Aveea is committed to building a ‘culture of safety’ in which the children in our care are protected from abuse and harm.

Aveea will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns of abuse that may occur. Aveea’s child protection procedures comply with all relevant legislation and with guidance issued by the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) and are correlated to Aveea’s policy.

Due to the nature of the business and the way Aveea conducts its activity, the Child Protection Officer (CPO) may differ from school to school. It is for this reason that Aveea’s direct contact for any safeguarding issues will be the Headteacher of the school. The Headteacher would contact any other parties in line with their school policy.

Forms of 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 so as 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.
  • Inappropriate behaviour displayed by other members 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 incident straightaway. If a third party expresses concern that a child is being abused, we will encourage them to contact Social Care directly. If they will not do so, we will explain that Aveea is obliged to do so and the incident will be logged accordingly.

All information about the suspected abuse or disclosure 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 of the incident 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 the Schools’ Headteacher who will decide whether they need to contact Social Care or make a referral. All referrals to Social Care will be followed up in writing within 48 hours. If a member of staff thinks that the incident has not been dealt with properly, they may contact Social Care directly

• • If anyone makes an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff:
  • 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 Aveea 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 Aveea will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. A full report shall also be issued to the School Headteacher.

Promoting awareness among staff. Aveea promotes awareness of child abuse issues through its staff training. Aveea ensures that:

• • Safe recruitment practices are followed for all new staff
  • All staff have a copy of this Safeguarding Children policy, understand its contents and are vigilant to signs of abuse or neglect
  • All staff are aware of their statutory duties with regard to the disclosure or discovery of child abuse
  • Staff are familiar with the Safeguarding File (which is available at all times).
  • Its procedures are in line with the guidance in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015)’ and staff are familiar with the guidance in ‘What To Do If You’re Worried A Child Is Being Abused (2015)’.