate safeguards and escalation of concerns.
- Physical Abuse: is when someone hurts or harms a child or young person on purpose, it also includes making up the symptoms of an illness or causing a child to become unwell. If a child or young person regularly has injuries and there seems to be a pattern to the injuries or the explanation doesn’t match the injuries, then this should be reported.
Harm maybe caused to children both by the abuse itself and by the happening in a place that should safeguard them, including inappropriate or inexpert use of physical restraint. Physical abuse has been linked to aggressive behaviour in children, emotional and behavioural problems and educational difficulties.
A child or young person who is being physically abused might not realise that what is happening is wrong, they might even blame themselves especially if this harm is being done by people they trust.
- Emotional Abuse: involves 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/young people 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/young person 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 children 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.
There might not be any obvious physical signs of emotional abuse or neglect, and a child might not tell anyone what’s happening until they reach a ‘crisis point’. The signs of emotional abuse can also be different for children at different ages. That’s why it’s important to look out for signs in how a child is acting which may include –
- Lack of self-esteem or self-worth.
- Struggles to control their emotions.
- Have difficulty making or maintaining relationships.
- Inability to accept praise or to trust.
- Sexual Abuse: This is the involvement of a child/young person in sexual activity that they do not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the law. Children can be sexually abused by both adults and other children who are – by virtue of their age or stage of development – in a position of responsibility, trust or power over the victim. Sexual abuse can happen anywhere – and it can happen in person or online. It is never the child/young person’s fault and adults around them must make this clear.
There are two types of sexual abuse – contact and non-contact abuse. Sexual abuse can happen in person or online.
- Contact abuse is where an abuser makes physical contact with a child, like forcing a child to be involved in sexual activity, undressing them or encouraging them to touch other people.
- Non-contact abuse is where a child is abused without being touched by the abuser. This can be in person or online and includes, exposing or flashing showing pornography, exposing a child to sexual acts, making, viewing or distributing child abuse images or videos.
Signs of sexual abuse include:
- avoiding being alone with or frightened of people or a person they know
- language or sexual behaviour you wouldn’t expect them to know
- having nightmares or bed-wetting
- alcohol or drug misuse
- self-harm etc.
Other signs can include, being secretive about who they’re talking to and what they’re doing online or on their mobile phone or and having lots of new phone numbers, texts or email addresses on their mobile phone, laptop or tablet.
- There are other types of abuse which children in care and residential homes can be exposed to
- Bullying and cyberbullying
- Child sexual exploitation
- Criminal exploitation and gangs
- Grooming
- Preventative safeguarding practices
All members of staff have a primary safeguarding responsibility – to prevent abuse by being proactive in working with children to reduce the risk of harm to them, and to ensure that children and young people understand abuse and harm and develop ways to protect themselves. Staff will be trained in trauma informed practice to understand that children in care have suffered different types of abuse and harm in their birth families and sometimes in their journey in care. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm, including reporting risks to them.
Any discriminatory behaviours are challenged and help and support are given to children about how to treat others with respect. Staff are prepared and supported to respond to children who may face above risks, and receive suitable ongoing training.
Children should be encouraged to develop positive relationships with others both in and outside the home. However, staff should be alert to the possibility that children may be at risk from such relationships including with other children in the home, staff, family members, friends and others outside the home, and they therefore should take appropriate steps to protect a child where there are concerns for a child’s safety. Like any good parent or trusted adult, staff will advise our children and young people about their choice of friendship and the impact of them associating with people that will expose them to inappropriate behaviours.
Child centred safeguarding practice means that all children, including the most vulnerable, have a strong sense of safety and well-being and so are unlikely to be missing from care. See: Missing Child Policy.
Staff will be prepared and supported to manage situations and behaviour, and use clear and consistent boundaries to contribute to a feeling of well-being and security for children and young people.
Children / young people will be involved in creating ways to de-escalate situations and finding creative alternative strategies that are effective. See Behaviour Support Policy below:
It is important for all staff and others who come into the home to:
- Be aware of situations which may present risks and manage these appropriately.
- Plan and organise their work and the workplace to minimise risks.
- Ensure that a culture of openness exists to enable any issues or concerns to be raised and discussed.
- Ensure that a sense of accountability exists between staff so that poor practice or potentially abusive behaviour are challenged.
- Talk to children/young people about their contact with staff or others and encourage them to raise any concerns.
- Discuss with children/young people about their rights; what is acceptable and unacceptable, and what they can do if there is a problem.
- Promote the use of positive ways of managing the behaviour of children that does not involve physical punishment or other forms of degrading or humiliating treatment.
- Give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.
- Provide advice and support to children on how to keep themselves safe.
- Seek agreement of the child prior to any physical contact and ensure that they are comfortable with this.
In general, it is not appropriate to:
- Spend excessive time alone with children/ young people away from others
- Do things for children/ young people of a personal nature that they can do for themselves.
- Children placement plans, Risk assessment and child in care reviews
The home will use the child/ young person’s placement information record, matching assessment and placement planning meeting to assess and develop a plan to manage risks associated with them. It is very important that the home seeks and receives the care plan, significant chronology and risk assessment as these will help to safeguard the child and others around them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan (agreed between the home and their placing authority) must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis.
The home will also assist in updating the risk assessment as part of the Individual risk assessment (IRA). This will feed into the child’s risk management plan (RMP). There will be ongoing engagement with the child/ young person, multiagency professionals, the family and others in the community in order to ensure collective support in safeguarding. We will ensure that whenever appropriate safeguarding issues are discussed in every child’s child in care review to ensure collective and multiagency plan is put in place.
- Multiagency partnership
The registered manager, and in their absence the deputy manager, will be responsible for coordinating all safeguarding referrals including attendance to child in care reviews, strategy meetings, legal strategy meetings and complex strategy meetings.
The home will maintain effective links with local authorities, designated officers and other safeguarding agencies and ensure that there is good communication concerning safeguarding issues, e.g. any injuries sustained during restraints or allegations against staff. The home will have good relationships with relevant organisations that may be able to offer specialist support to children around keeping themselves safe.
The home will utilise the host local authority’s safeguarding partnership policies alongside their domestic policies to ensure adherence to local safeguarding procedures.
The home will make all notifications as required by Regulation 40, to notify placing authorities, Ofsted and other relevant persons about serious events.
- Child/ young person’s voice.
Child abuse thrives in an environment of silence and oppression. The home will ensure that all our children have numerous opportunities to feel confident to share their views, wishes and feelings with different adults who can protect them. Within the home, the duty rota is organised to ensure that the child knows who is on duty, and staff duties are organised to ensure that children and young people have opportunities to do activities and which would enable one to one discussions with staff. All staff will strive to build positive relationships with children in the home. They will develop a culture of openness and trust to encourage and enable children to tell someone if they have concerns or worries about their safety.
In the home staff should make information available in an appropriate form to support children to contact their IRO and to enable them to request a review of their care plan if they have concerns about their safety or welfare. Staff should encourage children to understand they can speak to a social worker at any time, and can also contact an independent advocate, Ofsted inspector or other relevant person if they have concerns about their safety.
Children will be supported by staff to understand what abuse is. They will be given information about how to report abuse or any concerns about possible abuse. They will be able to access in private, relevant websites or help lines such as Childline to seek advice and help.
Children will be able to identify a trusted adult who they can talk to about any concerns and when children raise concerns, it is essential that the adults in whom they confide listen to them, take their concerns seriously and respond appropriately.
The home will always make a private room available for children and young people to have confidential meetings with any professional or with their visitor. We will offer to host meetings in the home if the child/ young person would prefer this to avoid them missing some of their meetings.
- Training
All members of staff will have evidence of having had a DBS check and safeguarding training before they are allowed to undertake work with young people. No staff or volunteers will work in the home without an enhanced DBS check. Staff will be responsible for updating their training but will be reminded about new and current courses to assist them to do their work. In line with our principle that child protection is everybody’s responsibility, staff will ensure that they use their knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is at risk of harm. It is their duty to prevent and report harm.
The Responsible Individual will ensure that the home’s Safer Recruitment Procedure is fit for purpose and is adhered to in all employment including volunteering. Staff will be made aware of the Whistleblowing Procedure, and how the home handles allegations made against staff.
Staff will know from their training that they must never –
- Use emotional or corporal punishment as a way of managing behaviour.
- Engage in any form of sexual activity or develop physical/sexual relationships with any child/ young person regardless of the age of consent.
- Use language or behaviour towards children/ young people that is racist, inappropriate, harassing, abusive, sexually provocative, demeaning or culturally inappropriate.
- Ask for or accept personal contact details or invitations to share personal contact details (this includes email, phone numbers, social media contacts/ platforms, address, webcam, etc.)
- Use any computers, mobile phones, video cameras or social media to exploit or harass children/young people/ staff, or access child exploitative or any other indecent or inappropriate materials or internet sites
- Fail to report any allegations, causes for concern, or suspicions of the exploitation, abuse and harassment of another person whether child / adult.
- Procedure for reporting concerns
All safeguarding concerns and allegations must be reported. In some cases, the senior staff that gets the information will not be concerned enough to start a child protection or safeguarding process but will give advice and directions. However, there are situations where immediate action is needed to protect a child/ young person from abuse or continuing abuse. This also includes disclosures of historical abuse that may have occurred at some time in the past and may not have been previously reported or investigated – even when the child is no longer in our care.
The first line of reporting concern will be to a senior member of staff, preferably the registered manager unless they are suspected of the abuse. In this case the responsible individual will be informed of the concern. Concerns raised out of office hours can be discussed by staff on duty initially with the on call manager .
Other person/ organisations to report to are –
- The local authority Children’s Social Care Services in whose area the Home is located.
- The child’s allocated social worker/ the placing authority.
- Police.
- The Regulatory Authority (Ofsted).
All incidents or suspicion of significant abuse that need immediate safeguarding of the child/ young person should be reported to the police by calling 999. In some circumstances where medical support is needed, the worker should advise the emergency services when calling 999 about the need for medical assistance.
It is the responsibility of the registered manager to follow up all child protection concerns and should adhere to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Children Procedures for the area. The home must keep a record of all safeguarding concerns and the actions taken by staff/ managers.
When sharing information about a child with Children’s Social Care, it is good practice for practitioners to be transparent about their concerns and to seek to work cooperatively with the child and their parents/ carers. The registered manager should therefore usually inform parents/ carers (and the child depending on their age and level of understanding) that they are going to make a referral.
However, referrals can be made without first informing the child and/ or their parents/ carers where to do so would place a child at risk. Any decision not to inform a child or their parents / carers must be recorded with reasons. Please see procedure for Notification of Serious Events.
- Allegations of abuse and harm made against children / young people
Abuse and harm can be perpetrated upon one child /young person by another in many different ways, including persistent or serious bullying, sexual exploitation, aggressive, exploitative or other threatening behaviours which place a child or young person at risk.
Where there is any suspicion or allegation of abuse or harm perpetrated by one child/ young person upon another, the procedures in 10. Procedure for Reporting Concerns should be followed.
Protecting the rights of both victim and alleged perpetrator is important. It may be necessary, dependent on an assessment of all the facts; to separate the alleged perpetrator and victim but it may not be possible to explain why this is necessary to the perpetrator or to the victim.
Throughout the process thereafter it will be necessary to ensure that children or young people with allegations made against them are properly supported, by an independent person if appropriate or required, as well as their social worker and parent(s).
Once the investigation is complete, consideration will then need to be given to the needs and interests of both alleged victim and perpetrator, and whether counselling and/or other support should be given.
Children or young people who are known to have sexually abused other children should not be placed together unless a risk assessment has been undertaken by someone specially qualified to do so.
- Allegations made against children’s home staff
Allegations or concerns could be received from the child / young person concerned, their parent / carer or friend, a member of staff working in Laurel House or another professional. Allegations in relation to a person’s home or private life should also be dealt with under these procedures.
Children must be listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within Laurel House.
Any concerns relating to inappropriate relationships between members of staff and children or young people in our care, together with other offences or behaviour which call into question their capacity as a role model / carer for children – e.g. domestic abuse or other offending behaviour, should also be considered under these procedures.
Allegations of non-recent/historical abuse should be responded to in the same way as contemporary concerns. In such cases, it is important to find out whether the person against whom the allegation is made is still working with children and if so, refer to the LADO. Decisions regarding informing the person’s current employer or voluntary organisation should be made in consultation with the LADO. Non-recent or historical allegations of abuse should also be referred to the police.
Investigations into allegations or suspicion of harm will be shared with the appropriate agencies and handled fairly, quickly and in accordance with statutory guidance. Children will be supported and protected. Support will be given both to the person making the allegation and the person who is the subject of the allegation.
In addition to the procedures outlined above, Laurel House utilises an Allegation Management Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Tool to support managers in responding consistently, proportionately and safely to allegations or concerns involving staff members. The tool provides a structured framework for assessing immediate safeguarding risks, considering Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) thresholds, evaluating employment and operational risks, determining whether notifications to Ofsted or other agencies are required, and recording management decisions and rationale. This process is supported by the assessment framework.
The tool is designed to strengthen safeguarding practice by ensuring that children remain at the centre of all decision-making, that risks are identified and managed promptly, and that management responses are evidence-based, transparent and defensible. It supports managers in making balanced decisions regarding staff duties, restrictions, suspension considerations, agency notifications and ongoing risk management while ensuring compliance with statutory guidance and children’s homes regulatory requirements.
Completion of the risk assessment is required for all allegations and serious safeguarding concerns relating to staff practice. The assessment must be reviewed as new information becomes available and, where appropriate, within 24 hours of the initial allegation being received. Oversight may be provided by the Responsible Individual to ensure consistency, accountability and organisational learning.
Information gathered through the assessment process will also be used to identify themes, learning opportunities and any improvements required to safeguarding systems, professional practice, staff training or management oversight, helping to promote a culture of continuous improvement and safer care for children.
- Suspension
Suspension is a neutral act and it should not be an automatic response when an allegation is reported. All options to avoid suspension should be considered first.
Suspension should only be considered in those cases where:
- There is cause to suspect a child or other children are at risk of harm; or
- The allegation is so serious that it might be grounds for dismissal.
The possible risk of harm to children should be evaluated and managed in respect of the child/ children involved and any other children in the accused person’s home, work or community life.
If an Allegations Strategy Meeting / Discussion is held, attendees should discuss whether suspension is appropriate and make a recommendation. However, only the employer has the power to suspend an accused employee.
If a suspended person is to return to work, the employer should consider what help and support might be appropriate (e.g. a phased return to work and/or provision of a mentor), and also how best to manage the member of staff’s contact with the child concerned, if they are still in the Home.
- Support for staff
Following consultation with the LADO, the accused member of staff should be provided with information about the allegation and the initial actions agreed. Employers have a duty of care, and should provide effective support for anyone facing an allegation and act to manage and minimise the stress inherent in the allegations process. Any staff member who is suspended should be provided with a named contact person.
The person against whom the allegation is made should be advised to contact their union or professional association. Laurel House’s Lead for Human Resources, the Office Manager, should be consulted at the earliest opportunity in order that appropriate support can be provided via the organisation’s Occupational Health or Employee Welfare Arrangements. They should be given access to welfare counselling or medical advice provided by the employer.
- Media/ Confidentiality
All safeguarding concerns, allegations, disclosures and investigations will be treated as confidential, and information will only be shared with those people who have a legitimate professional need to know, in order to safeguard a child or fulfil their statutory responsibilities. Confidentiality must not prevent staff from reporting concerns or sharing information with Children’s Social Care, the Police, Ofsted, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), placing authorities or other relevant safeguarding agencies where it is necessary to protect a child or comply with legal requirements.
Staff must not discuss safeguarding concerns, allegations, investigations or sensitive information relating to children, families, colleagues, the organisation or with anyone who is not directly involved in the safeguarding process. This includes discussions in public places, on social media, through personal messaging applications or with friends, relatives or other professionals who are not involved in the matter. Any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information may be treated as a disciplinary matter and, where appropriate, may be referred to external agencies.
Records relating to safeguarding concerns and allegations will be stored securely and access will be restricted to authorised persons. Information will be recorded factually, accurately and in accordance with data protection requirements, recording and information governance procedures.
In the event of media interest relating to a child, safeguarding incident, allegation, investigation or the operation of the home, staff must not provide statements, interviews, comments or information to journalists, media organisations or on social networking platforms. All media enquiries must be referred immediately to the Registered Manager, Responsible Individual or another person specifically authorised by the organisation to deal with media communications. The welfare, privacy, dignity and legal rights of children and young people will remain the paramount consideration in all communications.
Where an allegation has been made against a member of staff, the home will endeavour to protect the confidentiality and welfare of all parties involved, including the child, the person making the allegation and the staff member concerned, until the appropriate agencies have concluded their enquiries and advice has been received regarding any further disclosure of information. Information will only be shared in accordance with safeguarding procedures, legal requirements and agreed multi-agency arrangements.
- Managing concerns/ reports of abuse or harm
When a child/young person discloses abuse to a member of staff, it is important that the staff respond appropriately by remaining calm and receptive; listening without interrupting; only asking questions for clarification and acknowledging the child’s courage in telling. Whilst it is important not to put pressure on the child, it is equally important to get a reasonable timeline of events. We aim to ensure that the child/young person is not made to tell their stories over and over again to different people hence the need for the staff to skilfully obtain relevant information from the onset without pressurising the child.
It is not the staff member’s responsibility to investigate or in any way make judgements about what is reported to them. Investigations, if necessary, must be undertaken by the police and Children’s Social Care or in some situations the registered manager. If a disclosure or allegation of abuse or harm has been made, staff should discuss with the child or other person who has made the complaint what steps they would like taken to protect them and their wishes should be shared and, if not in conflict with procedures, followed.
Where the allegation or disclosure is non recent or historical nature, e.g. relating to abuse or harm that may have been perpetrated in another placement or previously by family members, allegations must be taken seriously and must be reported in the same way as any other allegation.
Staff must not give absolute guarantees of confidentiality or make inappropriate promises to those who report possible abuse or harm, but they should guarantee that they will take steps to ensure that appropriate action is taken, and the child or young person protected.
Staff must make and share a written record as soon as possible of what they have been told, any questions they asked, the replies given, and the actions taken and by whom. They must then give the report to their designated supervisor preferably the registered manager.
This information should be placed on the child’s record except where a colleague is implicated or there is any risk to the child as a result, in which case notes/records should be given to the manager dealing with the matter.
Staff should not discuss the matter with others, including other staff, parents etc unless asked to do so by those responsible for dealing with any subsequent investigation or enquiry.
- Management response to report of abuse and harm
The Registered manager or a senior staff must ensure that they take immediate and effective action to safeguard a child/young person upon receipt of a report of a concern, suspicion or allegation of abuse or harm.
The manager, or in their absence the deputy manager, should ensure that the following people are informed and they should retain a record of the referral.
- The Registered Manager for the home.
- Children’s Social Care in the area where the Home is located.
- If the suspicion/ allegation relates to a member of staff/ professional, the manager should ensure the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) Team is informed.
- The Placing Authority/child’s allocated social worker.
- If a Child Protection Enquiry is initiated to use Notification of Serious Event guidance
The procedures that will be followed will depend on the decisions made by Children’s Social Care and the social worker. Serious child protection incident may lead to the involvement of the Regulatory Authority in decision making.
The Registered Manager (or delegated staff) will co-operate with the decisions/ actions taken by Regulatory Authority.
Following receipt of the referral, if Children’s Social Care have concerns that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm a strategy discussion/ meeting will be convened to decide whether there will be multiagency/ single agency outcomes that will put together immediate plans to safeguard the child or other children in the home that have been affected by the abuse or harm. The Registered Manager, or in their absence their deputy, will ensure they cooperate fully with other professionals, especially the child’s social worker.
The manager will decide on –
- Who should inform the child’s parent(s) and usually this will be the child’s social worker.
- Arrangements for any medical examination of the child if needed.
- Any immediate arrangements for protection of the child(ren), including whether the child should be moved to another home.
- Whether it is necessary to inform staff within the home.
- Whether any implicated staff should be suspended or moved.
- Who should inform/ update the person making the initial allegation of the steps/ actions taken.
- How the risk assessment and risk management plan for the child/ young person is updated.
It is the responsibility of the Registered Manager or a senior worker acting on the behalf to ensure that that the child is supported during any enquiries/ investigation, this may require an independent advocate or independent person to be involved. The manager should also ensure that all staff co-operate fully.
If the registered manager is not satisfied with the response from either the local authority where the home is situated or the placing authority, they should escalate their concerns appropriately, including by writing to the IRO and the director of Children services for the placing local authority.
Appendix A: Reporting Concerns Flowchart
1. Concern identified
2.Inform senior worker or home manager (DSL) immediately
→ Timescale: Immediately
3.Manager assesses the concern
→ Is the concern about safeguarding/child protection?
→ If Yes – manager follow Internal safeguarding process
→ Immediately / One working day
→ If no follow Internal HR/Whistleblowing policy
4.Manager Logs a concern in LIEF if it involves a child
→ Is the concern about a staff member’s conduct towards a child?
→ If YES: Refer to LADO
→ Timescale: Within 1 working day
→ If NO: Follow safeguarding procedures
5.LADO Determines Action (Strategy Meeting, Investigation, etc.)
6.LADO Feedback Given to DSL / Manager
→ manager feeds back to staff member if appropriate
→ manager keeps in contact with social worker and agrees how information is shared with young person
7.Manager to Record All Steps and Outcomes Securely
Key Timescales
• Initial Report: Immediately upon concern being raised
• DSL/LADO Referral: Within 1 working day
• LADO Response: Usually initiates within 1 working day
• Record Keeping: Ongoing, updated at each stage
Important Contacts
| Role/Service | Contact Number | ||
| LADO | 03001232044 | lado@suffolk.gov.uk | |
| Emergency Duty Service (EDS) | 03456061488 | eds@suffolk.gov.uk | |
| Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) | 07914 796125 | Kat.clifford@greenwhitehealthcare.co.uk | |