Safeguarding and child protection policy

Types of Abuse:

Physical Abuse:

This form of abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or care giver fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Indicators of Physical Abuse:

• Bruising to the lips, mouth, neck, wrists, ankles, on both or either eyes or cheeks (accidents usually occur only on one side of the face), clustered forming patterns reflecting the shape of an implement being used.
• Burns, especially on soles, palms, back and buttocks.
• Child becoming withdrawn or afraid when perpetrator is around.

Emotional Abuse:

This form of abuse includes the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless, inadequate or unloved. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger.

Indicators of Emotional Abuse:

• Regular controlling behavior of the perpetrator.
• Parents or caretakers place demands on the child that are based on unreasonable or impossible expectations or without consideration of the child’s developmental capacity.
• Bed wetting and soiling outside of expected chronological age and development milestones.
• Unexplained changes in behaviour or personality.

Sexual abuse:

This form of abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, which may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration or non-penetrative acts such as kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, inappropriate images, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child.

Indicators of Sexual Abuse:

• Infection not appropriate for the chronological age of the child.
• Pain, itching, bleeding, bruising, or unusual discharge to the genital area or anus.
• Urinary infections or sexually transmitted infections.
• Becoming withdrawn

Neglect:

This form abuse includes the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Indicators of Neglect:

• Being frequently absent from school.
• Inappropriate clothing (e.g. shoes too small, clothes are ill-fitted or unsuitable for the weather conditions) Clothes are consistently dirty or smelly.

Roles and responsibilities of management, employees, volunteers, visitors and any adult in contact with children at Beavers Academy

• Maintain a professional relationship with children at all times.
• Act by sharing information on the early signs of abuse and neglect
• Listen to the views of the child.
• Develop a culture of mutual accountability so that potentially abusive behaviour can

be challenged.

• Empower children by raising their awareness of what is abuse and how they can report such behaviors without fear or intimidation.
• Encourage children to know their right to personal privacy.
• Plan and organise activities and events in a manner which reduces risk.
• Ensure adults do not develop inappropriate relationships with children or spend excessive time alone with a child away from others.
• Refrain from using language, make suggestions, condone, or participate in, behaviours which are illegal, unsafe or abusive.
• Not act in ways intended to shame, humiliate, belittle or degrade children.
• Ensure records are accurate and factual.