Child Protection Procedure

BPT Child Protection Procedure

BPT through direct services, volunteers and partners deliver a broad range of activities for children and young people, between 8 years and 17 years. In the course of our delivery we may come across concerns for either:

  • An individual child
  • A group of children or young people, often in the community, known as ‘contextual safeguarding’.

You might notice:

  • A deterioration in physical care including clothing; injuries or bruises
  • Regularity of attendance; changes in friendship groups on site; appearing to have a lot of money on them, or having expensive items, clothes, watch, shoes (which may indicate sexual criminal exploitation, county lines)
  • Breakdown in family relationship, escalation of family disputes and indicators of domestic abuse
  • Clothing that appears to be concealing injuries or sights of self-harm (e.g. long sleeves in hot weather)
  • Behaviours that seem to be expressing unhappiness, distress and/or trauma
  • Changes in personality e.g. increasingly withdrawn
  • Young people who appear homeless and may have be thrown out of home
  • A witnessed assault, or abusive act or series of acts, including between young people
  • A direct disclosure by the child, parent and/or family member
  • Unusual friendship groups and associations (e.g. young child with much older nonrelated teens)
  • Adults or children who are hanging around on site and not accessing sessions or services.
  • Adults who are not known to BPT making contact with children
  • Children who spend an inordinate amount of time in the Changing Rooms.
  • Children who persistently present themselves for first aid without obvious cause, potentially looking for opportunities to disclose harm.
  • Children who form an attachment to or an over-reliance on a particular member of staff or a volunteer.

In these kind of situations, things appear to have reached a Child Protection level of concern. This procedure lays out the practical steps to be followed.

Be Alert

It is the responsibility of all staff, volunteers, on-site tenants and staff from delivery partners working on site to be well-informed and vigilant to the safety, protection, welfare and wellbeing. This includes taking action on anything that causes concern.

Question Behaviours

We can only make sense of what’s going on in children and young people’s lives by engaging with them. It is natural that staff will have conversations with children and young people about day-to-day life.

Behaviours and concerns can be addressed using open-ended questions.

If you do not feel comfortable in talking with a young person or you don’t believe you have a relationship with them approach the DSL team for advice or support.

In all situations you should approach the child, young person and/or parent in a kindly, warm way. For example: “Oh, what happened to your arm?”

Listen carefully and then perhaps ask supplementary questions. Be mindful not to use leading or closed questions. For example: “Has somebody hurt/hit you?”

If you remain concerned, then tell the person that you are concerned and why.

Explain that you need to talk to your Designated Lead Person for Safeguarding.

NB: All conversations with parents will be undertaken by a member of the DSL team.

Should you have any concerns about children, approach your Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputies. This should be your first port of call – you should not discuss concerns about children more widely with other people.

Only talk to the DSL team. Remember it’s your duty to share information but not to gossip or share personal confidential information with others.

Kaity Hall

Designated Safeguarding Lead for The Black prince Trust:

Kaity Hall (Programmes and Partnerships Manager)

Alex Burke

Deputy Safeguarding Lead for The Black Prince Trust:

Alex Burke (Community Development Officer)

Richard Joyce

Deputy Safeguarding Lead for The Black Prince Trust:

Richard Joyce (CEO)

Recording

Safeguarding concerns should be recorded on the BPT Safeguarding Concern Form. Take care to record facts and detail specific observations of behaviour without casting judgement or giving your opinion. You may however have some thoughts or concern as to why your observations may be an indicator of harm or cause for concern.

Responding to a Disclosure

All children, young people and parents think carefully about who they talk to. If they begin to make a disclosure it is important to recognise that this is unusual and that they have invested a level of trust in you. Therefore, tune in and listen carefully.

Find an appropriate early opportunity to explain that you will need to share what you have been told with the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Allow the child, young person and/or parent to continue at their own pace and ask open-ended questions for clarification only, avoiding any leading questions.

Only talk with the child, young person and/or parent for as long as they are prepared to talk and to establish what they are telling you.

Uncollected Children

It is uncommon for children who are known to be collected by parents to be left uncollected at the end of a session except in exceptional circumstances. However, if this is the case, or if a child has SEND needs that are a cause for concern or are in some kind of distress, the following steps should be taken:

  • Telephone the parents/carers and ask them to collect their child as soon as possible.
  • If contact cannot be made, two leaders must wait with the child until this is possible. No other adult should be allowed to take the child without parental consent.
  • A child should not be escorted home, except in exceptional circumstances.

If no contact can be made and the child appears to have been abandoned, the Lambeth out of hour’s duty service should be contacted on 0207 926 5555. This is the role of a member of the DSL team.

Referrals

All referrals to Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub or Children’s Social care first contact will be made by a member of the DSL team, this referral will be made to the local authority in which the child lives. Most commonly, but not exclusively, these will be Lambeth or Southwark.

Lambeth

Southwark (For children with a Southwark postcode)

  • Telephone 020 7525 1921
  • Email mash@southwark.gov.uk where possible with a completed MASH Interagency referral Form.
  • In an emergency, the agency should call 999 and ask for a Police response.