Pocketbook
Your role in helping schools support children, young people and families and protecting children
Charter for Children
Get to know us
Speak with us
Listen to us
Take us seriously
Involve us
Respect our privacy
Be responsible to us
Think about our lives as a whole
Think carefully about how you use information about us
Put us in touch with the right people
Use your power to help
Make things happen when they should
Help us be safe
The Charter should be enacted daily in schools
The Pledge to Children
Children will:
- Get the help they need when they need it
- Be seen by a professional such as a teacher, doctor or social worker to make sure children are all right and not put at more risk
- Be listened to seriously, and professionals will use their power to help children
- Be able to discuss issues in private, if and when children want to
- Be involved with children and help them understand decisions made about their lives
- Provide children with a named adult to help them
Professionals will:
- Share information to protect children
- Minimise disruption to other parts of children's lives
- Work together effectively on children's behalf
- Be competent, confident, properly trained and supported
- Work to continually improve how and what is done to help children
Schools must consider how the Pledge will be fulfilled when children and young people need support.
This booklet provides advice for all staff working in schools and other education services on:
- Your role in keeping children and young people safe and well
- Signs that children and young people need help
- Confidentiality and sharing concerns
- How the school responds to concerns
- A strong school team keeping children safe and well
- The Safe and Well A-Z of issues requiring consideration for keeping children safe and well and protecting children
- Contacts
Throughout this document the term 'parent' should be taken to mean a child or young person's parent, guardian or carer
Help to keep us safe and well.
Your role in keeping children and young people safe and well
Every adult in Scotland has a role in ensuring all our children live safely and can reach their full potential. School staff provide support to children and young people in their daily work and have a vital role in helping protect them from harm.
School staff help keep children and young people safe and well by:
- Helping them learn about their personal safety
- Being a trusted adult who children and young people may turn to for help, and who will take them seriously
- Identifying when children and young people may need help
- Understanding the steps that must be taken when there are concerns for children's and young people's safety and well-being
Schools help keep children and young people safe and well where
- a caring school ethos helps children and young people feel respected
- staff are available and accessible to provide help, and at least one member of staff knows every child well
- safety is a priority
- children and young people are provided with the knowledge, skills and values they need to choose and maintain a healthy lifestyle
- children and young people are given access to information about child welfare and support services such as ChildLine
All schools have a Child Protection Co- ordinator who will co- ordinate the school's response to concerns for children and young people's safety and wellbeing. Every Education Authority has a designated officer for Child Protection who will ensure schools work effectively to keep children safe and well. Contact these staff if you have concerns.
If you have any concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child or young person, including a 'gut feeling', talk about this to the school's Child Protection Co-ordinator, or another member of staff.
Children and young people who need your help may be experiencing:
- Physical harm or injury
- Emotional hurt
- Fear
- Living conditions that are unacceptable
- Risk of long-term harm or immediate danger to health and mental and emotional wellbeing
Sometimes, children and young people need support to keep them safe and well. This may be because of the harm or neglect caused by others, or it may be because they are struggling to cope with difficulties in their lives or they are involved in activities that put themselves at risk.
It is every adult's responsibility to act when a child or young person needs support.
- Listen to children and young people. Be prepared to help them
- Share concerns with others when this is needed to keep children and young people safe and well
- Maintain a caring and supportive role for children and young people for as long as this is needed
Listen to young people. Be prepared to help them.
Signs that children and young people need help
Staff who get to know children and young people may observe changes or behaviours that may indicate that the child or young person needs help:
- the child's appearance suggests lack of care
- the mood of the child or young person has changed
- the behaviour of the child has changed
- the attendance of the child has changed
- there are signs of bruising, cuts or other injuries
- a child using sexual language or behaviour that is inappropriate for their age
- a young person sexually involved with much older people
- something the child or young person says or chooses to confide
You may also hear or receive reports that a child or young person is suspected of being in need of support from:
- Parents or relatives
- Other children or young people
- Members of the public
- Media reports - for example, of any local incidents or police involvement in connection with a child, their family or those close to them
Confidentiality and Sharing Concerns
If a child or young person seeks help, any member of staff that is approached should listen and discuss how the school can help them in the best way. School staff should ensure that there is time in the school day and private space within the school to enable and encourage children and young people to approach staff about their concerns.
School staff can respect confidentiality in most situations when children and young people seek support. If you are not sure whether to keep a confidence, you can approach your school Child Protection Co-ordinator to explain your concern initially without naming the child. You can decide together whether the matter is a child protection concern.
When a child or young person is at risk of abuse or neglect, confidentiality is not an option. You must share information with the Child Protection Co- ordinator or Headteacher, where this is necessary to protect a child or young person.
We understand that only a very few children and young people experiencing abuse have the confidence or the courage to tell an adult. Children and young people must feel confident that when they tell, they will be listened to and that adults will do as much as they can to help the child or young person.
You may maintain trust by explaining the need to pass the information on, and what is likely to happen. You may be involved in continuing to support the child or young person through any investigations that follow, as part of the school's support plan for the child or young person.
If a child or young person, or another person discloses that a child is at risk or being abused or neglected, you must
- Listen carefully, let the child or young person know he or she is believed and will be supported
- Ask only enough questions to gain basic information, and never ask leading questions
- Make no judgements or promises. Tell the person what you are going to do with the information
Listen carefuly.
How the school responds to concerns
If you have concerns, your first response must be
to inform your Child Protection Co- ordinator or Headteacher, without delay.
(School staff, as for any member of the public, may pass information direct to the social work department or the police if for any reason they do not wish to pass information to the CP Co-ordinator or Headteacher.)
Your Child Protection Co-ordinator is responsible for the action that the school will take. Their first consideration is to decide, with other staff and other agencies, what is in the best interests of the child or young person.
The Child Protection Co-ordinator will:
- Seek information from other agencies to decide on the level of concern
- Develop a plan to support the child or young person
- Support other agencies to conduct any investigation that is required
- Keep records to ensure the school can account for its actions
The Child Protection Co-ordinator may ask you to:
- Provide details for a report which the school will file. It is important schools record concerns carefully.
- Help the school to support the child or young person if he or she needs help, in partnership with other support staff and other agencies involved. Sometimes, it may be agreed that another member of staff should be the key support for the child.
- Act responsibly. Do not share information about the concerns, particularly with a child's friends or family, unless you are asked to do so by the Child Protection Co-ordinator.
- Be open to seeking personal support for yourself from your line manager. Dealing with concerns about children's safety and wellbeing can be stressful. You may be offered a de-briefing discussion to help you.
Work together to build confidence and trust throughout the school.
A Strong School Team Keeping Children and Young People Safe and Well
Schools are places where staff and children and young people work and learn together. It is essential that the school and all the staff are trusted. Lack of consideration for good practice can damage trust.
Staff can help build confidence and trust by observing some basic groundrules.
Respect privacy without compromising safety - when 1:1 meetings with children or young people are necessary, then if possible, have these in a room with visual access or the door open and/or with another adult in a nearby area.
Think carefully about physical contact - children and young people may need comfort when they are upset, but offering physical comfort must be carefully judged. Even with younger children, think about the context and circumstances before responding to a child's wishes for physical comfort. Show respect and ask the child or young person first.
Restraint or physical intervention is a last resort, only to be used when necessary to protect a child or others - your school and education authority guidelines on restraint or physical intervention should be observed, and in all situations, every effort should be made to defuse a situation before taking any action physically.
Dignity and privacy - Staff responsible for the personal care of disabled pupils should take care to provide privacy for the child or young person and respect his/her preferences for care, while ensuring other staff are aware of the care activities.
Appropriate relationships with children and young people - if a child or young person is becoming inappropriately attached to a member of staff, or a member of staff is developing feelings for the child or young person not appropriate to a professional relationship, then the advice of a senior colleague or the Head should be sought.
Be aware of language - Staff should be aware that remarks which some children and young people understand as fair and humorous can be viewed by others as hurtful and embarrassing. In particular, staff should avoid using humiliation or sarcasm as a form of discipline or to assert authority. Staff should model respect to their pupils.
Share concerns. A climate of openness in school is essential for everyone to work well together. The careless actions of one member of staff can affect the whole school, so all staff should report any concerns about their colleagues to a senior manager, for everyone's sake.
Promote personal safety education - There are many opportunities in school to enable children and young people to learn skills and knowledge to help keep themselves safe. This can take place within personal, social and health education, but many other activities help children and young people to build their resilience.
Throughout the school, it is possible to provide opportunities for children and young people to:
- Be aware of and able to weigh up risks and consequences
- Be skilled in asserting their needs and personal boundaries
- Be practiced in responding to others about behaviours they do not like
- Be confident and thoroughly understand their own importance
The Child Protection Co-ordinator, the Headteacher and the Education Authority should also have in place a range of policies which provide schools and staff with a framework for responding to children and young people's needs. All staff should attend training to enable them to play their role in keeping children safe and well.
All staff should attend training to enable them to play their role in keeping children safe and well.
A-Z of Practice Issues for Special Awareness
A number of activities in schools require special awareness of child protection, and some issues may crop up which require special attention. You should seek your school Child Protection Co-ordinator's advice on these issues, which are contained within the Safe and Well A-Z.
Additional Support Needs and Co-ordinated Support Plans
Administration of Medicines
Allegations Against Staff
Armed Forces - children whose parents are in the armed forces
Buildings for Children's Services and Community Use
Bullying and Young Abusers
Cameras, Filming and Image Messaging
Children Affected by Imprisonment
Children's Hearings
Collection of Young Children from Scotland
Community Service and Volunteering by Pupils
Computer Safety
Disclosure Checking
Disqualified from Working with Children
Domestic Abuse
Drug and Alcohol Misuse
Exclusion from school
Gypsy and Traveller Children
Hostels and Boarding for School Children
Home Education
Identification of Callers, Access to Information and Access to Schools
Intimate Care for Children and Young People with a Disability
Learning for Childcare and Parenting
Looked After Children
Meeting Pupils 1:1
Mental and Emotional Wellbeing, Self Harm and Suicide
Mentoring and Buddying
Minority Ethnic Communities - language, customs and practices, such as forced marriage
Mobile Phones
Parents
Personal Safety Education
Physical Education
Police Involvement
Recruitment
Residential Visits and School Trips
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Restraint/Physical Intervention
Services Arranged for Children by Education Authorities and Schools
Social Work Involvement
Supporting Children who are Victims or Witnesses in Court Proceedings
Supporting Communities and Schools After Incidents or Local Troubles
Supporting Pupils Involved in Child Protection Issues
Supporting Staff Involved in Child Protection Issues
Teenage Pregnancy and Under-age Sexual Activity
Volunteers, Parent Helpers and Visiting Speakers in School
Work Placements, Work Experience, Work-Based Vocational Training and School-Business Partnerships
Young Carers
Contacts
National Framework for Standards - protecting children and young people
Standard 1 Children get the help they need when they need it
Standard 2 All professionals, including school staff, take timely and effective action to protect children
Standard 3 All professionals, including school staff, ensure children are listened to and respected
Standard 4 All agencies and professionals, including schools and school staff, share information about children when it is necessary to protect them
Standard 5 All agencies and professionals, including schools and school staff, work together to assess needs and risks and develop effective plans
Standard 6 All professionals, including school staff, are competent and confident
Standard 7 All agencies, including schools, work in partnership with members of the community to protect children
Standard 8 All agencies, individually and collectively, including schools and their partners, demonstrate leadership and accountability for their work and its effectiveness