Partnership Working In The Context Of Safeguarding Essay

As a society it is our duty to protect others from harm, especially children and young people, and as aduls who work with children we need to be doubly aware of this responsibility. No-one, whether child, young person or adult deserves to suffer from abuse; whether physical, sexual or emotional; or be subject to neglect. If we safeguard our children and young people they are more likely to grow into confident members of society. As practitioners we have a duty to ensure that the children and young people who are in our care are protected, and that as practitioners we recognise the signs and symptoms of harm and abuse. “School policies and procedures need to be such that parents and governors are aware of them and that staff are fully trained with regard to safeguarding.” School policies will need to cover:
• “children’s physical safety and security on the premises and off-site
• children’s safety when in the home environment
• e-safety and security when

using the Internet
• staff awareness and training
• monitoring and record keeping
• partnership, and involvement with other agencies”

Schools need to help children develop an awareness of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour; both at school and externally. This also includes internet safety and acceptable behaviour when online. Additional support should be offered to those who are “known to be on the ‘at risk’ register, or those who have been identified as being at greater risk”.

b. An explanation of the importance of a child or young person-centred approach

“All agencies will need to consider the ways in which their approach is child centred.” One way they can do this is to develop a rapport with the child or young person. “The aim of this is to help the child to relax and feel comfortable talking to an adult who, in all probability, is unfamiliar to them.” Once they have developed rapport, it will be easier for the professionals to discuss the wishes and concerns of the child or young person, and involve them in the decision making process about any current or future intervention. This will hopefully mean that any response by the involved agencies will be more accurate and appropriate to meet the specific needs of the child or young person.
By developing a rapport and then using free narrative the child or young person will feel like the professional who is close to them understands their daily lives and what they might be experiencing, no matter how hard it could be for the adult to hear. Crucially the child or young person will know there are people out there to help and support them when they need advice or guidance; and so will feel more in control of what is happening to them.
c. An explanation of what is meant by partnership working in the context of safeguarding

When it comes to safeguarding, children are best protected when professionals know what is required of them and how they work together. This means that everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe which involves identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. To carry this out effectively, professionals need to “communicate and work in partnership to ensure the safety and protection of children.”
Unfortunately, the importance of doing this has come about from professionals failing to protect Victoria Climbié who died in 2000. Her death was preventable as doctors, police and social workers all came into contact with her and had concerns. However, the doctors who treated her discharged her to her abusers care and even admitted they assumed the social services would investigate. The social workers were described as incompetent and Victoria’s social worker felt unsupported by her supervisor and described her colleagues as conflicted and chaotic. The police too failed to fully investigate Victoria’s home (for fear of catching scabies) although close family members and Victoria’s child-minder raised their concerns. Following this case lessons were learnt and recommendation put into place to try and prevent another tragedy where successful partnership working for safeguarding should have stepped in earlier to avoid this abuse.
To provide adequate safeguarding measures it helps to have a complete ‘picture’ of the child.

Partnership working means each professional; whether it’s the police, NHS, educations departments, NSPCC or social workers; “may need to have an input in any one case and each should be considered when discussing issues around safeguarding.” Each of these professionals may have one snapshot and a concern that may, on its own, not necessarily need intervention. The common assessment framework provides a way for early intervention for children, before it reaches crisis point. It is a shared assessment and planning framework for all communication and that information is shared between different professionals and organisations. The assessment framework centres on child safeguarding and promoting welfare. By working in partnership, creating a working party and sharing information about the child, the bigger picture evolves and informed decisions about how to move forward can be made in the best interests of the

child.
d. A description of the roles and responsibilities of the different organisations that may be involved when a child or young person has been abused or harmed. For example: social services; NSPCC; health visiting; GP; probation; police; school; psychology service

All members of the community can help to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Everyone who works with children or families has a responsibility to ensure that procedures for safeguarding children are adhered to.
Different organisations and their roles include:
Social services:
• provide immediate support for vulnerable children and families
• work in partnership with other agenices and families
• in cases of severe concern, have the ability to take children into care

NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children):
• Provides support for children and families in situations such as domestic violence, abuse
• Work with different organisations e.g. social services, police, family protection, education and health services
• Provide support via telephone line to support families and children
• “Only charity which has a statutory power to take action where there are cases of child abuse.”

Health Visitors and GPs:
• May spot indicators if they see the child
• has contact with many multi agencies, and they support the work of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB)
• May be involved to ascertain the cause of injuries – are they accidental or deliberate
• They need to follow all correct procedures if abuse or neglect is suspected

Probation officers:
• primarily supervise offenders to help support them not to re-offend and to protect others from harm
• supervise a large amount of offenders that have been identified as presenting potential risk of harm to children
• supervise and protect families of offenders, who might be exposed to criminal or anti social behaviour.
• liaise with other agencies regarding safeguarding children, procedures covering sex offenders, domestic abuse, child protection procedures.

Police:
• The main role of the Police is to prevent crime and disorder and protect all individuals
• have legislation to adhere to protect the children. Children have the right to be fully protected (Children’s Act 2004 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children).
• All investigations can be sensitive so the police investigate and work with other organisations “to ensure that children are free from harm”
• The police investigate child abuse cases (they have specialist training for this - Child Abuse Investigation Units (CAIUs)). The CAIUs will:
- Gather information
- Decide to start a criminal investigation
- Decide on any other actions that may need to happen immediately

Schools:
• The role of the staff is to create and maintain a safe learning environment
• To identify any concerns and to act upon this information
• To protect children from harm and abuse
• To help meet the health needs of children with medical conditions and provide accurate information on the child’s educational needs
• Have a person responsible for safeguarding
• Under the children’s Act 1989 the school have a key role to play referring children and providing information to the police for future criminal proceedings that might take place under child protection issues
• The school should manage risks appropriately such as internet etc.
• Provide and follow policies and procedures to protect children etc child protection, physical contact, safeguarding, risk assessments, outings, injuries, illnesses and emergencies
•
Psychology service:
• “Carry out an assessment of a child in cases of harm or abuse”
• Provide support for children who have experienced abuse or harm
• Make recommendations and suggest a course of action appropriate to the child’s needs”