As stated on the Department for
Education website: Every Child
Matters is a set of reforms
supported by the Children Act
2004. Its aim is for every child,
whatever their background or
circumstances, to have the
support they need to
be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and
achieve, make a positive contribution,
achieve economic well-being
Here ‘staying safe’ incorporates
effective child protection,
emphasising the importance of
early intervention.
Green Paper, Every Child Matters , which sets out the
Government’s proposals for reforming the delivery of
services for children, young people and families. It
builds on existing measures to ensure that we protect
children at risk of harm and neglect from negative
outcomes and support all children to develop their full
potential.
Sure Start, raising school standards, and progress
made towards eradicating child poverty. This Green
Paper sets out our existing plans to build on these
successes through: Creating Sure Start Children’s
Centres in each of the 20 percent most deprived
neighbourhoods. These combine nursery
education, family support, employment advice,
childcare and health services on one site
Safegaurding involves protecting
children from various situations such as
- Abuse and neglect which can harm children,
either through imminent danger of
sudden death or serious injury in
chaotic living conditions, or from the
developmental harm caused by
protracted neglect – as well as the
traumatic effects on a child of physical
assault or emotional or sexual abuse
‘Safeguarding and promoting’ is:
Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing impairment of
children’s health or development
Ensuring that children are
growing up in circumstances
consistent with the provision of
safe and effective care
Undertaking that role so as to
enable those children to have
optimum life chances and to
enter adulthood successfully
It is often hard for children to disclose verbally
that they are being abused or neglected. Ofen
practitioners will assess that abuse is happening
through child's behaviour or physiological signs
Some children may just tell someone about their
anxieties or about something that is happening to them.
Noticing things about their behaviour or appearance. It is
not necessary to be an ‘expert’ on identifying signs of
abuse; in fact, there are rarely definitive indicators, and
usually a broad assessment of children and young people
is required.
it is important that practitioners have (and perhaps everyone
has) some awareness of possible signs of concern and are
open to the idea that serious harm could be one explanation
for something observed.
These are some points to be mindful of if a
child tries to tell you about something harmful
or troubling happening to him or her
Take what the child says seriously
and acknowledge they have done well
to tell you about it, •Do not guarantee
confidentiality – you will have to pass
the information on, but you can try to
involve the child in discussion about
how you will do this, •No matter what
you may feel inside, react calmly in
order to reassure the child,
•Encourage the child to convey what
is on her or his mind, but do not ask
closed questions, that is, questions
leading to a yes or no answer, or
leading questions, e.g. ‘Was it your
dad who did it?’, •If you are not clear
what the child is telling you, check
with the child that you have
understood what has happened. Try
to use the child’s own words (e.g.
‘Can I just check that you are saying
such and such?’)
•Explain to the child what you will do next,
•Make a detailed written note at the time or
immediately afterwards – this should be
handwritten without delay to include words and
phrases used by the child and your observations
about their presentation, e.g. the child was
trembling at first.
Examples from "Signs of concern clips"
LG 13 (Neglect, physical, emotional and
sexual abuse)
After identifying child abuse or neglect it is
crucial for the professionals to seek facts not
assumptions.
Insufficient "listening" especially to the child has
been a critism of many professionals including in
the Victoria Climbi case as mentioned by Lord
Laming
Activities by the lead professional
in the case should be based on
Hearing the child- through words but also
deteriaration in mood (often noticied in
schools)
Physiological signs of distress
Hearing concerns of other professionals
Hearing concerns of other professionals
Engaging with the parents and primary carers
Child protectors (part 1) - mentions that as well as knowledge of
law and procedures and support from her manager, social
workers need certain skills such as negotiation and the ability to
engage with a family in difficult situations.
The wider family was approached in this example to see if
they could look after the children and they were placed with
their grandmother