Safeguarding – Leaders Old & New, February 2013 Session aims To clarify what is meant by ‘safeguarding’ and ‘child protection’ To ensure all Woodcraft Folk members are aware of the principles of the Woodcraft Folk Safeguarding Policy To support all Woodcraft Folk members to explore how practice supports safeguarding of children and young people at group nights, on camp and other Woodcraft Folk events To inform all Woodcraft Folk members how they should raise concerns or safeguarding worries To signpost all Woodcraft Folk members to sources of further information, training and support
What is safeguarding? Participants were asked to share what they thought when they heard ‘safeguarding’: Protection CRB checks Ratios Guarding Safety Age Responsibility Tent sharing Potential for things to go wrong Vulnerability Rules
Boundaries First Aid Clarity – being clear about what if Danger Procedure Common sense Pastoral care Sensibility Planning Sensitivity
Debs clarified that safeguarding is about planning and using common sense to ensure that activities are fun, engaging and not putting individuals in any unnecessary danger.
Safeguarding definitions These definitions are taken from the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services safeguarding and youth participation course: Safeguarding involves keeping children and young people safe from a much wider range of potential harm and looks at preventative action, not just reaction. Child protection involves recognising signs of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect and acting on it. Safeguarding is the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures that need to be in place to protect children and young people from any potential harm or damage. It is more than child protection, although child protection is one important aspect of safeguarding.
Safeguarding as a concept was introduced in the late 1990’s, recognising the need to be proactive in seeking to make children and young people safe, rather than only responding to children in need.
How do we safeguard? In pairs participants were asked to match up how we safeguard: Member screening e.g. DBS checks (the new name for CRB), references and Independent Safeguarding Authority registration Collection of health and consent forms from all children, young people and helpers Appropriate Volunteer:Children ratios Programme planning Safeguarding training Competent & experienced members Risk assessments Avoid 121 contact Keep parents informed Actively engage children and young people Safeguarding Policy & Procedure documents Whistle-blowing policy
Barriers to raising concerns In three groups, participants explored the reasons why individuals (children, parents & volunteer leaders) do not share their safeguarding concerns: Children Fear Consequences Lack of confidence Embarrassment Might hurt someone Not sure who to speak to Fear of getting into trouble Don’t want to get others into trouble Unable to communicate Pain (emotional) Acceptance of authority Not used to sharing problems or feelings
Parents Fear isolation Embarrassed Don’t know leaders well enough No time to raise concerns (group night to busy) Don’t know what is happening Feel don’t have as much knowledge as the leader Leaders not approachable No contact details for the leaders Language barrier
Volunteers Not very serious Independent of the group Friends with the volunteer Wider consequences The volunteer is more ‘superior’ or ‘older’ You might be implicated The volunteer is a valuable member of the group The volunteer is a stranger Lack of awareness of the policy Feel being noisy Don’t have enough information It is just an over-reaction Fear of consequences
Debs shared a statistic from the NSPCC which suggests that a child will tell 9 people they are suffering from abuse before they are believed and action is taken to protect them from harm.
Debs concluded this element of the session by saying that groups should consider how they can overcome these barriers: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Good planning Open communication Contact details regularly available Seeking feedback
Raising Concerns If anyone has a concern about a child or an adult they should speak out, contacting: Their Group Contact/Group Leader Local Safeguarding Officer Lead Safeguarding Officer The Lead Safeguarding Officer’s role is to support groups and Districts in responding to safeguarding concerns and helping to support the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. Once a concern is flagged up, a decision will then be made about what should happen next e.g. Further training and support offered to the group Referral to social services to generate additional support for the child at risk or in need Referral to the Local Area Designated Officer if it is believed that a volunteer is not suitable to work with children If you believe that a child is in immediate danger then you should ring the Police. Action: Find out who your local District Safeguarding Officer is.
Scenarios In small groups participants considered a number of real-life scenarios. Identifying: Is this a safeguarding issue? What is your current practice? Is this acceptable behaviour? Does this issue need further discussion amongst your District?
A parent expresses an interest in becoming a volunteer, but does not want to sign up officially. All volunteers need a CRB check if they volunteer more than once a month or stays overnight.
An 11 year old boy turns up at Pioneer group and asks to join. He is not accompanied by his parents/carers. This is a safeguarding concern. The group described their current practice as - consult with the child e.g. details, contact information. The group should attempt to contact the child’s parents before letting them stay. There are a number of concerns here: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Does the child’s parent know where they are? What are the support needs of the child? What are the medical needs of the child? What is the child’s relationship with the rest of the group?
The child would be covered by Woodcraft Folk insurance.
An adult leader often shouts, and has been heard using offensive language in front of Elfins and Woodchips. Yes, this is a safeguarding issue. The leader should be approached and their conduct discussed. Shouting can be appropriate, but offensive language is completely unacceptable. A leader offers to drive home a Venturer as it is raining and dark. The group believes that leaders should not be alone with a Venturer or a child at any time, as there is a risk that a child may make an allegation against the leader. The group also felt that if the leader gave the Venturer a lift the child’s parents may not know where they are. The group shared their practice and said they would: Not let the child walk home in the dark Ask another leader to go in the care Phone parents to see if they can be picked up or Ok for them to be given a lift The group agreed that this would be acceptable practice if agreed in advance.
A parent has uploaded photos from camp onto a public website, tagging/naming each child. This is a safeguarding issue. The group described their practice and said they would ask the parent to take down the information, and remind them that they need permission to publish images on the web. Photos taken by parents should be for private use only. Photos taken by leaders should be used to promote the group, and consent should be sought.
A female leader regularly cuddles the Elfins. Cuddling with no immediate cause is a safeguarding concern Cuddling is acceptable is it is to comfort a child following a fall or if instigated by the child.
A male leader arranges to take Venturers to the local skate park. This is not a recognised group night/Woodcraft activity. The group felt this was OK, if it was part of a group night and a risk assessment had been done, appropriate ratios, equipment, CRB’ed leaders, first aiders & kit etc. This is not OK is the leader just took the young people outside of the group, and raises a number of concerns e.g. Do the parents believe it is a Woodcraft activity? Insured? Appropriately supervised?
An adult male leader has befriended Pioneers on Facebook, and actively comments on their photos and status updates. This is a safeguarding issue, and the group felt it was unacceptable. Debs referred people to our Social Networking Guidance, which strongly recommends Woodcraft Groups on Facebook rather than individual friendship links.
A group leader (aged over 25 years) starts dating a DF. This is a safeguarding issue, as the leader could be seen to be in a ‘position of authority’ over the DF and as such committing an offence under the Sexual Offenders Act. The group suggested practice would be that the Local Safeguarding Officer talks to the couple individually, to make them aware of the legislation and ensure that they are consenting and participating in a healthy relationship.
A 13 year old Pioneer regularly falls out with another Pioneer. What started as name calling has become more physical e.g. pulling down of trousers or pulling up of pants. It is a safeguarding issue. There needs to be a discussion with the individuals, together and separately. The children’s parents would be informed. Reiterate ground rules to the while group e.g. respect, tolerance, no bullying. The group would possibly consider stopping them attending group if the behaviour continued.
A DF attends group obviously under the influence of illegal drugs. This is a safeguarding issue. The group believed that the young person should be sent home, following a discussion with the individual and signposting to appropriate sources of support
A DF starts dating a Venturer. This is possibly a safeguarding issue, but only if the Venturer is not consenting or the DF is acting as a Venturer leader. It does require discussion, especially around sexual relations on camp. Debs acknowledged that the legal requirements for safeguarding are limited and do not describe actual practice. Judgements of safe working practices are varied and based on an individual’s experiences, values, roles and often influenced by their gender and age. To support safe working practices Woodcraft Folk has a range of good practice documents, policies and procedures to empower Districts and groups to explore safeguarding and safe practices and agree a consensus of what is an acceptable response. Following an open discussion a number of practice points were raised: Consent should be sought for a programme of activities and renewed for residential activities rather than for each activity Session planning and communication is vital Informed consent is important – share your group programme Woodcraft Folk safeguarding guidance recognises that some relationships are exempt from our guidance e.g. when an adult’s relationship with a child began outside of the Folk e.g. neighbours, family ties Woodcraft Folk believe that physical contact is OK, and should be either instigated by the child or the child’s permission sought – unless physical contact is needed to remove a child from immediate danger Leaders should not have favourites
Hand outs Participants were offered a number of hand outs: Safeguarding definition Safeguarding Policy Implementing the safeguarding Policy guidance What is abuse and neglect? Procedures for dealing with concerns Sources of support For more information visit www:woodcraft.org.uk/safeguarding