Safeguarding and Child Protection
Safeguarding and Child Protection
At Caring Hands Nursery, we work with children, parents, external agencies, and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of all our children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from harm in whatever form.
The safety and well-being of all children are of paramount importance, and it is the responsibility of all staff to promote good childcare practice and protect children from harm. All children will be actively listened to and treated with respect. We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. In our setting, we strive to protect children from the risk of radicalisation, and we promote acceptance and tolerance of other beliefs and cultures.
Safeguarding and Child Protection
All reasonable measures to be taken to minimise the risks of harm to children’s welfare.
All appropriate actions to be taken to address concerns about the welfare of a child, or children.
Working to agreed local policies and procedures in full partnership with other local agencies.
All persons working for Caring Hands Nursery are in a position of trust and will be made aware of this policy during the induction process, including students and volunteers.
We recognise that some children may be the victims of neglect, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Caring Hands Nursery staff will often, by virtue of their day-to-day contact and knowledge of the children, be well placed to identify such abuse and offer support to children in need.
In outstanding childcare, safeguarding permeates all aspects of Early Years. The key features of outstanding practice include
- High-quality leadership and management, that makes safeguarding a priority across all aspects of a nursery
- Stringent vetting procedures in place for staff
- Rigorous safeguarding policies and procedures in place, which are written in plain English, compliant with statutory requirements and updated regularly; in particular, clear and coherent child protection policies
- A high priority is given to training in safeguarding, generally going beyond basic requirements, extending expertise widely and building internally
- Robust arrangements for site security understood and applied by all staff, children and parents/carers
- A curriculum that is flexible, relevant and engages pupil’s interests; that is used to promote safeguarding, not least through teaching children how to stay safe and how to protect themselves from harm
- All staff and parents/carers are aware of the Safeguarding Lead and Safeguarding Deputy
- Child protection arrangements that are accessible to everyone, so that children and families, as well as adults in the nursery, know who they can talk to if they are worried
- Excellent communication systems, with up-to-date information that can be accessed and shared by those who need it
- Courteous and responsible behaviour by the children, enabling everyone to feel secure and well-protected
- Well thought out and workable day-to-day arrangements to protect and promote children’s health and safety
- Rigorous monitoring of absence, with timely and appropriate follow-up, to ensure that children attend regularly
- All staff and parents/carers are aware of the Safeguarding Lead and Safeguarding Deputy
- Risk assessment is taken seriously and used to good effect in promoting safety