Receive Listen to what is being said, without displaying shock or disbelief Accept what is said and take it seriously Make a note of what has been said as soon as practicable Reassure Reassure the pupil, but only so far as is honest and reliable Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep e.g. ‘I’ll stay with you’ or ‘everything will be alright now’ or ‘I’ll keep this confidential’ Do reassure e.g. you could say: ‘I believe you’, ‘I am glad you came to me’, ‘I am sorry this has happened’, ‘We are going to do something together to get help’ Respond Respond to the pupil only as far as is necessary for you to establish whether or not you need to refer this matter, but do not interrogate for full details Do not ask ‘leading’ questions i.e. ‘did he touch your private parts?’ or ‘did she hurt you?’ Such questions may invalidate your evidence (and the child’s) in any later prosecution in court Do not criticise the alleged perpetrator; the pupil may care about him/her, and reconciliation may be possible Do not ask the pupil to repeat it all for another member of staff. Explain what you have to do next and whom you have to talk to. Reassure the pupil that it will be a senior member of staff Report Share concerns with the designated safeguarding lead as soon as possible If you are not able to contact your designated safeguarding lead, and the child is at risk of immediate harm, contact the children’s services department directly If you are dissatisfied with the level of response you receive following your concerns, you should press for re-consideration. Record If possible make some very brief notes at the time, and write them up as soon as possible Keep your original notes on file Record the date, time, place, person’s present and noticeable nonverbal behaviour, and the words used by the child. If the child uses sexual ‘pet’ words, record the actual words used, rather than translating them into ‘proper’ words Complete a body map to indicate the position of any noticeable bruising Record facts and observable things, rather than your ‘interpretations’ or ‘assumptions’ Remember Support the child: listen, reassure, and be available
Green behaviours 5-9 feeling and touching own genitals curiosity about other children's genitals curiosity about sex and relationships, e.g. differences between boys and girls, how sex happens, where babies come from, same-sex relationships sense of privacy about bodies telling stories or asking questions using swear and slang words for parts of the body Amber behaviours 5-9 questions about sexual activity which persist or are repeated frequently, despite an answer having been given sexual bullying face to face or through texts or online messaging engaging in mutual masturbation persistent sexual images and ideas in talk, play and art use of adult slang language to discuss sex Red behaviours 5-9 frequent masturbation in front of others sexual behaviour engaging significantly younger or less able children forcing other children to take part in sexual activities simulation of oral or penetrative sex sourcing pornographic material online Green behaviours 9-13 solitary masturbation use of sexual language including swear and slang words having girl/boyfriends who are of the same, opposite or any gender interest in popular culture, e.g. fashion, music, media, online games, chatting online need for privacy consensual kissing, hugging, holding hands with peers Amber behaviours 9-13 uncharacteristic and risk-related behaviour, e.g. sudden and/or provocative changes in dress, withdrawal from friends, mixing with new or older people, having more or less money than usual, going missing verbal, physical or cyber/virtual sexual bullying involving sexual aggression LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) targeted bullying exhibitionism, e.g. flashing or mooning giving out contact details online viewing pornographic material worrying about being pregnant or having STIs Red behaviours 9-13 exposing genitals or masturbating in public distributing naked or sexually provocative images of self or others sexually explicit talk with younger children sexual harassment arranging to meet with an online acquaintance in secret genital injury to self or others forcing other children of same age, younger or less able to take part in sexual activities sexual activity e.g. oral sex or intercourse presence of sexually transmitted infection (STI) evidence of pregnancy