Basic Safeguarding Awareness

Section 1: What is Child Abuse?

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 in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger for example, via the internet. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children. (Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, March 2013)
An abused child is a girl or boy under the age of 18, who has suffered physical injury, neglect, emotional or sexual abuse.
Every 10 days in England and Wales one child is killed at the hands of their parent. Over two thirds (67% on average) of all cases of children killed at the hands of another person, the parent is the principal suspect.

As someone who works with or comes into contact with children or with adults who may be parents or carers, you are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of children. Safeguarding children is EVERYBODY’S responsibility.
Who would abuse a child?
Child Abuse is a term used to describe the way that people (usually adults but sometimes other children or young people) harm children. Usually the adult is someone the child knows well such as a member of the family, neighbour or family ‘friend’.

There are many forms of child abuse, which can be categorised as neglect, physical abuse/injury, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Importantly, abuse can result in the child suffering significant harm and at worst, can lead to death. In many cases, an abused child will suffer more than one type of harm, for example physical injury and emotional abuse.

Child abuse can take place anywhere where children spend time, such as at home, in nursery, at school or local youth club. Children may also be abused via the internet or other technology.

Abusers may be anyone:

• Any age
• Male or female (including sexual abuse)
• From any social class, culture or faith
• ‘Nice’ people
• Professionals such as teachers, religious leaders or social workers
• Related to the child
• Other children
• Those in a position of power or trust

Most families under great stress succeed in bringing up their children in a warm, loving and supportive environment in which each child’s needs are met. However from the available research we know that all of the below are risk factors which may increase the likelihood of abuse in children’s lives.

• Domestic abuse/violence
• Parents'/carers' problematic drug/alcohol abuse
• Child has previously suffered abuse
• Parents/carers highly critical of child
• Parents/carers who don’t show warmth to the child
• Parents/carers with problematic mental health problems
• Parents/carers who perceive the child to be “difficult”
• Parents/carers who have unrealistic expectations of their child
• Baby ill within first 6 months of life
• A child with disabilities
• Parents with learning difficulties
• Family breakdown
• Isolated families
• Poverty or deprivation

These categories are used for children who are subject to a Child Protection Plan and for statistical recording:

• Physical Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Sexual Abuse
• Neglect

Physical abuse 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.

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 developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child's developmental capability, as well as over-protection 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.

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.

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 and clothing, 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.
• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

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

Abused children may be:

• From any background
• From a "respectable" home, affluent or poor
• Male or female
• Any age – including babies
• In Care (looked after by the local authority) or privately fostered
• ‘Invisible’ families (not known to services)
• Physically disabled
• Any academic ability
• Disabled in any way
• Challenging in their behaviour
• Missing from home or school

Children often don’t tell others about the abuse because they are frightened about what may happen to them or they feel they may not be believed. Although they want the abuse to stop they may love the abuser and don’t want him or her punished for the abuse.

MYTH: Children are usually abused by strangers
FACT: Most children are abused by someone they know and trust

MYTH: Women do not sexually abuse children
FACT: Although the majority of sexual abusers are male, in approximately 5 – 10% of cases, the sexual abuser is female

MYTH: It doesn’t happen here – this is usually relating to a neighbourhood, class, ethnic group or community.
FACT: Abuse happens anywhere, in all classes, ethnic groups, cultures, etc.

MYTH: Some practices are more acceptable in some cultures.
FACT: Child abuse is unacceptable in any culture.

MYTH: Children are prone to lie, and they will often lie about the abuse.
FACT: Children very rarely lie about abuse and often their greatest fear is that they won’t be believed. (Abusers often tell children that no one will believe them if they disclose abuse).

MYTH: When Children’s Social Care get a referral about an abused child, he or she is usually taken into care.
FACT: Most children remain at home with their parents, with support from professionals. In most cases the best place for a child to grow up is with his or her parents

MYTH: People who harm children come from deprived backgrounds, are of below average intelligence or are “recognisable as dangerous” in some way
FACT: People who harm children come from all walks of life; social class and intellectual backgrounds, and may be liked and respected members of the community.

MYTH: Disabled children are less likely to be abused.
FACT: Research shows that disabled children are more likely to be abused.

The effects of abuse are wide ranging and usually long lasting, and can include:
• Low self esteem
• Problematic behaviours
• Educational problems, e.g. slow to develop speech
• Relationship difficulties
• Mental health problems
• Substance (drug and alcohol) abuse
• Self-harm including actual or attempted suicide
• Difficulty in parenting their own children
• Permanent disability
• Death as a result of the abuse (particularly if physical abuse or neglect)
• Failure to thrive and achieve the best of their ability

Fortunately children who are abused can be helped by professionals and families working together and helping them to recover from the effects of abuse. For that to happen, people working with or in contact with children or adults who are parents or carers have to be aware of the signs of possible abuse and refer the child to Children's Social Care and / or the Police.

Section 3: What to do in response to concerns

In Section 2 we looked at the signs that may alert you to the possibility that a child is being abused. We also looked at disclosure – where someone tells you about child abuse. This section will deal with what you need to do next.

Reporting suspicions, disclosures or allegations of child abuse can feel very difficult. However, one of the worst things you can do is to do nothing! Investigations of many child deaths and serious injuries have shown that it may have been possible to prevent the death or injury if someone had acted sooner, e.g. in the case of Victoria Climbié, Kyra Ishaq, Peter Connelly and Daniel Pelka. Any suspicions, allegations or disclosures of child abuse MUST be taken very seriously.

Everyone who works with children and/or their families has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
If you work with children, young people and/or their families, or with adults who are parents or carers you should be familiar with your organisation’s child protection policies and procedures; and you should know whom to contact if you have a concern. You may be concerned about data protection, confidentiality and sharing personal information, however, the law is clear that, where there are concerns about the safety or welfare of a child, this over-rides all other considerations. Your organisation may have policies about confidentiality and information sharing which you should be familiar with.

If you are a member of the public who has a concern about the safety and/or welfare of a child or young person, you can get information about how to deal with those concerns from your Local Safeguarding Children Board website (see below) or from the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.

Your Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) is a statutory partnership, made up of agencies whose job it is to work with children, young people and/or adults who may be parents/carers. These organisations have a statutory duty to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The LSCB produces multi-agency procedures about protecting children, information on related topics and runs training events.

Section 14 of the Children Act 2004 sets out the objectives of LSCBs, which are:

(a) to coordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area; and
(b) to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for those purposes.

Regulation 5 of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006 sets out that the functions of the LSCB, in relation to the above objectives under section 14 of the Children Act 2004, are as follows:

1(a) developing policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority, including policies and procedures in relation to:
(i) the action to be taken where there are concerns about a child's safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention;
(ii) training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children;
(iii) recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children;
(iv) investigation of allegations concerning persons who work with children;
(v) safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered;
(vi) cooperation with neighbouring children's services authorities and their Board partners;

(b) communicating to persons and bodies in the area of the authority the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, raising their awareness of how this can best be done and encouraging them to do so;
(c) monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of what is done by the authority and their Board partners individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and advising them on ways to improve;
(d) participating in the planning of services for children in the area of the authority; and
(e) undertaking reviews of serious cases and advising the authority and their Board partners on lessons to be learned.
In order to fulfil its statutory function under Regulation 5 an LSCB as a minimum, should:
• assess the effectiveness of the help being provided to children and families, including early help
• assess whether LSCB partners are fulfilling their statutory obligations;
• quality assure practice, including through joint audits of case files involving practitioners and identifying lessons to be learned; and
• monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of training, including multi-agency training, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
LSCBs do not commission or deliver direct frontline services though they may provide training. While LSCBs do not have the power to direct other organisations they do have a role in making clear where improvement is needed. Each Board partner retains their own existing line of accountability for safeguarding.

What to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused

Where the child needs urgent medical attention this must be dealt with as soon as possible. Any discussion with colleagues, the child, parents/carers or organisations can take place once medical attention has been received if necessary.

If you have immediate concerns that abuse has taken place and/or about risk to a child, then you should refer to your organisation’s child protection policies, if they exist, and/or speak with your manager/staff member responsible for child protection about an urgent referral to the child protection team at Children’s Social Care or the Police. If a manager is unavailable, you should take responsibility to refer immediately. If you are a member of the public, or your organisation does not have policies or managers, you should contact the Police or Children’s Social Care immediately. You should record any actions that you take, and the reasons. You will need to sign and date the record, and keep it in a secure place.
If you have concerns about the possibility that a child is being abused, or is at risk of abuse, you must record this (as outlined in Section 2).

Your organisation may have a child protection policy or procedure, if so; you should refer to this document, as it will tell you how to proceed. You should discuss your concerns with your line manager or the staff member responsible for child protection. If you remain concerned, but unsure how to proceed, you or your manager/child protection staff member should discuss this with a colleague in Children’s Social Care or the Police - this can be done without identifying the child or family as long as you give no details of names.

If you are a member of the public, work alone, or your organisation does not have any child protection procedures, it may be useful for you to ring Children’s Social Care, to discuss your concerns before you make a referral. This may be helpful where your concerns are not clear or specific.

Whoever you discuss your concerns with; you should agree what will happen next, when it will happen and who is responsible for taking it forward. You should record this clearly. If you remain concerned, even if you are not certain that abuse has occurred, a referral should be made to Children’s Social Care, Police or NSPCC National Helpline.

If you are a professional, it is good practice to discuss your concerns with the child as appropriate to their age and understanding. You should also discuss concerns and actions with the child's carers/parents where possible - research shows that when you are open and honest about your concerns, your honesty will be respected by parents/carers and they are more likely to work with agencies. Talking with the parents about something you've noticed may reveal an innocent explanation, e.g. for weight loss, an injury or a significant change in the child's behaviour. You may find out something that is happening within the family, which means the child needs extra support from you to help them through some difficult family circumstance such as a family break up.

Permission should always be sought from an adult with parental responsibility for the child/young person before passing information about them to Children’s Social Care, UNLESS seeking permission would place the child at risk of significant harm or may lead to the loss of evidence for example destroying evidence of a crime or influencing a child about a disclosure made. If a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, a referral to Children’s Social Care SHOULD NOT BE DELAYED whilst consent is sought.

Important - you should be clear that your role is not to investigate an allegation or concern, rather by discussing the concern with parents or the child you are only seeking to clarify what you have observed or been told. If you have any doubts about discussing a concern with a parent, carer or child please seek advice.

Whatever the circumstances, the child's welfare and safety must come first, despite any impact that making a referral to the appropriate agencies may have upon the child's parents or carers. You must ALWAYS maintain a focus on the child.
Making a Referral

Your organisation’s child protection policy may define who should make a referral. If you are in doubt, if that person is not available or if you are not an employee, you should take responsibility to do it yourself. You can make a referral to the Local Authority Customer Service Centre or the Police.

You should make sure you have all available information about the child to hand. You should give as much relevant detail as possible to the organisation you are referring to. The minimum details you should try to give, if you have them, are:

• What your concerns are (the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need, at Appendix 2 of Working Together 2010, available online, may help in identifying and articulating the source of your concerns
• The child’s name, date of birth or age, address, parent/carer’s name, school and doctor if possible
• The child’s ethnicity and religion if known
• What you saw, or were told; when and where this happened giving as much details as possible
• What you have done so far; anyone you have spoken with including the parents/carers and child
• Your name, phone number, email, workplace, address, job, manager etc.
• Any potential danger or risk to staff or the public

You should make a record of which agency you made the referral to, whom you spoke to and what they agreed to do next (e.g. what will happen and when). You should tell the person you speak with that you wish to be kept informed of what happens. However, if you are not involved in further enquiries into possible abuse of the child, you may not be able to be given much information as this may jeopardise the investigation/enquiries.

If you are a professional, you should follow up your telephone referral with a written referral within 48 hours. You should keep a copy, in a secure place, for your own records. Children's Social Care should confirm receipt of your written referral within 1 working day. If you have not heard anything within 3 working days, you should contact them again and record who you speak with.

Once you have made a referral, information will be gathered and decisions made as to what will happen next - you may be involved in these discussions and deliberations.

An assessment will be conducted, which may identify the need for support services or serious concerns about the child's welfare. Depending on the action taken by the organisation you refer to, you may need to be involved further in the process. This could range from participating in the assessment to attending a Child Protection Conference or, more rarely, giving evidence in court. To ensure that you are prepared for any of these, you should keep all your original documentation and notes.

If there is a Child Protection Conference, this will be arranged by Children’s Social Care and attended by relevant professionals involved with the child and family. The family will be invited, along with the child where appropriate. The conference will establish what the risks are to the child, whether the child is at risk of harm, and plan what action needs to be taken to protect the child. The plans usually involve helping the parents/carers to be able to safely and appropriately look after their child/children.

Sometimes it may be decided that there is not enough information to take any further action. It may be appropriate to undertake work using the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). If you are unsure about whether, or how, to do this, seek advice from Children's Social Care or speak to your local Integrated Services Manager. However, if you continue to feel that the child is at risk or being abused; or if you have any new information or information that suggests that the situation has changed, it is important that you don't give up. Be persistent and re-refer if necessary. Seek support from your manager, senior colleagues, child protection advisor or services based in the community (e.g. counselling services, faith leader) but be careful not to break confidentiality.

Dealing with any child protection issues can be stressful and upsetting for all those involved, including yourself. You should identify where you can get support, either within your own organisation from a senior colleague, manager or counselling service, from your community or external counselling service, and use the support.

NB. You must respect the confidentiality of anyone involved by not discussing the case in public places, and not revealing details which would identify the child, young person and/or family.

Who is responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of children?

A child is anyone under the age of:

Abusers are usually someone that a child knows.

How many categories of abuse are used in the database of children (Subject to a Child Protection Plan)?

Children are only harmed by physical abuse.

Only men sexually abuse.

Children don’t usually tell others that they are abused because:

Whenever possible, the best place for a child to grow up is:

Section 2: Signs and Indicators of Child Abuse and Neglect

Any person, who knows or suspects that a child is being or has been harmed or is at risk of significant harm, has a duty to refer his or her concern to Children's Social Care and/or the Police. This applies equally to children who are in the UK for only a short period.

It is not your role to investigate or assess whether or not abuse had occurred - you have a responsibility to pass on your concerns to those who can investigate them, so that action to protect the child can be taken if necessary.

There is sometimes a danger of applying a ‘rule of optimism’, whereby adults like to think that the child is or will be OK really, or that it won’t happen again.

However, it is known that when an adult has abused a child on one occasion, it is very likely that such behaviour will be repeated – abusers rarely stop harming children without intervention or treatment.

We now look at the physical and behavioural signs that should alert you to the possibility that a child is being abused. All forms of abuse are emotionally damaging to a child, and we should always be alert to signs and symptoms indicating emotional abuse.

All children are different, developing in different ways and at different rates. However, a basic knowledge of normal child development can be useful in identifying some areas of concern.

PHYSICAL ABUSE:

Physical Signs:
All children have accidents and may have bruises from time to time. The child or his or her parents will usually tell you how the injuries occurred and what happened. However, if they do not tell you or do not give you an adequate explanation of what happened, you need to consider whether the injuries are a possible sign of physical abuse. Sometimes a child can be physically abused without easily identifiable signs of injury, e.g. babies who have been shaken, so it is important to act on concerns so professional assessments can be made.

Injuries not adequately explained including:
• Fractures, bruises, burns, bite marks, slap marks and implement marks (e.g. belt mark).

Other signs of abuse include:
• Grip marks - may indicate shaking
• Slap marks - cheeks, buttocks, limbs (may leave a hand imprint)
• Soft tissue marks
• Long marks
• Symmetrical bruising
• Bruising in unusual places e.g. bruises on ears
• Teeth / bite marks
• Burns with outline, e.g. outline of an iron
• Cigarette burns
• Fractures or other injuries
• Injuries which haven’t been treated properly and there is delay in seeking medical attention
• Any injury to a child who isn’t mobile e.g. baby under 1 year, disabled child

Behavioural Signs:
• Child appears frightened of others e.g. parent(s) or carer(s)
• Child doesn’t want to go home, or runs away
• Child flinches when approached or when someone stretches a hand towards them
• Child reluctant to get undressed e.g. for games or sport activity
• Child very passive or very aggressive
• Frozen watchfulness - child sits very still watching what’s going on (waiting for the next hit)
• Equally could appear overly “happy” and “eager to please”


SEXUAL ABUSE:

Physical Signs:
• Repeated, inappropriate, masturbation
• Presence of sexually transmitted disease
• Young children with age inappropriate sexual knowledge, e.g. penetration, ejaculation, oral sex
• Explicit sexual drawings
• Pain, soreness or itching in the genital or anal areas or mouth
• Recurrent genital or urinary infections.
• Pregnancy

Behavioural Signs:
• Disclosure from a child (to another child or an adult)
• Young children acting out sexual behaviours, e.g. simulating intercourse, grabbing genitalia etc.
• Young children displaying sexually inappropriate knowledge or behaviour
• Persistent bedwetting, nightmares and sleep problems
• Anorexia, bulimia, self-harm or excessive ‘comforting’ eating
• Fear of a specific person
• Running away from home
• Substance abuse
• Child having unexplained gifts, including money
• Children having ‘secrets’ that an adult says they are not allowed to tell
• Secrecy around internet use and webcams etc.

NEGLECT:

Physical Signs:
• Looks excessively thin or ill
• Well below average weight and height, failure to thrive,
• Recent unexplained weight loss.
• Complains of hunger; lack of energy
• Untreated conditions/injuries
• Repeated accidents, especially burns
• Left home alone inappropriately
• Repeatedly unwashed, smelly or dressed inappropriately for the weather
• Supervision/carers inappropriate (e.g. 8 year old looking after other children)
• Badly decayed teeth
• Unhygienic and/or unsanitary living conditions

Behavioural Signs:
• Poor level of concentration
• Constantly hungry or ’stealing’ food from others/from bins
• Not keeping Doctor or Hospital appointments
• Frequently not at school or persistent lateness
• Reluctant to go home from school
• Delayed speech development

EMOTIONAL ABUSE:

Physical Signs:
• Physical, mental and emotional developmental delay / late developer with no obvious medical reason
• Sudden onset speech disorders, e.g. suddenly developing a stammer

Behavioural Signs:
• Acceptance of punishment which seems excessive
• Over-reaction to mistakes
• Continual self-deprecation
• Excessive fear of new situations
• Inappropriate emotional response to painful stimuli
• Excessive behaviours, e.g. rocking, head banging, pulling own hair out
• Self-harm and/or eating disorders
• Compulsive stealing/scavenging
• Excessively sad, depressed, withdrawn,
• Low self esteem
• Very poor relationship with parent/carer
Handling Disclosures of Abuse

If child abuse is disclosed to you, the disclosure must be taken seriously.

Receive:
• Listen to what is being said without displaying shock or disbelief
• Accept what is being said without judgement
• Take it seriously

Reassure:
• Reassure the child, but only so far as is honest and reliable. Don’t make promises that you can’t be sure to keep, e.g. “I’ll stay with you” or “everything will be all right now”
• Don’t promise confidentiality – you have a duty to report your concerns.
• Tell the child that you will need to tell some people, but only those whose job it is to protect children
• Acknowledge how difficult it must have been to talk
• Never agree to keep secrets – be honest
• Do reassure the child that he or she is right to tell

React:
• Listen quietly, carefully and patiently
• Do not investigate, interrogate or decide if the child is telling the truth
• Don’t ask leading questions, e.g. “What did he do next?” (This assumes he did).
• Do ask open questions like “Is there anything else that you want to tell me?”
• Do not criticise the alleged abuser; the child may love him/her and a reconciliation may be possible
• Do not ask the child to repeat what they have told you to another member of staff. Explain what you have to do next and whom you have to talk to.

Record:
• Make some very brief notes at the time and write them up in detail as soon as possible
• Do not destroy your original notes in case they are required by Court
• Record the date, time, place, words used by the child and how the child appeared to you – be specific. Record the actual words used, including any swear words or slang
• Draw a diagram to indicate the position of any marks
• Record statements and observable things, not your interpretations or assumptions – keep it factual
• Do not assume anything – don’t speculate or jump to conclusions

Remember:
• If a child discloses abuse to you, take it seriously
• Seek advice from your supervisor, manager or designated child protection person about the child’s disclosure

Where an adult discloses to you their own history of abuse, you need to consider if there are children now who may be at risk of continuing abuse. This is a complex area and you will need to tell the adult that you must seek advice from your supervisor/manager, Children's Social Care and/or the Police.

Which of the following is a possible sign of physical abuse?

Sexual abuse only happens to girls.

Which of the following is a possible sign of neglect?

Which of the following is a possible sign of emotional abuse?

If a child says they want to tell you a secret, you should tell them:

If a child discloses to you that he or she is being abused, you should tell them:

You must not discuss any disclosure with a colleague:

You should NEVER discuss your concerns with the child in question.

You should not discuss your concerns with parents if:

If you suspect that a child has been abused or is at risk of abuse, you should make a referral to:

When making a referral, you should be prepared to give the following details, if possible:

In the interests of confidentiality, you should destroy all notes and records related to your concerns as soon as you make a referral.

When you make a referral to Children’s Services or the Police, they will rely on you to tell them what to do next.

If a child needs urgent medical attention, your immediate priority should be to:

Dealing with child protection issues can be stressful. You should get support by:

When you have made a referral, Children’s Services may not be able to tell you much about what happens next because:

You should follow up a telephone referral with a written referral within:

Section 4: Guidance for Good Practice

Information Sharing

People often have difficulty in assessing whether they can share information with other individuals and organisations. It can feel as if this conflicts with confidentiality policies and with legislation such as the Data Protection and Human Rights Acts. However, if we are to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, we need to pass on concerns about children and their parents/carers. The following key points should help in establishing good practice in information sharing:

1. The safety and welfare of the child must be the primary consideration in deciding whether or not to share information, and always overrides confidentiality.

2. Where possible, speak with the child and/or family about your concerns, what information you will share and with whom. The exception to this is where you believe to do so would put the child or an adult at risk of harm; where you suspect sexual abuse; where you suspect someone of making the child ill, or fabricating illness; or, where sharing your concerns may undermine investigation, detection or prosecution of a serious crime such as child abuse.

3. You should try to respect the wishes of children and families who do not give consent to share confidential information however, you may judge that there are sufficient concerns regarding the likelihood of harm to a child to override the lack of consent.

4. Seek advice if you are in doubt – especially when you are concerned about risk of harm to a child or anyone else.

5. The information you share should be accurate, up-to-date, only what is necessary for the purpose, shared only with those who need to know it and shared securely (in a way that ensures it cannot be viewed by the wrong person).

6. You should always make a record of your decision as soon as possible, and the reasons for it, whether you decide to share information or not. This should be signed, dated and stored in a secure place
Further resources on Information Sharing are available at: www.education.gov.uk

It is important to remember that those who abuse children come from all walks of life and all professions. Over the years doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, police officers, faith leaders, lawyers, babysitters, school caretakers and voluntary staff etc. have been convicted of child abuse. In many cases, child abusers have taken jobs which involve them in working with children or vulnerable parents to enable them to access victims. Those who abuse children are usually known to, and trusted by, the child and/or family.

It is also occasionally the case that those who have never harmed/abused a child can be accused of child abuse. This may be as a result of a child misinterpreting something, or may be as a result of the child having previous experiences of abuse (or both).

Allegations of abuse against staff and volunteers must NEVER GO UNREPORTED. It is important to remember that it is rare for children to make false allegations. If you work for an organisation that belongs to the LSCB, all allegations of abuse must be reported to the Senior Manager within your Organisation (SMO) immediately as it is their role to deal with all concerns and allegations made against childcare professionals, volunteers and foster carers. If you do not have an SMO within your agency you should contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). If you feel your concern requires an immediate response because a child is at risk of significant harm please contact Children's Social Care or the Police. The procedures for dealing with allegations and LADO’s contact details for your area can be found on your Local Safeguarding Children Board website or via your Customer Service Centre.

If you are a member of the public who is concerned that anyone may be abusing children, including employees or volunteers in services known to you, you should contact Children’s Social Care or the Police.

Government Legislation and Policy

The Children Act 1989 outlines the duties and responsibilities of local authorities in respect of intervening when children are suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm because of abuse or neglect.

The Children Act 2004 provides the legal underpinning for the delivery of local arrangements for those who have a statutory duty to work together, and share information, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Lead officers from the agencies covered by this duty comprise the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The Board ensures that agencies work together effectively by developing procedures, delivering multi-agency training and by holding each other to account.
Following the death of Peter Connelly, Lord Laming's report, "The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report" was published in March 2009 and in May the Government responded to the 58 recommendations outlined in the report, including a revision of the Working Together 2006 guidance in 2010.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 sets out how individuals and organisations should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The guidance has been updated twice since the previous version which was published in 2006. The newest version published in 2013 reflects developments in legislation, policy and practice.
Further information on Government legislation and policy can be obtained at the following link: www.education.gov.uk

Child Protection Policy and Procedures

If your agency already has a child protection policy and/or procedures, become familiar with this and check that it is current and reflects recent changes in legislation and policy. If your organisation does not have a policy, or it is out of date, ask for an up-to-date one to be produced. You can get assistance with this by contacting your Local Safeguarding Children Board or the NSPCC, or by visiting their websites.

Training and Development

You can also access further safeguarding and child protection training through your Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Because of confidentiality, you should never share concerns about a child with anyone without seeking legal advice.

Only strangers abuse children.

Accusations of abuse made by children against childcare professionals are often untrue.

What is a LADO?

The Local Safeguarding Children Board is concerned with:

You can access further training through your Local Safeguarding Children Board.