4.1 Introduction - Recognition and Referral of Abuse & Neglect
RELATED GUIDANCE
Introduction
These Sefton SCP Child Protection Procedures set out how agencies and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. The target audience is professionals (including unqualified staff and volunteers) and front-line managers who have particular responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and operational and senior managers, in:
- Agencies responsible for commissioning or providing services to children and their families and to adults who are parents;
- Agencies with a particular responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Many children, especially some of the most vulnerable children and those at greatest risk of social exclusion, will need early co-ordinated help services from health agencies such as GPs and health visiting, educational establishments such as schools and colleges, Children's Centres, local authority Children's Social Care, the private, voluntary, community and independent sectors, including youth justice services. Some services will be provided as universal services whilst others may be more targeted to meet specific needs, whatever the circumstances of the child:
All agencies and professionals should:
- Be alert to potential indicators of abuse or neglect;
- Be alert to the risks which individual abusers, or potential abusers, may pose to children;
- Share and help to analyse information so that an assessment can be made of the child's needs and circumstances;
- Contribute to whatever actions are needed to safeguard and promote the child's welfare;
- Take part in regularly reviewing the outcomes for the child against specific plans;
- Work co-operatively with parents, unless this is inconsistent with ensuring the child's safety.
These procedures are based on the Working Together to Safeguard Children Guidance which sets out what should happen in any local area when a child or young person is believed to be in need of support. Effective safeguarding arrangements should aim to meet the following two key principles:
- Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility: for services to be effective, each individual and organisation should play their full part; and
- A child-centred approach: for services to be effective, they should be based on a clear understanding of the needs and views of children.
Working Together to Safeguard Children defines Safeguarding as:
- Protecting children from maltreatment;
- Preventing impairment of children's health or development;
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.