Child Protection Training November 2014

Child Protection Training Why do we need to do this? Our School is secure therefore all of our students are safe OR ARE THEY?

Security on the BSJ School Site We think our campus is secure. Security Guards are on site 24 hours a day. We have CCTV and more cameras have been placed on site. Staff are on duty all day when students are present. We have policies and procedures to help keep our students safe. Students themselves are educated, age appropriate, about how to be/keep safe BUT we can NEVER say our students are completely safe either on or off the school site.

The Reasons for Our Training Know what child abuse means Know what we do in BSJ to try to keep children safe Know why this is not always successful Know what the different types of abuse are Know what we should look out for – the signs of a student in difficulty Know what to do if we see a student in difficulty Know how to protect ourselves as well

Child Abuse Is: “Limiting or removing a child’s rights as a human being”. This can be done by an adult or another child. SAFEGUARDING: we identify signs and get in early to prevent abuse (we keep children safe) CHILD PROTECTION: know what to do when a child is in danger/being abused It is a JIGSAW: made up of many pieces – and we all have a part to play in putting this together

What we do to keep our Students Safe Bluebird drivers and chaperones Security throughout the school site Keeping our site well cared for and clean Providing healthy food for our students Teaching students in classrooms and activities Involving parents in education of their children Involving students so that they have a voice in what they do Training as appropriate for ALL who work with children The list above is not exhaustive

BUT this does NOT always keep our students safe Child abuse happens in all countries across the world: Wealthy and poor families All religions All nationalities To boys and girls At BSJ we ALL work with children so we all need to work together to try to keep our students safe. AND what of life outside School?

Children in danger in 2014 in the UK: 50,000 children on the child protection register because they are known to be “in danger” 600 are added to the register every week 450,000 are bullied in school every week 1 in 10 children suffer serious neglect or abuse 25% of all rape cases are of children And these are the children that the government knows about. What about the thousands who are not on these lists?

Who carries out this abuse? Most abuse is carried out by someone the child knows. In the UK a “Child line” survey of children calling about sexual abuse : 94% of children knew the person who abused them 59% were family members 35% were friends of the family ONLY 5% were strangers 22% of abuse was caused by the father 20% was caused by the mother

The Problems this Creates Children will tell about the 5% of abuse caused by strangers BUT NOT IF IT IS SOMEONE THEY KNOW (and they are often told to “keep it a secret”) because they love their mother and their father, their grandmother and grandfather, their older brother and sister. And who can they tell? Who will believe them? They place themselves in an imaginary world They “reveal” at the wrong time

Why does abuse happen? Sometimes children are on their own at home, feel isolated and become very unhappy Domestic violence and misuse of alcohol/drugs Parents who are unhappy in their marriage or partnership Overwork, tiredness and stress within a family Fostering and adoption can lead to problems Racism Mental illness Students with friendship issues; adolescence These are just some reasons which might cause abuse both intentionally and unintentionally. But there are many more as well.

The 5 Types of Abuse NEGLECT: Physical/psycholigical needs not met which damages health and development not enough food, clothing, housing; being left alone for a long time PHYSICAL: Hitting, shaking throwing a child/baby; sometimes even poisoning or burning a child or deliberately doing something else to damage a child’s health; “making up symptoms SEXUAL: forcing a child to take part in sexual activities; watching or taking part in pornographic DVD’s, films.

The 5 Types of Abuse EMOTIONAL: making a child feel that they are worthless, unvalued, unloved; Frightening, exploiting, corrupting a child BULLYING: this is the most common form of abuse in a school; children continually teasing, threatening, frightening and sometimes hitting other children. Sometimes people do not know that things they do “abuse” and hurt children but we must always know what we should look out for.

The Internet and mobile phones 91% of 5-15 have access to information on line some of which is against the law At school we block inappropriate sites but parents do not always do this at home 1/5 of all children put their home address and phone number on line 12% of children 8-11 and 25% of children age “chat” with people they do not know Children put photos of themselves on line Parents actively help their children get around the age restriction We sometimes have problems at school because: Students take photos and use these to bully other students Students use text messages to bully other students

What we should look out for Students who are arguing, using threatening behaviour A student who changes behaviour and attitude to school, friends A student who suddenly doesn’t want to take showers or swim A student who is always on their own in an isolated place A student who is crying in a toilet during lesson time A student taking photographs of another who is trying to “say no” Students who are kissing, cuddling – or smoking A student who changes their eating habits We need to be aware that sometimes students hurt themselves by making themselves sick or cutting themselves NOT just older students.

What to do if we are worried about a child ALWAYS REPORT IT! Go to your class teacher or Year Leader OR go to Central Administration, the Primary Office and ask to speak to a senior member of staff If a child is crying just ask “What is wrong?”, “Can I help?” If it is late in the afternoon or during the evening you MUST report what you have seen or heard within 24 hours If it is late Friday afternoon/evening you must still report it to a member of staff you trust and not wait until Monday Do NOT talk to friends and colleagues about what has happened

What to do if a child approaches you They want to tell you a secret and you must promise not to tell You can NEVER promise complete confidentiality If they will not speak, you MUST tell a member of staff – the class teacher or more senior If you are concerned about a child, you can only ask open questions: what happened, where did it happen, when did it happen ALWAYS record: key points, name/s given by the child, date, sign

What we must NOT do Forget to tell anyone Think that we are too busy Think that we don’t have time to report later on Think that it doesn’t matter because it is so small an incident Think that what we have heard cannot be true Try to protect a friend or colleague Be too frightened to report And you must NEVER promise to keep a secret! Often it is only a small incident or small bullying that we can sort out quickly so the children/students are happy again. BUT sometimes it is more and we need to know so that we can help the child/student.

AND I need to protect myself So I should never: Touch a child except with great caution Take a photograph of a child without permission Let a child take a photograph of me Speak to a child on a mobile phone without parental permission Be alone with a child in a room (without a window) Let a child leave the classroom/school without the teachers permission/knowledge

I Should Know That: I must have Child Protection Training at least once every 3 years I must always follow the School procedures The school will support me if I do this The Child Protection Officer is: Rachael Hodgson, Head of Secondary The Deputy Child Protection officer is: Louise Emmett, Deputy Head of Primary

I Should Know That BSJ has the following policies : Child Protection Policy: on website Anti Bullying Policy: on website Behaviour Management Policy: on website Physical Restraint Policy Whistleblowing Policy Complaints Policy: on website Safer Recruiting Policy

I Should Know That: We All Work Together We are all EQUAL and we work as a TEAM Bus drivers; chaperones; academic and administrative staff; sports coaches and all activity providers; catering staff; security staff; ground staff; governors; parents; contractors; maintenance staff - and all adults who work with our children and students. We ALL share responsibility for our children and students At BIS this means EVERYONE

Thank You The safety of our children and students is our PRIMARY concern.