Safeguarding & Child Protection
Policy & Procedures

Introduction:

DCL Early Years Services Ltd carries out activities which brings our staff into regular contact with children. This includes providing our services into the client’s home and at the home of the Director. It also includes online services, in which teaching/tuition is provided by a human teacher/tutor over the Internet. DCL Early Years Services Ltd takes its responsibilities to safeguard and protect the interests of all young children very seriously.

Definitions:

You are referred to as ‘the Client’. You agree to the purchase of our services on behalf of ‘the Child’. The Child is the person who receives our service through sessions of tutoring, teaching or childcare.

The term “DCL Early Years Services Ltd” or “us/we/our” refers to the Director of DCL Early Years Services Ltd.

A “child” is anyone under the age of 18.

Scope of this policy:

This policy applies to those who are in one way or another connected to the work of DCL Early Years Services Ltd.

Purpose and aims of this policy:

To protect children and young people who receive services through DCL Early Years Services Ltd.

Equality

All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have a right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

Legal considerations:

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect children, namely:

Children Act (1989)
Data Protection Act (1998) and GDPR (2018)
Human Rights Act (1998)
Sexual Offences Act (2003)
Children Act (2004)
The Protection of Freedoms Act (2012)
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006)
Children and Families Act (2014)
Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations (2003)
Protection of Children Act (1999)/Criminal Justice and Court Services Act (2000)
Care Standards Act (2000)
The Police Act (1997)
The Children (Protection from Offenders) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (1997)
The United Convention on the Rights of the Child (1991)
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974)
Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974)

Criminal Records and Staff Training:

Our staff must hold an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and have regular safeguarding training. This includes FGM and Prevent Duty.

DCL Early Years Services Ltd actively promote British values to comply with the Prevent duty. British values are democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of others.

Planning:

All activities or assignments involving children should be planned in advance to ensure they take into account the age range and ability of the participants.

Lost / Missing Child Procedures:

DCL Early Years Services Ltd will meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and Childcare Registers by taking the following steps to minimise the risk of children becoming lost whilst in our care by:

Ensuring that we supervise children closely when visiting places in the community such as the local parks, museums, and shops (Please see The Risk Assessment Policy and Procedure).
Ensure children know to stay close to the staff member while on outings, assessing children's stage of development to ensure the required level of supervision is in place.
Carrying a mobile phone at all times.
Teach children about how to keep safe so that they also know the procedure to take should, in the unlikely event, they become separated from the staff member.
Teach children on the dangers of wandering off.
Encourage children to walk with the staff member by holding hands or the pushchair.
Advise children what to do if they find themselves lost.
With parental consent carry an up-to-date photograph of the children in our care.

In the unlikely event of a child going missing the following procedure will be implemented:

Immediately make a search of the surrounding area.
Request help from people nearby.
If in a public building, we will alert the staff of the situation and ask for assistance in searching for the missing child.
If in a place where it is possible to seal off exits and access CCTV, then we will request that this is done immediately.
People involved in the search will be given a description of the child and what the child is wearing.
If the child remains missing, the parents will always be contacted and kept informed.
At this point – no later than 10 minutes after the incident - the police will be contacted, and the matter will be treated as an emergency.
A second search will be carried out while waiting for the police to arrive.
Staff will then wait for the police to arrive and follow their instructions.
After the incident, a full written report will be made, and Ofsted would be contacted informing them of the incident.

Physical Contact:

Physical contact is only required to prevent accident or injury to themselves or anyone else (e.g. to prevent a fall), or in the case of medical assistance being needed (e.g. to administer first aid), or to provide nursing or other general care, in which case the prior consent of the affected person should be requested where possible. Where appropriate, consent from parents or those with parental or caring responsibility should be obtained.

If a child is hurt or distressed, the staff member should do his/her best to comfort or reassure the affected person without compromising his/her dignity or doing anything to discredit the person’s own behaviour. The staff member should inform the parent or guardian at the earliest possible time.

Communication:

Communication with children is vital in establishing relationships built on trust. Those working with children should listen to what they are saying and respond appropriately. Children are entitled to the same respect as any adult. It should also be made clear to them what standards of behaviour and mutual respect are expected from them.

Those working with children should behave appropriately, ensure that language is moderated in their presence and should refrain from adult jokes or comments which are clearly unsuitable.

Technology:

DCL Early Years Services Ltd are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office - ICO - as a data handler.

If tutoring or teaching online, staff must make it clear to the Client how their online service is delivered, and the nature of the technology used. Videos should be switched on so that both Client and staff member can be seen during the lesson. Clients are not permitted to record lessons. If a staff member requires recorded footage of a session, he or she must gain permission from the Client beforehand.

Behaviour and Abuse:

We should all aim to promote an environment of trust and understanding. Those working with children should not tolerate unsociable behaviour and should try to ensure good working relationships.

The staff of DCL Early Years Services Ltd have a strict duty never to subject any child to any form of harm or abuse. This means that it is unacceptable, for example, to treat a child in any of the following ways:

to cause distress by shouting or calling them derogatory names
to slap
to hold them in such a way that it causes pain
to shake them
to physically restrain them except to protect them from harming themselves or others
to take part in horseplay or rough games
to allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any kind
to do things of a personal nature for the person that they can do for themselves (this includes changing clothing, or going to the toilet with them unless another adult is present)
to allow or engage in sexually suggestive behaviour within a person’s sight or hearing, or make suggestive remarks to or within earshot
to give or show anything which could be construed as pornographic
to seek or agree to meet them anywhere outside of the normal workplace without the full prior knowledge and agreement of the parent, guardian or carer.
to engage with them online in an unacceptable manner.

It is illegal for a staff member to enter into a sexual relationship with a student, even if the student is over the age of consent (i.e. over 16). Our Staff, like schoolteachers, are operating in a similar position of trust and thus must also abide by this law.

Suspicions of abuse:

Allegations against a staff member who may have behaved in a way that has or may have harmed a child, or committed a criminal office either against or related to a child, or behaved towards a child in a way that suggests he or she is unsuitable to work with children, should be reported immediately to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) or DCPO (Designated Child Protection Officer) in the local authority where the incident is alleged to have taken place.

Child Protection Incidents:

A Child Protection incident usually includes some (but not all) of the following scenarios.

a staff member receives some information about a child or young person either from the child directly or from another source, which could potentially cause serious harm to the child, either physically or psychologically.
a staff member observes a situation (e.g. risk in a child’s environment which could potentially cause serious physical or psychological harm).
a company/agency and/or parent receives information about a staff member either from the child directly or from another source, that could potentially cause serious harm to the child, either physically or psychologically.

Recording a Child Protection Incident:

All Child Protection incidents must be recorded. It is essential to:

Speak individually with all parties concerned
Write a record of all conversations
Write up all telephone conversations with a written report to send to LADO/Child Protection Unit (at the local authority where the incident took place) who will deal with the allegation.

All allegations should be dealt with expeditiously, thoroughly, fairly and with common sense and professional judgement. Any investigation should be carried out as quickly as possible and a decision reached as to whether the allegation is borne out or not supported. Dependent on this the outcome of the investigation could have one of three outcomes:

Unsubstantiated,
Substantiated in part or in whole but can be dealt with by disciplinary procedures.
Substantiated and requiring formal referral in the first instance to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) or DCPO (Designated Child Protection Officer.)

Safety:

The safety of the people we work with is paramount and we are committed to providing a safe environment within which to work. Those working with children should ensure all appropriate risk assessments and security checks have been carried out prior to any assignment.

Any equipment used must be safe and only used for the purpose for which it is intended. Users should be adequately trained. Appropriate insurance should be up-to-date and adequate to cover such assignments.

Confidentiality:

All personal information regarding children is highly confidential and should only be shared with appropriate people on a need to know basis. Information is stored in the Director's’ home or via a secure online file hosting service.

Anyone who is likely to have access to confidential material regarding children, or any of the bodies on behalf of whom DCL Early Years Services Ltd is working, may be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The requirement for confidentiality is emphasised.

Document retention:

DCL Early Years Services Ltd will:

Keep information about children and their families related to the safeguarding and child protection/ welfare requirements in the EYFS until the child is 21 years and 3 months old for insurance purposes.
Keep information relating to the learning and development requirements until the client withdraws from our services. Photos of the child will be handed over to parents or destroyed unless we have specific written permission from parents to keep them (this permission may be recalled at any time).

If we have a safeguarding concern about a child, the information we may need to record and retain on file includes:

Child’s name and date of birth
Child’s address
Date and time of the record
Factual details as presented to you by the child or a witness
Details of any previous concerns
Parent comments relating to, for example, the injury or incident
Action taken as a result of the disclosure
Follow-up records such as a list of other agencies and professionals involved, with dates and times of contact.

Other relevant information might also be attached to a referral such as:

Accident and first aid record forms
Incident record forms
Accident and injury at home record forms
Documents relating to the child’s care

Contact outside of work:

Contact should not be made with any of the children with whom we are working for any reason unrelated to the particular work.

Gifts and inducements:

On no account should anyone from DCL Early Years Services Ltd give a child a gift or buy refreshments etc which could be in any way considered as a bribe or inducement to enter into a relationship with the DCL Early Years Services Ltd person or give rise to any false allegations of improper conduct against the individual.

Pre-Existing Injuries:

Parents must inform DCL Early Years Services Ltd about any marks including bruises or head injuries their child has sustained at home before coming into our care.

Communicating this policy and concerns:

Those working with DCL Early Years Services Ltd will be made aware of this policy.

Furthermore, a copy of this policy will be made available to all relevant bodies with whom we work and will be made available to parents and carers of children with whom we plan to work.

Breach of this policy:

Failure to follow the guidelines in this policy is considered a serious offence and will be investigated thoroughly.

"Registered providers must inform Ofsted of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by any person living, working, or looking after children at the premises (whether the allegations relate to harm or abuse committed on the premises or elsewhere). Registered providers must also notify Ofsted of the action taken in respect of the allegations. These notifications must be made as soon as is reasonably practicable, but at the latest within 14 days of the allegations being made. A registered provider who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with this requirement, commits an offence." - EYSF

Implementation, monitoring and review of this policy:

The Directors of DCL Early Years Services Ltd have equal responsibility for implementing and monitoring this policy, which will be reviewed on a regular basis following its implementation (at least annually) and additionally whenever there are relevant changes in legislation or to our working practices.

"If providers have concerns about children's safety or welfare, they must notify agencies with statutory responsibilities without delay. This means the local children's social care services and, in emergencies, the police." -EYFS

This policy has been drawn up with guidance from The Tutors’ Association and Childcare.co.uk.

Any queries or comments about this policy should be addressed to either Danielle Costello, the Director and Owner of DCL Early Years Services Ltd.

Updated: 6th May 2020

Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy & Procedures