1. The School will designate one senior member of staff to take specific responsibility for child protection matters in the School. This member of staff should be responsible for:
- Holding the School’s copy of the current London Area Child Protection Procedures, being fully conversant with these procedures and ensuring that House Masters are also aware of these procedures.
- Holding and being conversant with the School’s copy of “Working Together: a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse”, now “Working Together to Safeguard Children”, April 2006
- Making these publications and “What to do if you think a Child is being abused” and any similar relevant documentation available to the Head Master, House Masters, Medical Centre and Chaplain and (where relevant) all Masters.
- Briefing or informing School staff (both boarding and teaching staff) about the relevant contents of the above guidance and procedures, and about the procedures the School should follow which are detailed below – including the briefing of new staff as part of their induction after arrival at the School, together with informing all support staff who have contact with pupils.
- Ensuring that the procedures below are followed within the School.
- Liaison over child protection procedures with the Children and Family Services of London Borough of Harrow and the Local Safeguarding Children Board.
- Communicating to the local Children and Family Services reports of alleged or suspected child abuse within the School or reported by a pupil relating to incidents at home or outside the School, which have been passed to House Masters and the Head Master in accordance with the procedure below, and which the Head Master has decided should be referred to the Child Protection Team.
- Ensuring that, in the event of the Head Master referring an allegation of child abuse through the Child Protection Officer to the local Child Protection Team, such other actions, for example protecting the victim of the alleged abuse, are carried out.
- Encouraging a rolling programme of training in Child Protection matters at Harrow School, delivered by a variety of routes as appropriate, in order to ensure that all teachers are constantly aware of and are up to date on child protection and safeguarding issues. The designated member of staff will ensure level one training of teaching staff and other relevant staff once every three years and will himself/herself undergo at least level two training in multi-agency safeguarding at least once every two years.
- The designated member of staff will report to the designated Governor for Child Protection at least annually and the Governors will consider the report and if necessary review the School’s Child Protection and Safeguarding policies and their effectiveness at their November meeting each year.
2. The School Doctor or Medical Centre Sister should hold copies of “Child Protection: guidance for senior nurses, health visitors and midwives” (HMSO), and should be fully conversant with, and use, its guidance where relevant to the School setting. The Medical Centre will have its own protocols for recognising and acting upon signs of child abuse, and the School Doctor will have his own legal and contractual obligations to report the same, either to the Head Master or, if necessary, to the local Child Protection team. Medical Centre staff will be invited to participate in any School INSET concerned with the welfare and protection of pupils.
3. Any member of staff (teaching or support) who is told of any incident or strong suspicion of physical, sexual, psychological or negligent child abuse occurring in the School, or to a pupil of the School at home or outside the School (or who knows of, or suspects such abuse), must report the information the same day to the pupil’s House Master, the Child Protection Officer and the Head Master. The House Master and the Child Protection Officer will ensure that the possible victim is safe from immediate harm. In the absence of the Head Master, the Deputy Head should be informed. If the suspicion or allegation of abuse is against the House Master or other member of Senior Management, the information should be taken straight to the Head Master and other relevant members of senior management. If the allegation or suspicion is about the Head, the report should be made to the Chairman of Governors. Do not inform other adults or pupils at this stage.
4. A direct accusation of a possibly criminal action by a member of Harrow School’s teaching or support staff against a pupil must be reported to the Head Master the same day and without anybody else being informed. The Head Master must, at the earliest opportunity, tell the Local Authority Designated Officer and discuss how to proceed in accordance with “Safeguarding Children in Education: Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and Other Staff”, DfES/2044/2005. Suspension of the member of staff should be considered but is not automatic, especially if an initial investigation shows that the accusation is likely to prove false. The Head Master will keep the Deputy Head Master and Child Protection Officer informed. If the accusation is against the Head Master, the report should be made to the Chairman of Governors who should proceed in the same way.
5. Senior pupils and junior ancillary staff should be aware of the need to report allegations or suspicions of child abuse, in the first instance to the House Master.
6. School staff should not investigate reports of physical or sexual abuse themselves. Alleged victims, perpetrators, those reporting abuse and others involved, should not be interviewed by School staff beyond the point at which it is clear there is an allegation of abuse.
7. Staff members and other adults at the School, should never give absolute guarantees of confidentiality to pupils or adults wishing to tell them about something serious. The member of staff in receipt of information about abuse has a clear duty to take action in accordance with the steps detailed in this document in order to protect the victim. They should, however, guarantee that they will only pass on information to the minimum number of people who must be told in order to ensure that the proper action is taken to sort the problem out, that they will never tell anyone who does not have a clear ‘need to know’, and that they will personally take whatever steps they can to protect the informing pupil or adult from any retaliation or unnecessary stress that might be feared after a disclosure of alleged abuse has been made.
8. Any staff member to whom an allegation of physical or sexual abuse is made should:
- Limit any questioning to the minimum necessary to seek clarification only, strictly avoiding ‘leading’ the pupil or adult who has approached them by making suggestions or asking questions that introduce their own ideas about what may have happened.
- Stop asking any more questions as soon as the pupil or adult has disclosed that he or she believes that something abusive has happened to him or her, or to someone else.
- Tell the informing pupil or adult that the staff member will now make sure that the appropriate people are brought in to follow the problem through.
- Ask the informing pupil or adult what steps they would like taken to protect them now that they have made an allegation, and assure them that the School will try to follow their wishes.
- Refer the matter immediately the same day, with all relevant details, to the House Master, Child Protection Officer and Head Master, as above. (If this cannot be done, the staff member him or herself should contact the Children and Family Services Team Manager
- Make a written record as soon as possible of what they have been told, and make a copy of this available to the designated staff member or Head.
9. The Head Master, receiving together with the Child Protection Officer and House Master, an allegation of physical or sexual abuse, should himself or through the Child Protection Officer and the relevant House Master:
- Take any further steps needed to protect any pupil involved from risk of immediate harm.
- Not interview or investigate the allegation further, but if it is a clear case of possible abuse, refer the matter, within twenty-four hours, to the Child Protection Manager at the Children and Family Services Department of the London Borough of Harrow. The referral should be made by speaking personally with the Children and Family Services manager; reliance should not be placed on leaving a message. A telephone referral should be followed up in writing within forty-eight hours.
- Consult the Children and Family Services Child Protection Team Manager (or officer deputising for him/her) and follow his/her advice about contacting parents, other staff, police, doctor or alleged perpetrator or witnesses direct. Agree with the Team Manager (or Children and Family Services officer deputising) any necessary steps in relation to:
- Informing a pupil’s parents.
- Medical examination or treatment for the pupil.
- Immediate protection that may be needed for any pupil who has been the victim of abuse, any pupil who has given information about abuse, and any pupil against whom an allegation has been made.
- Informing other people at the School (including any other members of staff) of the allegation and its investigation.
- Informing the placing authority, if there is one.
- Informing the pupil or adult who made the initial allegation of what the next steps are to be, having agreed these with the Team Manager.
- If necessary, suspend from duty, pending investigation, any staff member who is alleged to have abused a pupil or pupils. If such a member of staff is resident in a boarding house or in School property where their continued residence may be a threat to a pupil, the Head Master should consider requiring them to reside elsewhere pending the outcome of investigation. This would also apply to a member of a Master’s family against whom an allegation of abuse might be made.
- Notify the Children and Family Services Child Protection Managers of the allegation and action taken, as soon as possible.
- Make arrangements where feasible for any pupil who has been the subject of abuse to receive any necessary continuing counselling and support by agreement with his or her parents where appropriate.
10. The School should consider taking and, as necessary, should take disciplinary action against any member of staff or agent of the School, where it believes pupils are at risk of abuse from that member of staff, even in cases where there is to be no criminal prosecution.
11. Where a member of staff has “low level” concerns rather than direct information that a child may be being abused or is in danger, this should be discussed with the designated member of staff. Where the School has ‘low level’ concerns that do not amount to allegations or suspicions of specific abuse, but which may indicate the possibility of abuse occurring, the Head Master should consider discussing these, through the Child Protection Officer, with the Child Protection Managers of the Local Children and Family Services.
12. The School should issue guidelines to all staff concerned with boarding on the prevention of abuse, covering staff supervision of high risk situations, avoidance of inappropriately spending time alone with individual pupils, and the need for all staff to be vigilant in spotting and reporting clear suspicions that abuse may be occurring.
13. If a member of staff reports an allegation or suspicion of abuse in accordance with this policy, but honestly believes that the report has not been acted upon appropriately, then he or she may, under the terms of the School’s grievance procedure, draw the matter immediately to the attention of the Head Master and then the Chairman of Governors, or the Child Protection Governor. Alternatively, under the terms of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the member of staff may make a report direct to Children and Family Services.
14. Harrow School has a procedure for dealing with a lost or missing pupil. As it is most likely that this would be handled by a House Master or duty member of boarding staff, this is contained in the House Masters’ Handbook.
15. Harrow School will implement a Safe Recruitment policy in accordance with BSA Boarding Briefing Paper Number 1 – Safer Staff Recruitment and will in due course conform to the probable new 2006 legislation. The School will also take note of DfES 2044/2005 Safeguarding Children in Education: Safer Recruitment and Selection. Key interviewing staff will undertake the NCSL Safer Staff Recruitment Training.
For the attention of all Masters:
Further to the Child Protection Policy, Working together to Safeguard Children (April/October 2006) defines five categories of child abuse. These are summarised below, together with certain indicators which might lead you to consider the possibility of abuse and discussing the matter with the Child Protection Officer or following the School’s Child Protection Policy.
Physical Abuse: Hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm. Possible indicators: cuts, bruises, burns, breaks, puncture marks, especially repeated, of unusual form in unusual sites and unexplained or inconsistent with the explanation given. Note: If you observe/suspect non-accidental injury do not attempt to make an examination and certainly do not ask a child to undress; refer the matter in the first instance to the Medical Centre, CPO and House Master.
Neglect: Persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and / or psychological needs; can include: failure to provide adequate food and clothing, failure to provide shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment), failing to protect a child from physical and emotional harm, failure to ensure adequate supervision, failing to provide medical treatment, failing to provide for emotional needs. Possible indicators: child dirty, malnourished, uncared for, known or found to be unsupervised, repeatedly ill.
Emotional Abuse: Persistent emotional maltreatment, for example conveying to a children that they are worthless, unloved, inadequate; age or developmentally inappropriate expectations; interactions beyond the child’s capability; overprotection; seeing or hearing the maltreatment of another (e.g. domestic violence). Possible indicators: child withdrawn, fearful, signs of disturbed, unusual or exaggerated behaviour, low self esteem.
Sexual Abuse: Forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening; may include non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at or producing pornographic material, watching sexual activity or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Possible indicators: distressed behaviour; aversion to certain places, people or physical contact; excessive or inappropriate interest in sexual matters. Specific physical signs are a matter for medical staff.
Bullying: Working together to Safeguard Children defines bullying as: deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those bullied to defend themselves. E.g. physical (hitting, kicking, theft), verbal (racist or homophobic remarks, threats, name calling) and emotional (isolation from activities of or acceptance by peers). Bullying can, in the extreme, cause significant harm, including self harm. Possible indicators: many of the above, but also including fearfulness, low self-esteem, not associating with others, self-harm, reluctance to participate in certain activities.
It is important to be aware that a child may not disclose that he/she is being abused, for some of the following reasons:
Fear; threats, fear of punishment, guilt or shame; lack of vocabulary; not understanding that an action against them is abuse; lack of trust; fear about the implications of telling (e.g. family break-up) ; abuse considered to be “normal” behaviour,
and that adults may not realise that they are being told about abuse because:
They believe it is not possible; they may not understand if the communication is non-verbal; they may not be receptive to disclosure; they may assume the child is imagining things or lying.
Contact Information
- The Child Protection Governor is currently Mr Simon Doggart.
- The Child Protection Officer/ Designated Member of Staff is currently Mr Andrew S Lee, Senior Master.
- The contact details for Harrow Child and Family Services are:
Children and Family Services
429/433 Pinner Road
Harrow
Middx HA1 4HN
020 8863 5544
- The Senior Child Protection Co-ordinator is Steve Spurr, at the Civic Centre: 0208 420 9644
- The out of hours emergency duty team number is 0208 424 0999
ASL: Reviewed May 2009