Health And Social Care Level 3 Unit 516 Understand Safeguarding
Unit 516: understand safeguarding of children and young people
2.1
Safeguarding is the concept of protecting individuals from unnecessary harm which includes; ensuring the environment is safe, that rights and wishes are respected, that indicators of abuse are known, and that staff act on concerns by reporting in the agreed way. It is important to understand that anyone can be abused in any situation but to understand the level of safeguarding required, we must consider mental capacity and vulnerability to abuse. Individuals in care, the elderly, the young, and the disabled are more vulnerable to abuse because they require support in aspects of their lives. The more support an individual requires, the greater the opportunity to abuse. Additionally …show more content…
individuals may lack understanding, communication skills, or physical ability to defend themselves. It is therefore important that staff within care are trained to recognise signs of abuse and understand appropriate care and good practise, feel confident to report concerns.
Abuse is described as causing harm to others, and can be intentional (abuser knows it is wrong) or non-intentional (abuser may be unaware their actions are abusive). Those who are aware abuse is occurring and do not report it, are contributing to abuse taking place so are arguably called abusers themselves. Abuse may be a single act, or repeated acts. During legal proceedings, verdict will be determined by the amount and severity of abuse, and the intention behind it. Below are the 6 recognised types of abuse.
Physical – Actions resulting in pain or injury e.g. hitting or illegal use of restraint
Emotional – Actions that have a harmful effect on emotional well-being or development e.g. humiliation
Sexual – Sexual activity where the individual does not consent, lacks the capacity to consent, or has to be coerced. May involve penetration, non-penetrative acts, or non-contact acts such as forced viewing of pornography
Neglect and acts of omission – Failure to meet physical or psychological needs resulting in impaired health or development e.g. failure to provide adequate food
Financial abuse – Use of an individual’s money or financial assets where the individual does not consent, lacks the capacity to consent, or has to be coerced e.g.
theft or misusing power of attorney
Discriminatory – any abuse as described above, where the individual is being abused due to a difference as defined under the equality act e.g. physical abuse of an individual due to their race or ethnic origin.
Institutional – abuse as described above, where a group of individuals are subjected to poor standards within a service setting that effect their health or well-being e.g. No flexibility of medication times, or failure to resolve known poor practise
It is important to recognise that one form of abuse rarely stands alone. For example any individual facing physical or sexual abuse will also experience emotional abuse as a by-product. For this reason, it can be difficult to distinguish what abuse has taken place as some indicators may be the same, which is evidenced in the table below. Signs and symptoms of Abuse
Physical
Emotional
Sexual
Neglect and acts of omission
Financial
Discriminatory
Institutional
Sustaining repetitive and/or unusual injuries including cuts, bruising, burns, breaks, scalds etc
Displaying sexualised
behaviour
Being withdrawn and introvert – more quiet, nervous, anxious
Being extrovert - more vocal,
Weight loss/gain
Unwashed and unkempt appearance
Showing more concern over money, or not appearing to have enough, loss of possessions
Showing particular attention to one individual
Avoiding one individual
Using different language – more swearing, sexualised words, ‘adult’ phrases
Poor quality of accommodation, poor provision of services, mismanagement of medication
Failure to meet needs and wishes of the individual or expected standards of a public service
1.1
The first safeguards for those working with vulnerable individuals occurs at the recruitment stage where every worker undergoes an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Replacing the CRB check, the DBS check looks into your known criminal record including at spent and unspent convictions, information that is considered relevant to the workplace you are applying for i.e. children or adult, and checking if your name is registered on the barred lists. In 2000 The Care Standards Act introduced the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, which listed individuals who were deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults. Individuals on this list are barred from working with vulnerable people and the list was retained by the Department of Health. This has since been updated under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act in 2006, where the list is now held by the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
Organisations must also follow Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2014 which replaced Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, 2006. The act lays out these areas:
1. Safeguarding information for all staff: This details an organisations responsibility to ensure the safety of the individuals who access the service by; ensuring actions are taken if a service user is deemed at harm, promoting the welfare of service users, providing a safeguarding lead, providing a safe environment, providing safeguarding training for all staff to recognise signs of abuse, and ensuring all staff understand the organisational safeguarding procedure
2. The management of safeguarding: this details the responsibilities of governing bodies and proprietors to ensure organisations contribute to inter-agency working as part of Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013, providing safeguarding policies and procedures and staff codes of conduct, ensuring organisations are inspected (Ofsted and CQC)
3. Safer recruitment: highlights the process of DBS checks, obtaining references, keeping central records within the organisation of all staff and checks that have taken place, importance of supervision of any unchecked individuals such as volunteers or contractors
4. Allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff: details duties of the employer and employee when an internal safeguarding concern has been raised regarding investigation, reporting, information sharing and confidentiality, providing support for those involved, establishing timescales of action, and processes for suspension or dismissal.
2.2
Below is the outline of NSC’s Safeguarding procedure, 2011. It is important to understand that as well as a dealing with abuse, the college has a strong methods to support the prevention of abuse, including in the recruitment process, induction and training, internal compliance, risk assessments (environmental and individual to the student), behaviour plans, advocacy services, reviewing of systems, and maintaining records.
Process for disclosures and allegations
Respond: do not promise to keep a secret, do not react, listen patiently, clarify essential details (what, when, who, where), do not ask leading questions, do not make false promises
Assist: Keep the individual safe – ensure they do not come into contact with the alleged abuser until investigated, encourage individual to take next steps themselves and provide appropriate support, seek medical assistance if necessary
Preserve: do not confront alleged perpetrator, do allow access to area and keep any items that could be considered evidence
Report: report to safeguarding office within 2 hours, if officer unavailable report to on-call manager only if you feel immediate action is necessary, if on-call unavailable contact another senior manager, ensure that the person you are reporting to is not the alleged perpetrator
Process if you witness abuse
Additionally to process above; ensure individuals safety without endangering yourself, and contact the police if there is severe risk of harm
Process if concerned abuse is occurring/has occurred
Discuss with safeguarding officer/on-call/senior manager and take action as advised
Process for all cases
Report internally: staff must complete a significant event report for cases of suspected abuse and send to the safeguarding officer within 24 hours, a lot with any other notes or records made
Report externally: serious disclosures or allegations must be reported to the Local Authority Safeguarding Team (children or adults board), and staff need to take direction from the team. When a safeguarding incident involves another student the funding authority must be notified. Parents must also be notified of any investigation unless they are involved in the alleged abuse, or the individual is over 18 and has not consented to inform them.
Report to CQC: CQC must be notified immediately if a service user has died or was seriously injured, if the alleged perpetrator is a service user, or if the police have been involved.
Confidentiality: must be maintained wherever possible but key staff may need to be notified to en sure the situation is dealt with appropriately e.g nursing staff, residential manager, or psychology team
2.3
Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1991, children and young people have the right to be involved in all decisions surrounding their lives, have the right to be given accurate information to enable an informed decision, and have the right to have their opinions heard (article 11). However, when abuse is suspected or alleged, the most important consideration is what is in the best interest of the child and children have the right to be protect from harm (article 19). It must be considered whether they are in danger of harm, what options are available, possible consequences of actions, and capacity to understand. Therefore the decision to remove a child from their home must not be taken lightly, as children have the right to stay in their own home unless they are at risk and removal is in their best interest (articles 5, 8 and 9). The convention also includes the rights of children to be healthy and have their health needs met (article 24), to have a good standard of living (article 27) and to be given an education and have their education needs met (article 29). These rights link directly to neglect and acts of omission and physical abuse. Children also have the right to support after abuse has taken place (article 39). Parents also have rights when abuse is suspected or alleged. They have the right to be informed, to be listened to, to be involved in decision making, to be provided with a written outcome, and have the right to complain about an investigation or its outcome. However, the best interest of the child will always be paramount, so parents may not be given access to all the information, particularly if they are the alleged abusers. Both parents and children also have the right to be able to contact each other. Again, this will be removed if not in the best interest of the child.
Bibliography http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/adultsafeguarding/resource/2_study_area_3_0.html https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215956/dh_121571.pdf https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview Keeping Children Safe in Education, Department of Education, 2004, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300309/KCSIE_gdnce_FINAL.pdf
NSC Safeguarding procedure, 2011 http://www.staffsscb.org.uk/ParentsCarers/Information-for-Parents-and-Carers.aspx http://www.lawstuff.org.uk/the-facts/what-are-childrens-rights
Education
The Children Act 1989 and 2004
Education Act 2002
The Education (Health Standards) (England) Regulations 2003
The Further Education (Providers of Education) (England) (Regulations) 2006
The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Application of Enactment) (England)
Regulations 2007 as amended by SI 2010/1919, SI 2012/ 1201, SI 2012/1825, SI
2012/3158
The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 as amended by SI 2012/1740 and SI 2013/1940
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 as amended by SI 2012/2962
The Education (Non-Maintained Special Schools) (England) Regulations 2011
Police
Police Act 1997
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002, as amended
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (No 2) Regulations 2009, as amended
Other
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Equality Act 2010
The Common Law Duty of Care
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, as amended
2.1
Safeguarding is the concept of protecting individuals from unnecessary harm which includes; ensuring the environment is safe, that rights and wishes are respected, that indicators of abuse are known, and that staff act on concerns by reporting in the agreed way. It is important to understand that anyone can be abused in any situation but to understand the level of safeguarding required, we must consider mental capacity and vulnerability to abuse. Individuals in care, the elderly, the young, and the disabled are more vulnerable to abuse because they require support in aspects of their lives. The more support an individual requires, the greater the opportunity to abuse. Additionally …show more content…
individuals may lack understanding, communication skills, or physical ability to defend themselves. It is therefore important that staff within care are trained to recognise signs of abuse and understand appropriate care and good practise, feel confident to report concerns.
Abuse is described as causing harm to others, and can be intentional (abuser knows it is wrong) or non-intentional (abuser may be unaware their actions are abusive). Those who are aware abuse is occurring and do not report it, are contributing to abuse taking place so are arguably called abusers themselves. Abuse may be a single act, or repeated acts. During legal proceedings, verdict will be determined by the amount and severity of abuse, and the intention behind it. Below are the 6 recognised types of abuse.
Physical – Actions resulting in pain or injury e.g. hitting or illegal use of restraint
Emotional – Actions that have a harmful effect on emotional well-being or development e.g. humiliation
Sexual – Sexual activity where the individual does not consent, lacks the capacity to consent, or has to be coerced. May involve penetration, non-penetrative acts, or non-contact acts such as forced viewing of pornography
Neglect and acts of omission – Failure to meet physical or psychological needs resulting in impaired health or development e.g. failure to provide adequate food
Financial abuse – Use of an individual’s money or financial assets where the individual does not consent, lacks the capacity to consent, or has to be coerced e.g.
theft or misusing power of attorney
Discriminatory – any abuse as described above, where the individual is being abused due to a difference as defined under the equality act e.g. physical abuse of an individual due to their race or ethnic origin.
Institutional – abuse as described above, where a group of individuals are subjected to poor standards within a service setting that effect their health or well-being e.g. No flexibility of medication times, or failure to resolve known poor practise
It is important to recognise that one form of abuse rarely stands alone. For example any individual facing physical or sexual abuse will also experience emotional abuse as a by-product. For this reason, it can be difficult to distinguish what abuse has taken place as some indicators may be the same, which is evidenced in the table below. Signs and symptoms of Abuse
Physical
Emotional
Sexual
Neglect and acts of omission
Financial
Discriminatory
Institutional
Sustaining repetitive and/or unusual injuries including cuts, bruising, burns, breaks, scalds etc
Displaying sexualised
behaviour
Being withdrawn and introvert – more quiet, nervous, anxious
Being extrovert - more vocal,
Weight loss/gain
Unwashed and unkempt appearance
Showing more concern over money, or not appearing to have enough, loss of possessions
Showing particular attention to one individual
Avoiding one individual
Using different language – more swearing, sexualised words, ‘adult’ phrases
Poor quality of accommodation, poor provision of services, mismanagement of medication
Failure to meet needs and wishes of the individual or expected standards of a public service
1.1
The first safeguards for those working with vulnerable individuals occurs at the recruitment stage where every worker undergoes an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Replacing the CRB check, the DBS check looks into your known criminal record including at spent and unspent convictions, information that is considered relevant to the workplace you are applying for i.e. children or adult, and checking if your name is registered on the barred lists. In 2000 The Care Standards Act introduced the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, which listed individuals who were deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults. Individuals on this list are barred from working with vulnerable people and the list was retained by the Department of Health. This has since been updated under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act in 2006, where the list is now held by the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
Organisations must also follow Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2014 which replaced Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, 2006. The act lays out these areas:
1. Safeguarding information for all staff: This details an organisations responsibility to ensure the safety of the individuals who access the service by; ensuring actions are taken if a service user is deemed at harm, promoting the welfare of service users, providing a safeguarding lead, providing a safe environment, providing safeguarding training for all staff to recognise signs of abuse, and ensuring all staff understand the organisational safeguarding procedure
2. The management of safeguarding: this details the responsibilities of governing bodies and proprietors to ensure organisations contribute to inter-agency working as part of Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013, providing safeguarding policies and procedures and staff codes of conduct, ensuring organisations are inspected (Ofsted and CQC)
3. Safer recruitment: highlights the process of DBS checks, obtaining references, keeping central records within the organisation of all staff and checks that have taken place, importance of supervision of any unchecked individuals such as volunteers or contractors
4. Allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff: details duties of the employer and employee when an internal safeguarding concern has been raised regarding investigation, reporting, information sharing and confidentiality, providing support for those involved, establishing timescales of action, and processes for suspension or dismissal.
2.2
Below is the outline of NSC’s Safeguarding procedure, 2011. It is important to understand that as well as a dealing with abuse, the college has a strong methods to support the prevention of abuse, including in the recruitment process, induction and training, internal compliance, risk assessments (environmental and individual to the student), behaviour plans, advocacy services, reviewing of systems, and maintaining records.
Process for disclosures and allegations
Respond: do not promise to keep a secret, do not react, listen patiently, clarify essential details (what, when, who, where), do not ask leading questions, do not make false promises
Assist: Keep the individual safe – ensure they do not come into contact with the alleged abuser until investigated, encourage individual to take next steps themselves and provide appropriate support, seek medical assistance if necessary
Preserve: do not confront alleged perpetrator, do allow access to area and keep any items that could be considered evidence
Report: report to safeguarding office within 2 hours, if officer unavailable report to on-call manager only if you feel immediate action is necessary, if on-call unavailable contact another senior manager, ensure that the person you are reporting to is not the alleged perpetrator
Process if you witness abuse
Additionally to process above; ensure individuals safety without endangering yourself, and contact the police if there is severe risk of harm
Process if concerned abuse is occurring/has occurred
Discuss with safeguarding officer/on-call/senior manager and take action as advised
Process for all cases
Report internally: staff must complete a significant event report for cases of suspected abuse and send to the safeguarding officer within 24 hours, a lot with any other notes or records made
Report externally: serious disclosures or allegations must be reported to the Local Authority Safeguarding Team (children or adults board), and staff need to take direction from the team. When a safeguarding incident involves another student the funding authority must be notified. Parents must also be notified of any investigation unless they are involved in the alleged abuse, or the individual is over 18 and has not consented to inform them.
Report to CQC: CQC must be notified immediately if a service user has died or was seriously injured, if the alleged perpetrator is a service user, or if the police have been involved.
Confidentiality: must be maintained wherever possible but key staff may need to be notified to en sure the situation is dealt with appropriately e.g nursing staff, residential manager, or psychology team
2.3
Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1991, children and young people have the right to be involved in all decisions surrounding their lives, have the right to be given accurate information to enable an informed decision, and have the right to have their opinions heard (article 11). However, when abuse is suspected or alleged, the most important consideration is what is in the best interest of the child and children have the right to be protect from harm (article 19). It must be considered whether they are in danger of harm, what options are available, possible consequences of actions, and capacity to understand. Therefore the decision to remove a child from their home must not be taken lightly, as children have the right to stay in their own home unless they are at risk and removal is in their best interest (articles 5, 8 and 9). The convention also includes the rights of children to be healthy and have their health needs met (article 24), to have a good standard of living (article 27) and to be given an education and have their education needs met (article 29). These rights link directly to neglect and acts of omission and physical abuse. Children also have the right to support after abuse has taken place (article 39). Parents also have rights when abuse is suspected or alleged. They have the right to be informed, to be listened to, to be involved in decision making, to be provided with a written outcome, and have the right to complain about an investigation or its outcome. However, the best interest of the child will always be paramount, so parents may not be given access to all the information, particularly if they are the alleged abusers. Both parents and children also have the right to be able to contact each other. Again, this will be removed if not in the best interest of the child.
Bibliography http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/adultsafeguarding/resource/2_study_area_3_0.html https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215956/dh_121571.pdf https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview Keeping Children Safe in Education, Department of Education, 2004, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300309/KCSIE_gdnce_FINAL.pdf
NSC Safeguarding procedure, 2011 http://www.staffsscb.org.uk/ParentsCarers/Information-for-Parents-and-Carers.aspx http://www.lawstuff.org.uk/the-facts/what-are-childrens-rights
Education
The Children Act 1989 and 2004
Education Act 2002
The Education (Health Standards) (England) Regulations 2003
The Further Education (Providers of Education) (England) (Regulations) 2006
The Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Application of Enactment) (England)
Regulations 2007 as amended by SI 2010/1919, SI 2012/ 1201, SI 2012/1825, SI
2012/3158
The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 as amended by SI 2012/1740 and SI 2013/1940
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 as amended by SI 2012/2962
The Education (Non-Maintained Special Schools) (England) Regulations 2011
Police
Police Act 1997
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002, as amended
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (No 2) Regulations 2009, as amended
Other
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Equality Act 2010
The Common Law Duty of Care
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, as amended