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Alvie Primary School Child Protection Policy
‘Safer Highland’ believes that every child/young person, regardless of age, always has, in all situations a right to feel safe and protected from any situation or practice which results in the child/young person being physically or emotionally damaged.
In Alvie Primary School we are committed to creating an environment in which children/young people are safe from abuse and in which any suspicion of abuse is responded to promptly and appropriately. The well-being of children/young person in our care takes precedence over any other consideration. It is the clear responsibility of all staff involved in Alvie Primary School to adopt good practice throughout their work.
In order to achieve this, we will:
• Follow the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) model to work in partnership with parents, carers, Highland Council colleagues and other agencies to promote good practice in the area of child protection.
• Update any changes in child protection policy and practice under the guidance from the designated person in the school
• Endeavour to ensure that all staff have access to appropriate child protection training, supervision and support in order to implement this policy effectively and with the minimum of stress.
See; http://hcpc.scot/resources/ “Training Guide for Education staff”
The detailed arrangements, systems and procedures for ensuring that the above policy statements are fully implemented are contained in the “ Getting it Right for every Child and Young Person in Highland Inter Agency Practice Guidance and Child Protection Procedures”
published by the Highland Child Protection Committee
Child abuse is a criminal offence. All staff working in Alvie Primary School have an ethical duty to report any reasonable concern that a child may be being abused.
The role of members of staff is to inform the designated person and/or Named Person of any instance, which suggests that abuse is taking place. It is not the role of the member of staff to wait for proof, investigate or gather evidence of abuse.
When a child/young person tells an adult about possible abuse, his or her statements should not be dismissed or ignored. The adult should attend carefully to what the child wants to communicate, taking account of the child’s/young person’s age and stage of development, and allow the child/young person to say what he or she wants to say without being drawn into detailed
questioning.
REMEMBER:
Any concerns about the well-being of a child/young person need to be shared.
No matter how good we are at evaluating and assessing matters to do with children, when it comes to the child’s/young person’s welfare we cannot evaluate and assess potential danger, risk, damage, as we only know a tiny part of the whole picture. We must share our concerns with the designated/Named Person. Information sharing see;
http://www.forhighlandschildren.org/4-icspublication/index_81_180152905.pdf
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Young-People/gettingitright/information-sharing
Child Protection Procedure checklist for Alvie Primary School Staff.
If: • a child/young person has been injured, eg. bruising.
• a child/young person is seen in the company of people, either adults or children,
who may be putting the child at risk.
• a specific allegation of child maltreatment has been made.
• there are anxieties that a child may be experiencing continuing
maltreatment or neglect; or
• a child/young person is behaving in a way that is dangerous to him or herself or
others.
The member of staff must: RECORD
Respond without showing any signs of disquiet, anxiety or shock. Take what the child/young person says seriously.
Enquire casually about how an injury was sustained or why the child/young person appears upset.
Confidentiality must not be promised to children or adults in this situation.
Observe carefully the demeanour or behaviour of the child/young person.
Record in written detail, as soon as possible, what has been seen and heard.
Do not interrogate or enter into detailed investigations: rather encourage the child/young person to say what he/she wants until enough information is gained to decide whether or not a referral is appropriate.
Members of staff must not
• Investigate suspected/alleged abuse themselves
• Evaluate the grounds for concern
• Seek or wait for proof
• Discuss the matter with anyone other than SMT/Named Person.
REPORT to the designated person without delay.
Further information can be found in the Highland Child Protection Committee’s,
published by the Highland Child Protection Committee
as follows:
Definitions section 1
Collective Responsibilities for Child Protection section 2
Responsibilities for schools (nursery
primary, secondary, home educated) section 8
Other useful publications:
• Highland Children’s Services Practice Guidance
• Children (Scotland) Act 1995
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/36/contents
Useful websites:
www.hcpc.scot
www.forhighlandschildren.org
• “ Getting it Right for every Child and Young Person in Highland Inter Agency Practice Guidance and Child Protection Procedures”published by the Highland Child Protection Committee
• Children Missing from Education – Missing Families Alert Protocol
• Highland Underage Sex Protocol
Alvie Primary School will always seek to work with children and families in a clear, positive and open way, bearing in mind always that the welfare of the children is paramount. The school will follow HCPC Highland Practice Model (GIRFEC) procedures.
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