If you work in a school, you'll be required to abide by both the Government and the school's Safeguarding Policies: It is always advisable to research the school you will be working in and read their Safeguarding and Behaviour Policy.
All educators are required to follow The 4Rs of Safeguarding Children. This is professional practice for how you can RECOGNISE, RECORD, REPORT AND REFER, in the situation of child abuse.
Zen Educate takes great pride in being DfE accredited and therefore we have a duty of care in Keeping our educators and children safe. We adhere to the following Government policies:
Every school's Safeguarding policy promotes the welfare of children in order to prevent harm. They also put clear processes in place for helping children who are being abused in any way. Every School will have DSL: Designated Safeguarding Lead.
As educators you are required to report to the DSL when responding to a child / young person's disclosure or any causes for concern you have. You must use the R code of practice: RESPOND REFER REPORT.
At Zen Educate we require all our registered candidates to have completed a free course of safeguarding and child protection training before they can work in schools.
This guideline will support you in having permanent access to pertinent information that will support best practice whilst in your school.
Why is safeguarding important in schools?
According to the data from the NSPCC one in four adults in the UK report suffering physical abuse as children. Today’s young people deserve to be spared the debilitating effects of this kind of maltreatment. But without robust policies and protocols embedded in settings like schools and colleges, children are left open to exploitation and harm.
Safeguarding rules give educational staff a framework for action. This clarity should give educators the confidence to meaningfully intervene when a child is being victimised.
What are the key principles of safeguarding?
The Department for Education’s statutory guidance sets out four headline objectives for safeguarding and child protection policies:
Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
What constitutes child abuse?
One challenge for educators looking to stop a suspected case of maltreatment is knowing exactly what amounts to abuse.
Educators should remember that there are four categories of abuse.
These are:
Physical abuse: any act that intentionally cause physical harm
Emotional abuse: ongoing emotional maltreatment that has an adverse impact on a child’s development
Sexual abuse: coercing or enticing a child to engage in sexual activities or exposing them to media of a sexual nature
Neglect: persistently failing to meet the child’s basic needs
There are also some highly-specific subtypes of abuse that fall within – or straddle - these categories. These include child trafficking, honour-based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage.
Identifying abuse in children
With such a broad spectrum of abusive behaviours, educators need to be attuned to their various possible manifestations.
Some general indicators of abuse or mistreatment include obsessive behaviour, self-harm, delayed development, missing school, aggression, anxious or clingy behaviour, soiling clothes or wetting the bed, and reporting frequent nightmares.
Indicators of physical abuse in children
Children experiencing physical abuse may present with fractures and broken bones, bruises, bite marks, burns or scalds, respiratory problems and symptoms consistent with poisoning.
Bruises are fairly normal in toddlers learning to walk. But bruising in young children and infants occurs in clusters. or on softer parts of the body like the buttocks, should set off alarm bells.
A child or young person who has been subjected to FGM may encounter problems moving without pain or using the toilet. A child at risk of FGM might mention going abroad for a ‘special ceremony’.
Indicators of sexual abuse in children
Children experiencing sexual abuse may engage in inappropriate behaviour with other children or use language that you wouldn’t expect them to know.
Another major indicator of sexual abuse is a clear distress or fear at the idea of being around a particular adult, especially alone.
Signs of neglect in children
Neglect is both one of the most prevalent forms of abuse and the one that can be hardest to spot. Poor physical hygiene and an unkempt appearance can be tell-tale signs of neglect. If a child is displaying ongoing health problems for which they are not receiving treatment, or if they are missing routine health appointments like vaccinations, there may also be cause for concern.
You can learn more about the various indicators of child abuse on the NSPCC’s website.
What to do if a child tells you they’re being abused
If a child comes to you to report abuse, it’s very important to take them seriously. Children rarely lie about abuse, so you should never downplay their concerns or minimise what they’re telling you. Instead, you should give them the time and space to describe what’s happening to them. Take care to reassure them that they won’t get into any trouble.
Whatever you do, don't promise the child that you won’t tell anyone else. Instead confirm with them that you have a ‘duty of care to respond to what they have disclosed to record what they have disclosed and refer what they have disclosed to the Designated safeguarding Lead’.
Safeguarding in the digital era
As anyone who works with young people knows, under-18s are often extremely digital-savvy. Children and Young people are immersed in online technology creating a new dimension of potential harm.
The biggest threats to children online include:
Cyberbullying
Adult predators
‘Doxxing’: search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.
In supporting both educators and parent / carers the NSPCC recommends the TEAM framework for protecting children online:
Talk: engage children in honest conversation about their online life
Explore: build up some familiarity with the sites and apps they use
Agree: establish some basic rules and limits of their internet use
Manage: set up some parental controls and general use settings
If you suspect that online abuse is taking place, report it immediately.
Gather as much evidence as possible, such as screenshots and follow best practice of
If a child is being cyberbullied by a peer, you must inform the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead immediately.
Here at Zen Educate we trust that this information provided to you, in line with the DfE and NSPCC guidelines, keeps you safe in delivering best safeguarding Practice to the children and young people you support.