Eastbourne College Child Protection Policy

1.             GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.1.         Eastbourne College exists to provide the best possible education for boys and girls in a safe and supportive environment. It is a community rather than an institution, where the welfare of the child is paramount. All children and young people at the College have a right to protection from neglect and abuse.

The School is an independent school and a registered charity. As such, it is a private self-regulating community which is entitled to act in accordance with its own policies and procedures, subject always to the general law.

1 .2.        The School’s first priority at all times is the welfare of pupils, in the context that the Governors, teachers and other employees owe a range of duties, such as:

•             To pupils, under statutory obligations and in tort

•             To privately paying parents in contract and tort

•             To its staff under employment legislation

•             To the School’s insurers

•             Under charity law and to the Charity Commission under the terms of its charitable purposes

•             A large range of compliance obligations under the general criminal and civil law, for instance the Data Protection Acts 1984 and 1998, Human Rights Act 1998.

1.3.         The School is subject to statutory provision of care of all children under the Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters, and the Children Act 1989 which states that independent schools that provide accommodation for children have a duty to safeguard and promote their welfare. In addition to the regular inspections of its care provision by OFSTED all professionals working in the education sector have a duty to ensure that Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures are followed.

1.4.         Sometimes the duties of Governors or staff may conflict. In particular, their duties:

•             To ensure that any child protection investigation is carried out effectively,

•             As employer to raise any alleged misconduct with the employee as soon as possible and in sufficient detail to enable him/her to understand the allegation, take informed legal advice and prepare any defence;

•             Of confidentiality to each pupil and his/her parents, particularly where the allegation of abuse appears to be based on very tenuous evidence, if any;

•              As charity trustees to preserve the assets of the School so that it continues in  existence to fulfil the purposes for which it was established.

1 .5.        There is often the risk of pupils suddenly being withdrawn and of the School’s reputation being irreparably damaged if an allegation of abuse is made public but the investigation carried out eventually results in a finding that the allegation of abuse is unsubstantiated. In those circumstances, the School would have only very limited effective remedies available to obtain redress from the investigating authorities.

1.6.         The School will act to safeguard its reputation and its financial and other interests whenever this is consistent with safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils in its care.

1.7.         The Principles that make up this Child Protection Policy apply to each member of staff and, where appropriate, to pupils and parents. Everyone has the responsibility for the protection of children and young people.

2.             ABUSE

2.1          The School will initiate the Child Protection Procedures where:

•             there has been actual or alleged abuse…

•             relating to a pupil at the School (or, where appropriate, a former pupil)…

•             allegedly committed by any person, including another pupil, a parent, carer, relative or friend or a member of staff...

•             whether on or off school premises, and whether during term time or holidays.

2.2.         Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Abuse can include physical, emotional, and sexual acts. Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006)

2.3.         Possible signs of abuse include (but are not limited to):

•             The pupil says he/she has been abused

•             There is no reasonable or consistent explanation for injuries

•             The injury is unusual in kind or location

•             There have been a number of injuries

•             There is a pattern to the injuries

•             The pupil’s behaviour stands out from the group, which can mean extreme model behaviour as well as extremely challenging behaviour

•             The pupil’s development is delayed

•             The pupil loses or gains weight

•             There is a sudden change in the pupil

•             The pupil is openly rejected by his/her parents or carers

•             The pupil appears neglected e.g dirty, hungry, inadequately clothed

•             The pupil is reluctant to go home

3.             PRIOR HISTORY OF ABUSE

3.1.         Some pupils may have been abused before they came to the School, which makes it all the more important to ensure that they are protected from abuse whilst they are in our care. They may have been afraid to report what happened to them before, or they may have reported but were not believed. The School is particularly aware that sometimes these pupils are more vulnerable to further abuse than those who have never been victims in the past.

3.2.         The previous experiences of these pupils will also contribute to their current emotional and behavioural difficulties. They will often exhibit extremely challenging behaviour which may take the form of attention seeking and disruption. Most of our pupils are ‘street wise’ and well aware of that allegation of child abuse will be taken very seriously and may have lasting consequences for individual members of staff and for the School. Where a pupil feels frustrated or angry and lacks the skills or willingness to express him/herself more appropriately, s/he may be tempted to make a false allegation of abuse. 

4.             DESIGNATED MEMBER OF STAFF

4.1.         The designated member of staff responsible for Child Protection (CPO) is the Deputy Head.  The school has a responsibility to ensure the CPO is appropriately trained.

4.2          The role of the CPO includes the following responsibilities:

·        To provide the point of contact for staff who have concerns or information that a child or young person may be suffering abuse now, or has done in the past or is likely to  in the future, 

·        To make any necessary referrals to social services and police

·        To ensure the school/college or service contributes fully to the child protection process 

5.             ACTION TO BE TAKEN IN CASES OF ABUSE 

5.1          All staff have a duty to be vigilant to the indicators of abuse and to refer concerns to the CPO. The abuse of children and young people is a crime.  It is not the role of the staff to investigate, but staff should be clear about the procedure for reporting to the designated person (see Investigation Procedure) :

·        any concerns that a child or young person is suffering or is likely to be suffering some form of abuse,

·        any allegations of abuse against staff

·        any disclosures of abuse.       

5.2.         Where abuse is alleged or suspected, the School’s first response is to safeguard the welfare of the pupil/s in question.

5.3          A referral should be made within 24 hours (in writing or with a written acknowledgement of a telephoned referral) of allegations or suspicions of abuse to the local social services department.

5.4          The School and/or outside agencies (as appropriate) will carry out a full and prompt investigation. There are three strands to the investigation:

•             The welfare of the pupil

•             Whether a criminal offence has been committed

•             Whether any member of staff is guilty of misconduct under his/her contract of employment.

5.5          If the allegation is against a member of staff and/or is sexual in nature then the member of staff may be suspended pending further investigations.

5.6          Those members of staff disclosing information regarding abuse by colleagues towards pupils will be protected under the College’s Whilstleblowing policy.

5.7          Those with parental responsibility for the pupil e.g. parents, guardians or the local authority (if in care) are normally:

•             Kept fully informed about the investigation;

•             Advised of their option to contact social service or the police themselves; and

•             Consulted for their views about the action to be taken by the School.

This will not apply to a person with parental responsibility against whom the allegation of abuse has been made.

5.8          The School aims to do all it can to establish a basis of easy co-operation with the relevant authorities in any child protection matter. However, the School has the right at any time to:

•             Respond to enquiries from the media about the progress of a child protection investigation, subject to the School’s duties of confidentiality;

•             Continue to deal with any educational and civil matters, such as outstanding fees.

6.             RECORD KEEPING 

6.1          Record keeping is an important element of the child protection process and the College has a clear policy regarding the making and keeping of notes and records. In addition staff should be aware of the requirement to record:

·        The reason for the concern

·        What was said or witnessed

·        Dates and times of incidents

·        Date and time when notes were made

Notes should be passed to the CPO who will keep all child protection records in a locked cabinet. Such records form evidence and may be used in the child protection investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings. 

7.             INTERNAL INVESTIGATION

7.1.         When responding to an allegation of child abuse, the School will act at all times in the spirit and ethos of current and developing child protection guidelines and best practice.

7.2.         The School will act in accordance with specific national and/or local procedures unless these would place the School, its Governors ,the Deputy Head or the Head unnecessarily into conflict with any of their other relevant duties.

7.3.         Primarily, this means that the School will undertake its own investigation of an allegation of possible child abuse where:

•             The allegation, if proved, would not amount to a serious criminal offence; or

•             Outside agencies have already carried out their own initial investigation and the matter has been passed to the CPS with a view to prosecution

7.4.         The Deputy Head, in consultation with the Head is normally the person responsible for carrying out any child protection investigation, and for making relevant decisions. However, where an allegation is made against the Head or the Deputy Head, the investigation will be carried out by a senior member of staff or by one of the Governors.

7.5.         Among the many possible outcomes of an internal investigation are:

•             The matter will be referred to an outside agency, such as social services or the police;

•             There is no or insufficient evidence to justify proceeding further;

•             There has been misconduct and/or poor performance by a member of staff, involving the School’s disciplinary or capability procedures or, in a serious case, leading to dismissal and/or a formal misconduct report.

8.             CONFIDENTIALITY

8.1          Staff cannot keep confidential a disclosure of abuse and must refer the matter on to the CPO.

8.2          All referrals should be made with the knowledge that during any subsequent investigation the source will be made known to the family. 

8.3          Other staff may need to be alerted to concerns about a child or young person, possibly in order to monitor the concern or to gather further evidence prior to a referral being made, or to assist in providing appropriate support to a child or young person once after a referral has been made. Information should only be shared on a strict need to know basis.  

9.             WORKING WITH OUTSIDE AGENCIES 

9.1          The school will work in partnership with Social Services and Police and other LSCB member agencies, sharing appropriate information to assist the investigative process. The college will contribute to any subsequent care plan.

 10.          Other policies 

10.1        The school will have regard to child protection guidance when developing other policies, in particular:

·        Staff recruitment and training

·        Pastoral Care

·        Discipline and behaviour

·        Curriculum; PSHE, Sex Education.

 Local Agency contact numbers:

LEA Lead Officer: Richard Munro:           01272 481588

Child protection Register:                             01323 466606

Out of hours                                                       01273 819179

Police                                                                    0845 6070999

 Further reading:

 Working together to Safeguard Children ( DFES,2006)

The Children Act 1989

The Assessment Framework (DOH, DFES, HO 2000)

What to do if you are worried a child is being abused (DOH, DFES, HO 2006)

DfES Circular Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2006)

LSCB Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures(2006)