One of, if not the most important role a teacher must play in a child’s life is to protect and prevent their pupils from harm. Teachers are both morally and legally responsible for providing children with a safe and simulating learning environment. (TS1a) (DfE, 2013) Teachers must defend and advocate a child’s right to be protected from violence, abuse and neglect, as well as their right to a good standard of education. (UNICEF, 2010)
(Leicester Safeguarding Children Board, 2019)
Put perfectly by UNICEF (2018) teachers must be ‘effective Children’s Champions‘, and to do this, must ensure that they are well-informed, sufficiently trained and vigilant in the process of safeguarding children. In addition to raising awareness and educating children on how to recognize and report inappropriate or abusive behaviour.
It is no secret that safeguarding children is a challenging process with a number of issues. This blog will highlight and briefly discuss just two of these issues and begin to investigate strategies in which these barriers can be broken.
The first safeguarding issue I want to address is the importance of early intervention when recognizing a child may be being abused (or maltreated) physically, emotionally, sexually or neglectfully, and the process you should take once your concern is raised. This issue comes as a result of many cases over the years, where the apparent lack of intuition or attentiveness of teachers (along with other multi-agency workers), have failed to identify signs and symptoms of child abuse and/or unsuccessfully kept records of concerns, ending in serious case reviews. In 2011, the NSPCC published the first ever UK-wide study of child maltreatment, finding that a staggering 1 in 5 children have experienced severe maltreatment (NSPCC, 2011). This highlights the absolute necessity of sufficient knowledge and training on the safeguarding and well-being of children within education.
As a teacher, or any member of staff in a school setting, it may be difficult to know when it is appropriate to raise or record a concern, in the case of being ‘too’ vigilant and raising a concern to which wasn’t necessary. When, in reality, no concern is ill-advised if the correct responses are implemented. If you, as a practitioner, notice a bruise or similar on a child and know this could well be evidence of them falling in the playground – asking that child in a non-threatening, calm manor and taking note will have no harm done. Any serious concerns must be confidentially discussed with your school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or, if the child is in immediate danger, taken straight to the police.
Along with your school setting’s policies and procedures, as highlighted in the Government document ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused‘, the most effective process to safeguarding children is as follows:
Remember, noticing small things such as cuts or bruises and subtle behaviour changes, must be privately recorded – this is invaluable!
Please see for more guidance and advice:
Safeguarding and Child Protection in Schools
Keeping Children Safe in Education
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused.
The other issue has only become prominent over the past couple of decades. With technology advancing each day, safeguarding children has extended to the online safety of pupils, as a direct result of the risks these new opportunities create. (Livingstone et al., 2011)
Keeping Children Safe in Education highlights the ‘breadth’ of issues online safety faces, which they have categorised into three main areas:
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Content
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Contact
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Conduct
Focusing specifically on the area of Contact – this is an area that can see the child as a ‘participant’ in adult-initiated activity and can include harassment (stalking), online grooming, sexual abuse on meeting strangers and personal data misuse. (Livingstone et al, 2015)
An effective approach to online safety in schools can protect, educate and empower children to use technology. Throughout my time working in schools, I have witnessed first-hand the importance of digital literacy for children. The internet allows children to play, learn, create and connect with each other, and if educated to use correctly and safely, opens up a world of possibilities. But how can you make sure children are staying safe online?
It is often through no fault of their own that children overshare personal data, and so the vitality of educating children on the dangers of sharing information on the internet is paramount. And it is not enough to merely warn and restrict internet use. The UK council for Child Internet Safety highlighted the importance of using lesson time to imbed digital literacy. (UKCCIS, 2017) It is therefore vital that teachers are up to date with technological advances – which can be supported through the various online websites set out to do just this.
The NSPCC’s collaboration with O2 ‘Share Aware’ is a great platform for educating children on how to be safe online.
For further information and guidance on protecting children online, in all areas, please see:
Professionals Online Safety Helpline
Children’s online activities, risks and safety
In response to either of the issues discussed, following the school’s procedure and keeping within the DfE’s safeguarding guidelines is essential. In addition to knowing who the designated safeguarding lead in your school, as they are your first port of call.
References
DeNationalTV. (2015). Keeping Children Safe Online: NSPCC. [online], YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WingwgvcYvI [Acessed: 02/10/18].
Department for Education. (2018). Keeping Children Safe in Education. [online]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/741314/Keeping_Children_Safe_in_Education__3_September_2018_14.09.18.pdf [Accessed 02/10/18].
Department for Education. (2013). Teachers’ Standards Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. [online]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665520/Teachers__Standards.pdf [Accessed: 02/10/18].
GOV.UK. (2015). What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused. Advice for practitioners. [online]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419604/What_to_do_if_you_re_worried_a_child_is_being_abused.pdf [Accessed: 02/10/18].
Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Gorzig, A. and Olafsson, K. (2011) EU Kids Online: final report 2011, London: LSE. [online]. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/45490/1/EU%20Kids%20Online%20final%20report%202011%28lsero%29.pdf [Accessed:02/10/18].
NSPCC. (2011). Child Abuse and Neglect in the UK Today. [online]. Available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/pre-2013/child-abuse-neglect-uk-today/ [Accessed 02/10/18].
NSPCC. (2018). Online Safety. [online]. Available at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/ [Accessed 02/10/18].
NSPCC. (2018). Safeguarding and Child Protection in Schools. [online]. Available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection-schools/ [Accessed: 02/10/18].
NSPCC. (2018). Share Aware. [online]. Available at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/ [Accessed: 02/10/18].
UK Safer Internet Centre. (2018). Professional Online Safety Helpline. [online]. Available at: https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/professionals-online-safety-helpline [Accessed: 02/10/18].
UKCCIS Evidence Group. (2017) Children’s online activities, risks and safety, London: LSE. [online]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650933/Literature_Review_Final_October_2017.pdf [Accessed: 02/10/18].
UNICEF. (2010). A Summary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. [online]. Available at: https://downloads.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/UNCRC_summary-1.pdf?_ga=2.80327711.905490719.1538648834-350297456.1538648834 [Accessed: 02/10/18].
UNICEF. (2018). Children’s Champion Network. [online]. Available at: https://www.unicef.org.uk/campaign-with-us/become-a-unicef-uk-childrens-champion/ [Accessed: 02/10/18].
