Safeguarding
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is everyone’s responsibility.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play.
In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all commissioners and providers should make sure their approach is child-centred and strength based. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child or young person.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children (all young people under the age of 18) is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
- protecting children from maltreatment
- preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
All staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn. Further information in relation to keeping children safe can be found at Lincolnshire’s Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) including access to a range of advice and policies, training and resources.
Commissioning schools must satisfy themselves that alternative provision providers are compliant with the statutory guidance keeping children safe in education. A key part of this process should be school staff ensuring that staff at the registered alternative provision have appropriate checks, for example Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
- give providers good quality information in writing about the school's expectations for child protection and procedures they should follow if they have a concern about a pupil. Support them to access safeguarding CPD
- undertake good quality risk assessments jointly with the provider, covering both the activity itself and the pupil in the context of the activity. Check that health and safety measures are securely in place
- ensure that all other relevant information is shared with providers, including any information on special educational needs, literacy, behaviours that challenge, strategies that have worked in the past, aptitudes and interests
- ensure arrangements are in place for working with other relevant services such as social care, mental health services, youth offending teams and drug support services. Where a pupil has an EHC plan, ensure that you liaise with the local authority and inform the SEND team that the pupil is accessing an alternative provision placement
The role of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) (chapter 2 paragraph 4) and is governed by the local authorities duties under section 11 of the Children Act 2004.
Statutory guidance places a responsibility on organisations to contact the LADO within one working day where it is alleged that a member of staff or volunteer who works with children has:
- behaved in a way that has harmed a child or, may have harmed a child
- possibly committed a criminal offence against a child or related to a child
- behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates that they may pose a risk of harm to children
- behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children
Managing allegations of abuse made against persons who work with children and young people provides further information from the LSCP regarding key roles and responsibilities and the actions that should be taken.