Appendices – from page 59 1a Nagging Doubt form 1b Initial Record of Concern Form 2 Chronology of Events Form 3 Signs of Abuse 4 Do’s and Don’ts of Disclosure 5 Contents page of Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board Procedures (online) 6 Flowchart of DBS 7 The Safeguarding Children Team at Longdon Hall School 8 Useful Staffordshire Safeguarding Documents
As with managing other safeguarding risks, staff should be alert to changes in children’s behaviours which could indicate that they may be in need of help or protection. Staff should use their professional judgement in identifying children who might be at risk of radicalisation and act proportionately which may include making a referral to the Channel programme. The Government Prevent Strategy, inclusive is the approach to reducing the risk of terrorism, this is called ‘CONTEST’ and has four parts: Protect; to strengthen protection against a terrorist attack Prepare; to mitigate the impact of a attack Pursue; to stop terrorist attacks Prevent; to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism Definition of Extremism Extremism is vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Calls for the death of members of the British armed forces is also included in this definition. From July 1 2015, specified authorities, including all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard” to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This duty is known as the prevent duty. It applied to a wide range of public-facing bodies. Bodies to which the duty applies MUST HAVE REGARD TO STATUTORY GUIDANCE ISSUES UNDER SECTION 29 OF THE CTSA 2015 (the prevent guidance) Paragraphs 57-76 of the Prevent guidance are concerned specifically with schools. Extremism takes many forms and all ideologies are included in this area of safeguarding: Islamic extremism Left wing extremism Right wing extremism Animal rights extremism The statutory Prevent guidance summarises the requirements on schools in terms of four general themes: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and IT (Online Safety) policies. Acorn schools are expected to assess the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology. This means being able to demonstrate both a general understanding of the risks affecting children and young people in the area and a specific understanding of how to identify individual children who may be at risk
Physical Signs Changes in Behaviour Physical Abuse unexplained bruising, marks or injuries on any part of the body multiple bruises- in clusters, often on the upper arm, outside of the thigh cigarette burns human bite marks broken bones scalds, with upward splash marks, multiple burns with a clearly demarcated edge fear of parents being approached for an explanation aggressive behaviour or severe temper outbursts flinching when approached or touched reluctance to get changed, for example in hot weather depression withdrawn behaviour running away from home Emotional Speech disorders Delayed physical development Substance abuse Ulcers, severe allergies Failure to thrive Self-harm neurotic behaviour e.g. sulking, hair twisting, rocking being unable to play fear of making mistakes sudden speech disorders self-harm fear of parent being approached regarding their behaviour developmental delay in terms of emotional progress Sexual pain or itching in the genital area bruising or bleeding near genital area sexually transmitted disease vaginal discharge or infection stomach pains discomfort when walking or sitting down pregnancy sudden or unexplained changes in behaviour e.g. becoming aggressive or withdrawn fear of being left with a specific person or group of people having nightmares running away from home sexual knowledge which is beyond their age, or developmental level sexual drawings or language bedwetting eating problems such as overeating or anorexia self-harm or mutilation, sometimes leading to suicide attempts saying they have secrets they cannot tell anyone about substance or drug abuse
suddenly having unexplained sources of money not allowed to have friends (particularly in adolescence) acting in a sexually explicit way towards adults Neglect constant hunger, sometimes stealing food from other children constantly dirty or ‘smelly’ loss of weight, or being constantly underweight inappropriate clothing for the conditions complaining of being tired all the time not requesting medical assistance and/or failing to attend appointments having few friends mentioning being left alone or unsupervised Appendix 4: Dos and Don’ts of Managing a Disclosure Do’s and Don’ts of Managing a Disclosure Do’s Don’ts Stay calm and control expressions of panic and shock State clearly that the abuse was not the child/young person’s fault – no matter what the circumstances Always accept what the child says, no matter how fanciful it may appear to you let them know you believe them Allow the child/young person to talk at their own pace, and use their own language Listen attentively and only ask open-ended questions Encourage the child/young person to talk about their concerns, as this can be helpful in dealing with difficult experiences Tell the child/young person you are pleased they told you At some point in the disclosure ensure that you inform the child or young person that you cannot offer absolute confidentiality or protection Avoid using leading questions Do not pressure the child/young person into telling you more than they want to. Avoid going over the information time and time again; you are only gathering information Do NOT try to determine for yourself if the allegation is valid or invalid Do NOT use shocked or disbelieving body language while the child is talking. The child may interpret this to mean that you find the CHILD unacceptable versus the ACT perpetrated on the child Do NOT gossip about the allegations to friends, relatives, or advocates Do NOT ever try to talk a child out of what he/she is saying. If you are sceptical, do NOT express your doubts to the child. This is a task for investigators to sort through, and you can express your doubts to them Do NOT stand over the child while he/she is talking about the abuse. This may make the child feel crowded or dominated
District Police SPOC District / Borough Council CSP Contact Cannock Sgt Bev Rounds Kerry Wright East Staffordshire Sgt. Mark Kitchen Mike Hovers Lichfield Sgt Sally Bebbington Jenni Coleman Newcastle Nicola Burton Sarah Moore South Staffordshire Sgt Jez Heath Maggie Quinn Stafford Insp Mark Joynson Sgt Victoria Ison Viki Ashcroft Staffordshire Moorlands Sgt Pete Slinn Alexander Gould David Smith Tamworth Sgt Gaz Thomas Felicity Bownds Joanne Sands Further advice on Safeguarding matters can also be obtained from: