inappropriate materials are reported. The non-reporting of such breaches should result in the concern being escalated. Serious incidents All serious incidents must be dealt with promptly and reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the registered person immediately. The context, intention and impact of the alleged misuse must be considered. Appropriate actions should be agreed between the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the registered person. All details should be accurately and legibly recorded. The reason why any decision is made should also be noted. If at any stage a child or young person is or has been subject to abuse in any form, the Safeguarding Policy should be implemented with immediate effect. A referral should be made through SPOA (Single Point of Advice) or through Children’s Social Care and the Police, where applicable. If the incident relates to an allegation made against an employee, manager, volunteer or student; and there is a suggestion that a child or young person has been subject to any form of abuse, the Safeguarding Policy will again be implemented with immediate effect. The Local Authority Designated Officer must be contacted in the first instance in respect of any allegation made against an adult. The Police and Ofsted must also be contacted. No internal investigation or interviews should be carried out in respect of any allegations, unless explicitly requested otherwise by an investigating agency. If allegations of abuse are made, Children’s Social Care, the Police and / or the Local Authority Designated Officer will be the investigative bodies. It must therefore be ensured that no action is taken which could compromise any such investigations. Where applicable, any hardware implicated in any potential investigations of misuse should be secured, so that evidence can be
preserved. This may include mobile phones, laptops, computers and portable media technology. Internal disciplinary procedures should not be undertaken until investigations by the relevant agencies have been completed. Legal or human resources advice should be sought prior to carrying out any internal investigations and / or instigating high-level disciplinary procedures. On completion of both internal and external investigations, or sooner where appropriate, an online safety review should be undertaken and policies and procedures amended and updated as necessary. A consultation on any proposed revisions should be held with all ICT users as appropriate. Revised policies and procedures should be circulated as applicable. By nature, serious incidents most often involve illegal materials and activities, including the viewing, possession, taking, making and distribution of indecent images; bullying, harassment or grooming through the use of portable media devices, such as mobile phones. These incidents may be instigated by a child, young person or adult. The following incidents must always be reported to the police, SPOA, Children’s Social Care, Local Authority Designated Officer and Ofsted: Discovery of indecent images of children and young people. Behaviour considered to be ‘grooming’. Sending of obscene materials. By not reporting such incidents, an offence may be committed. The seriousness of such allegations should be fully recognised, and all such incidents must be reported to the Police immediately. No attempt should be made to download, print or send any materials found. Further offences could be committed by doing so. If potentially illegal material is discovered, as far as is reasonably practical, the equipment or materials found should not be touched. Computers or other devices
should not be switched off unless authorised to do so by the Police. The focus must be on preventing further access to the illegal content by keeping other individuals out of the immediate area. Where necessary the monitor should be turned off (but the computer remains on). Illegal material and activities which must be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation A report should also be made to the Internet Watch Foundation if potentially illegal materials, including images of child abuse have been accessed online, giving details of the website address. If it is unclear whether the content is illegal or not, the concern should be reported as a matter of caution. Media Attention If a serious incident occurs, it may attract intense media interest and speculation. On such occasions, every possible attempt should be made to ensure that children and young people, parents and carers are protected and supported appropriately. An agreed media strategy should be implemented, and statements only released by authorised personnel, in accordance with information sharing procedures. In all instances, the prime concern would be the safeguarding and welfare of the children, young people and their families. Online Safety Incident Report Template To be completed as thoroughly as possible by practitioner or manager identifying incident.