Safeguarding
Zoe’s Childcare is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff & volunteers to share this commitment.
We have a number of policies and procedures in place to support our safeguarding commitment, including our Safeguarding Policy which can be viewed here.
We listen to all children and take seriously what they tell us. Staff are trained in Child Protection, Staff are trained to look out for any signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL).
On occasions we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will discuss concerns with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such discussion would be detrimental to the child’s welfare.
We actively support the Government’s Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism.
Safeguarding is everyone’s priority. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) takes overall responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection. The DSL provides support to staff members daily to assist them in carrying out their safeguarding duties and liaising closely with other services such as children’s social care.
- Designated Lead for Safeguarding – Zoe Jackson
- Deputy Designated Lead for Safeguarding,- Lydia Darby
Domestic Abuse
Zoe’s Childcare receives notifications from the police of incidents that has been reported to them or known to them of domestic abuse where a child is known to be living in the household.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and sharing information with other agencies helps us respond to domestic abuse by support children and their families.
This school is committed to protecting children and young people and working with partners to stop domestic abuse.
Help and advice for families for professionals
Domestic Abuse Helpline Service
Safeguarding Issues
There are specific issues that we see in Safeguarding, Zoe’s Childcare will endeavour to ensure their Staff, volunteers & families are familiar with these and have a processes in place to identify, report, monitor and which are included within teaching:
Bullying including cyber bullying
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and as defined by Working Together 2017*
Domestic Violence
Drugs
Fabricated or induced illness
Faith abuse
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Forced Marriage
Gangs and Youth Violence
Gender based violence/Violence against women and girls (VAWG)
Hate
Mental Health
Private Fostering
Preventing Radicalisation
On line abuse/Sexting
Teenage Relationship abuse
Trafficking
Missing children and vulnerable adults
Child sexual abuse within the family
Poor parenting, particularly in relation to babies and young children
Online Safety
Staff are always extremely vigilant when using the internet and if children’s images, records etc are stored, they are always stored in secure areas, controlled by usernames and passwords in line with GDPR requirements. For more information, please speak to a member of staff
‘Get Safe Online’ to help protect children online. Please follow this link for their latest newsletter.
Guidance on how to keep new devices safe can be found by following this link www.getsafeonline.org/christmasdevices
Other useful websites with further information include Parent Info, Childnet, LGfL, Net Aware, Let’s Talk About It, UK Safer Internet Centre, Staying Safe Online, NSPCC, ParentZone, Internet Matters & Think You Know
Hollie Guard is a smartphone personal safety app that provides enhanced levels of protection.