Safeguarding Policy

 

Ten Project is committed to building a ‘culture of safety’ in which the children in our care are

protected from abuse, harm, and radicalisation.

 

Ten Project will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns regarding the

safety of a child that may occur. Ten Project’s child protection procedures comply with all

relevant legislation and with guidance issued by both the schools we work in and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

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In accordance with the governing body (LTA), all Ten Project’s coaches must be DBS checked and Safeguarding trained. Ten Project coaches must undertake regular training in line with the LTA’s guidelines and those of Ten Project.

 

There is always a Child Protection Officer (CPO) available while Ten Project is taking place in school. The CPO coordinates child protection issues and liaises with external agencies (eg Schools, Social Care and Ofsted).

 

Ten Project’s designated CPO is Harry Lloyd.
 

Child abuse and neglect

 

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that

leads to injury or harm. An individual may abuse or neglect a child directly, or by failing to

protect them from harm. Some forms of child abuse and neglect are listed below.

 

• Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child to cause severe

and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve

making the child feel that they are worthless, unloved, or inadequate. Some level of

emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may

occur alone.

• Physical abuse can involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning,

suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may be

also caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill

health to a child.

• Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities,

whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This can involve physical

 

contact, or non-contact activities such as showing children sexual activities or

encouraging them to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

• Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs.

It can involve a failure to provide adequate food, clothing, and shelter, to protect a

child from physical and emotional harm, to ensure adequate supervision or to allow

access to medical treatment.

 

Signs of child abuse and neglect

 

Signs of possible abuse and neglect may include:

 

• Significant changes in a child's behaviour

• Deterioration in a child’s general well-being

• Unexplained bruising or marks

• Comments made by a child which give cause for concern

• Reasons to suspect neglect or abuse outside the setting, eg in the child’s home, or

that a girl may have been subjected to (or is at risk of) female genital mutilation

(FGM), or that the child may have witnessed domestic abuse

• Inappropriate behaviour displayed by a member of staff, or any other person. For

example, inappropriate sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention beyond the

requirements of their role, or inappropriate sharing of images.

 

If abuse is suspected or disclosed

 

When a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff will:

 

• Reassure the child that they were not to blame and were right to speak out

• Listen to the child but not question them

• Give reassurance that the staff member will take action

• Record the incident as soon as possible (see Logging an incident below).

 

If a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they will record the matter straightaway

using the Logging a concern form. If a third party expresses concern that a child is being

abused, we will encourage them to contact Social Care directly. If they do not do so, we will

explain that Ten Project is obliged to and the incident will be logged accordingly.
 

Peer-on-peer abuse

 

Children are vulnerable to abuse by their peers. Peer-on-peer abuse is taken seriously by

staff and will be subject to the same child protection procedures as other forms of abuse.

Staff are aware of the potential uses of information technology for bullying and abusive

behaviour between young people.

 

Staff will not dismiss abusive behaviour as normal between young people. The presence of one or more of the following in relationships between children should always trigger concern

about the possibility of peer-on-peer abuse:

 

• Sexual activity (in primary school-aged children) of any kind, including sexting

• One of the children is significantly more dominant than the other (eg much older)

• One of the children is significantly more vulnerable than the other (eg in terms of

disability, confidence, physical strength)

• There has been some use of threats, bribes, or coercion to ensure compliance or

secrecy.

 

If peer-on-peer abuse is suspected or disclosed

 

We will follow the same procedures as set out above for responding to child abuse.

 

Extremism and radicalisation

 

All childcare settings have a legal duty to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and

being drawn into extremism. There are many reasons why a child might be vulnerable to

radicalisation, eg:

 

• feeling alienated or alone

• seeking a sense of identity or individuality

• suffering from mental health issues such as depression

• desire for adventure or wanting to be part of a larger cause

• associating with others who hold extremist beliefs
 

Signs of radicalisation

 

Signs that a child might be at risk of radicalisation include:

 

• changes in behaviour, for example becoming withdrawn or aggressive

• claiming that terrorist attacks and violence are justified

• viewing violent extremist material online

• possessing or sharing violent extremist material

 

If a member of staff suspects that a child is at risk of becoming radicalised, they will record

any relevant information or observations on a Logging a concern form and refer the matter

to the CPO.

 

Logging a concern

 

All information about the suspected abuse or disclosure, or concern about radicalisation, will

be recorded on the Logging a concern form as soon as possible after the event. The record

should include:

 

• Date of the disclosure, or the incident, or the observation causing concern

• Date and time at which the record was made

• Name and date of birth of the child involved

• A factual report of what happened. If recording a disclosure, you must use the child’s

own words

• Name, signature and job title of the person making the record.

 

The record will be given to Ten Project’s CPO who will decide on the appropriate course of

Action.

 

For concerns about child abuse, the CPO will contact Social Care. The CPO will follow up

all referrals to Social Care in writing within 48 hours. If a member of staff thinks that the

the incident has not been dealt with properly, they may contact Social Care directly.

 

For minor concerns regarding radicalisation, the CPO will contact the school involved. For

more serious concerns the CPO will contact the Police on the non-emergency number (101),

or the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321. For urgent concerns the CPO will contact the

Police using 999.
 

Allegations against staff

 

If anyone makes an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff:

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• The allegation will be recorded on an Incident record form. Any witnesses to the incident should sign and date the entry to confirm it.

• The allegation must be reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and to Ofsted. The LADO will advise if other agencies (e.g. police) should be informed, and Ten Project will act upon their advice. Any telephone reports to the LADO will be followed up in writing within 48 hours.

• Following advice from the LADO, it may be necessary to suspend the member of staff pending full investigation of the allegation.

• If appropriate, Ten Project will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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Promoting awareness among staff

 

Ten Project promotes awareness of child abuse and the risk of radicalisation through its staff training. Ten Project ensures that:

 

• The designated CPO has relevant experience and receives appropriate training in Safeguarding

• Designated person training is refreshed every year

• Safe recruitment practices are followed for all new staff

• All staff have a copy of this Safeguarding policy, understand its contents and are vigilant to signs of abuse, neglect or radicalisation

• All staff are aware of their statutory duties with regard to the disclosure or discovery of child abuse, and concerns about radicalisation

• All staff receive basic safeguarding training, and safeguarding is a permanent agenda item at all staff meetings

• Staff are familiar with the Safeguarding File which is kept at Ten Project’s Head Office

• Ten Project’s procedures are in line with the guidance in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ and staff are familiar with ‘What to Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused (2015)’.
 

Use of mobile phones and cameras

 

Photographs will only be taken of children with their parents’ permission. Only Ten Project’s

designated camera for that session will be used to take photographs of children at Ten Project.

 

Contact numbers

 

Social Care: 0808 800 2222

 

Social Care out of hours contact: 0208 430 2000

LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer): Email: askus@familylives.org.uk

Number: 020 8770 5000.

Local Authority Prevent Co-ordinator: Police: 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency)

Anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321

NSPCC: 0808 800 500

Ofsted: 0300 123 1231

 

This policy was adopted by: Ten Project

Date: 1st January 2020

To be reviewed every 6 months

Signed: Harry Lloyd

 

Written in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017):

Safeguarding and Welfare requirements: Child Protection [3.4-3.8] and Suitable People [3.9-3.13].