Guidance To Support The Ten Standards For All Compact Partners And Organisations
STANDARD 1 - Strategic Lead
All partner organisations have a nominated strategic lead person appointed to ensure that their organisation has the following in place up to date copies of the Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures and additional policies and procedures as required which govern their own agency procedures and work in relation to safeguarding and child protection.
Systems to ensure that work is taking place to meet all 10 Standards of this Compact.
Clarity about their agencies contribution to the work of the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board in order to:
- Contribute and engage fully and effectively to the work of the board through membership of the Steering Group or the Working Groups;
- Attend all meetings as required; nsure decisions with regard to safeguarding made by the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board are enacted within their own agency;
- Ensure strategic issues are brought to the attention of the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board.
STANDARD 2 - Staff Responsibilities and Competencies
All partner organisations employing staff with access to children have statements within staff job descriptions and person specifications that recognise responsibilities around child protection and improvements in outcomes for children.
Partner agencies have clear written recruitment and selection procedures for all personnel that clearly identify and define the key core responsibilities and required competencies to be able to identify and report child abuse be able to identify and refer on children in need or at risk
Staff in all partner agencies are aware of policies and procedures in relation to the steps to be taken when an initial concern/allegation/disclosure of harm about a child/young person is identified.
STANDARD 3 - Staff Recruitment and Selection
All partner organisations ensure that all staff with access to children are properly selected and vetted to ensure inappropriate employees do not gain access to children in their work.
Partner organisations have recruitment and selection procedures for all personnel with access to children and young people including volunteers that include:
- The requirement that all personnel with access to children undergo the appropriate level check with the Criminal Records Bureau;
- Provide a full employment history, including periods of unemployment and the reasons for these, and proof of qualifications;
- Provide two references and where appropriate these references should be verbally checked to contribute to the information within them and/or to clarify any issues arising from them;
- Personnel responsible for recruitment/advertising receive training to ensure that recruitment is Bichard compliant.
Employees will be made aware of the agency/organisation policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding and child protection and any training needs they have in relation to these will be identified and responded to.
STANDARD 4 - Staff Induction, Training and Appraisal
All partner organisations ensure that there is an adequate number of sufficiently trained, experienced people in the organisation to work safely and effectively to protect children and improve outcomes.
All personnel with direct access to children should, as part of their induction into their role, read and understand:
- The reporting processes and procedures detailed in ‘What To Do If You Think a Child is Being Abused' and the local Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures;
- The guidance available in relation to information sharing where there is a concern about child abuse;
- The need for accurate record keeping where there are concerns for the safety and well being of a particular child as described in the guidance ‘What To Do If You Think a Child is Being Abused' and in accordance with their own agency's procedures.
All personnel with direct access to children should receive regular accredited training on assessment and child protection issues and reporting processes at least once every three years.
Personnel with management responsibility will ensure that their annual appraisal processes include a review of each worker's skills, competencies and knowledge around child protection issues and processes, and that each appraisal will lead to a training plan to fill any gaps identified. As a result, they should be aware of any shortfall between training needs and training received, and are able to demonstrate planned activities to reduce the gap.
STANDARD 5 - Staff Accountability
All partner organisations will have a clear structure to ensure that all personnel understand their place in their organisation and how they receive support and guidance in their work with and for children.
Staff will understand their individual responsibilities for the safety of children as well as their personal accountability through their line management.
All partner organisations have systems in place to enable and support staff to report concerns about a child's welfare to managers and supervisors.
All partner organisations have processes and procedures in place to enable personnel to confidentially report any concerns they have about another individual's practice or behaviour, and/or organisational practice in relation to children, which may place them at risk of harm.
STANDARD 6 - Equality of Opportunity
All partner agencies have an Equal Opportunities policy and personnel understand the implications of the policy in contributing to improved outcomes for ALL children.
All partner organisations ensure that all personnel are aware of equal opportunities issues in policy and in practice and have the necessary skills and strategies to provide an anti-discriminatory service.
STANDARD 7 - Safe Working Practices
All partner organisations have processes and procedures in place to ensure that staff with access to children have knowledge, understanding and training in order to establish and maintain safe working relationships with children.
All partner organisations will ensure that there is written guidance available to all personnel on safe working practices with children and that all personnel are familiar with these. Guidance may include statements on professional boundaries, appropriate physical contact, home visiting, outdoor education, safe physical environments that offer personal space appropriate to the child's age and development etcetera.
All partner organisations have processes and procedures in place to both assess and manage risk with regard to children. This includes risk to children from access to certain people, physical environments, equipment and particular activities.
STANDARD 8 - Complaints and Allegations against Staff
All partner organisations will have in place written procedures for handling complaints and allegations against staff.
All partner organisations will have a nominated person in the organisation trained to handle complaints and allegations against staff with specific regard to complaints or allegations made by or about children.
All partner organisations will have clear written procedures on complaints and allegations that are regularly reviewed.
All personnel will be made aware of their duties and responsibilities within the procedures.
STANDARD 9 - Service User Confidentiality and Information Sharing
In line with the Data Protection Act 1998 the partner organisation will keep confidential any information on a child or young person and his or her family that is of a personal and sensitive nature. However, where there is concern about a child's welfare, there will be a clear understanding of what information can be shared.
All partner organisations will have written guidance readily available to staff on the keeping of accurate and up to date client records together with a statement about confidentiality ensure their personnel know and understand what information can be shared under Bournemouth and Poole's Joint Information Protocol and their duty to share information even without user consent where there are child protection concerns and that their agency will support all such actions taken in good faith.
A statement on the security of personal records and adhere to this.
STANDARD 10 - Monitoring Compliance
The partner organisation will work closely and effectively with the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board through agreed mechanisms to monitor the partner agency's performance against the Standards contained within this agreement. The Performance Management and Governance Group will have the power to audit individual agency LSCB standards.
All partner organisations to make available staff and materials necessary to monitor compliance using audit tool(s) adopted or developed by the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board.
RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
Working Together to Safeguard Children
Department of Health, Home Office and DfES 2006
What To do if you Think a Child is Being Abused
DfES 2006
The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families
Department of Health, Home Office and DfES 2000