Safeguarding and Child Protection

Safeguarding is about promoting the rights and welfare of all people but also protecting the most vulnerable children, young people, and adults from harm.

Each of us has to safeguard, protect and promote the welfare of others. Safeguarding is everyone’s business.​

All settings are required to have due regard to the following statutory documents for early years safeguarding (national and county). These documents mark out the requirements for protecting children within your care.

• Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage for group and school providers* 'Section 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements' sets out the requirements providers must meet. They are designed to help providers create a high-quality, welcoming, and safe setting where children can enjoy learning and grow in confidence.​
• Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage for childminders** specifically, described in 'Section 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements.'
• Working together to safeguard children​ applies, in its entirety, to all education providers, and childcare settings. This statutory guidance sets out key roles for individual organisations and agencies to deliver effective arrangements for help, support, safeguarding, and protection.
• The stat guidance template*** ​'What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused.' – Statutory guidance document for all practitioners.
• Bruising in pre-mobile babies is a protocol for assessment, management and referral by professionals. Essential for all providers regardless of the age of the children attending.
• Cambridgeshire Threshold Document: Continuum of Help and Support. This document is for everyone who works with children and young people and their families in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It is about how we can work together, share information, and put the child, young person and their family at the centre of our practice.
• Domestic abuse statutory guidance**** is intended to increase awareness and inform the response to domestic abuse. It also conveys standards and promotes best practices.

*Size: 483KB File format: pdf​

**​Size: 422KB File format: pdf 

***Size: 320KB File format: pdf

****Size: 1,343KB File format: pdf

Many more key documents are explored and at times provided through the training routes which follow. ​

Essential and recommended ​training options

Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework 'Section 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements' requests the following training is put in place, taking into consideration Local Safeguarding Partnership (LSP) and local authority advice.

• 'Designated Safeguarding Lead for Early Years and Childcare', and 'Refresher for Designated Safeguarding Lead.' – Every Setting must have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), and their training should be refreshed every two years to ensure it remains relevant and effective. Consideration must be given to part-time and shift hours to ensure a DSL is available in the setting during all opening times. There will therefore usually be a need for more than one trained DSL in a setting.
• 'Basic Child Protection', and 'Basic Child Protection Refresher.' – All Staff must be trained to understand up-to-date safeguarding concerns and issues, and their responsibilities to identify possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity. The local authority training online or face-to-face meets the full requirements of section three of the EYFS, including details of LSP processes and procedures for Cambridgeshire.
• All staff must have Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) training. The recommended free FGM training online course is available from the Virtual College.
• All staff must have Prevent duty training and refresh every two years.
• Childminders 'Designated Safeguarding Lead for Early Years and Childcare', and 'Refresher for Designated Safeguarding Lead' – Meet requirements as stated in the EYFS for childminders, providing a comprehensive account of the responsibilities of a DSL within your childcare business, across three evening sessions, including working with other professionals and referral pathways. ​

Additional training sources are available to employees and senior management teams to encourage settings to maintain high standards, care and support for all children and families.

• Free courses open to staff with local authority safeguard training, including, 'Online Safety', 'Record Keeping', 'Professional Curiosity and Difficult Conversations', and 'Child Criminal Exploitation.' Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.
• 'Recovery Through Relationships Introductory VR Training.' - Delivered to all staff to encourage a trauma-informed approach when working with children, using virtual reality headsets. Booking through the Safeguarding and Child Protection team.
• Bespoke 'Basic Child Protection' training to a full staff team, arranged privately through the Safeguarding Team at a time to suit the provision and team. Course cost is priced depending upon requirements. ​

Relevant professionals and information

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board are responsible for ensuring that children, young people and adults at risk of harm, neglect and exploitation across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough receive the help and protection that they need. Visit their webpage for training, documentation and the referral pathway when referring concerns about a child, or children. ​

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) has responsibility for ensuring that all allegations against adults working with children in Cambridgeshire are managed by working together to safeguard children, and Cambridge and Peterborough safeguarding children partnership board guidance. The allegation procedure must be displayed and explored with staff to ensure their full understanding. The relevant flowcharts can be found on the Safeguarding webpage.​

The Cambridgeshire Early Years and Childcare: Designated Person for Child Protection (PVI) - Knowledge Hub provides access to model policies, legislation, and regular updates to ensure safeguarding is effective. Access is given when early years Designated Person training is completed with the local authority.

Accountability must be taken to the difficulties that early years children may find in disclosing concerns within their family life including abuse. Effective practitioners must recognise that the responsibility is placed on an adult to see the signs and indicators and act accordingly with or without disclosure and act immediately. This is further described in section three of EYFS and explored as part of the 'lived experience of the child' document from the LSP.

Wraparound childcare

When a school manages a service on a school site, it is responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguarding policies and processes are in place. Schools need to:

• Follow the statutory guidance on Keeping children safe in education - GOV.UK.
• Meet the Childcare Register’s requirements, even if you are a school providing childcare that is not eligible for registration on the Childcare Register.
• Make sure all staff receive safeguarding training, and that they know the identity of the designated safeguarding lead (or deputies) and how to contact them. ensuring these DSL's are available at all times the wrap around provision is operating.
• Make sure all staff, including volunteers, have obtained an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Make sure you have appropriate policies and procedures in place to identify and deal with safeguarding incidents quickly.
• Follow the safeguarding and welfare requirements within the EYFS statutory framework, when children in reception year or younger are cared for.

If another organisation is providing wrap around provision on the school site, the school should ensure that:

• The provider has appropriate safeguarding and child protection policies in place (including inspecting these as needed).
• There are arrangements in place for the provider to liaise with the school on these matters, where appropriate. This applies regardless of whether the children who attend any of these services or activities are children on the school roll.

Providers registered with Ofsted understand that they are also expected to follow the requirements of the Childcare Register, providers who are not registered with Ofsted or a childminder agency (or who are not a school, college, registered education setting or 16-19 academy) understand that they are expected to follow safeguarding guidance for out-of-school settings and when caring for children in reception year or younger, obtain assurances that the provider follows the safeguarding and welfare requirements within the EYFS statutory framework.