An effective child protection and safeguarding policy and procedure is one which is regularly reviewed, written and updated in line with local and national guidance, including Plymouth Safeguarding Children Partnership (PSCP) guidance, What to do if you are worried a child is being abused (2015) and Working together to safeguard children - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
An effective child protection and safeguarding policy and procedure includes:
- signs and indicators of abuse;
- definitions of abuse;
- what to do if you have a concern about a child;
- managing disclosures;
- procedures for record keeping, including a chronology of events;
- how to make contact to the Families First team;
- procedures for information sharing, including obtaining consent;
- procedures for managing allegations against staff;
- the use of mobile phones, cameras with electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities;
- the Prevent duty;
- female genital mutilation (FGM);
- relevant contact details
- detail of how safeguarding training is delivered and how practitioners are supported to put this into practice.