We have recently updated our child protection training course written specifically for childminders and their assistants to ensure it keeps right up to date with the latest guidance.  This on-line course has the latest information and guidance from Working Together 2013 and also incorporates the safeguarding outcomes as specified by Ofsted in their Inspecting Safeguarding Briefing for schools.

The course also fulfils the safeguarding outcomes of other  recent documents, which are applicable to Childminders,  including Ofsted’s Conducting Childcare Register inspections (March 2013) which gives direction to Ofsted inspectors and states:

The procedures for safeguarding children – check that:

• those caring for children know how to recognise and respond to signs of abuse, and what to do when they have concerns about a child
• providers know of their duty to liaise with local authority statutory children’s services agencies when there are concerns about possible harm or abuse and know how to do so.

And the newly released Requirements for the Childcare Register Ofsted fact sheet which specifies: “The registered person must keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect.”

The Child Protection for Childminders course consists of ten modules and includes:

• abuse and identifying concerns
• legislation and guidance
• child protection policies and procedures
• communication and confidentiality
• working with other agencies
• handling allegations and complaints
• how and when to make referrals

Incorporated throughout the course is information, case studies and questions specifically relevant to those working in childminding. At the end of the course there are useful downloads, references and sample childminding policies, all of which, along with the course content, remain accessible for the two year duration of the course certificate.

For further details of this training course click here.

The latest Ofsted safeguarding briefing for schools Inspecting Safeguarding Briefing (April 2013) reinforces the message that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. The briefing states:

 “the importance for all staff in an establishment of having appropriate training and induction so that they understand their roles and responsibilities and are confident about carrying them out”.

The ChildProtectionCompany.com’s Introduction to Child Protection training course has a specific education version aimed at teachers and school staff.  The course has been recently updated in line with the latest government guidance Working Together to safeguard Children 2013.

The Further Child Protection course is designed for those taking the role of the designated professional for safeguarding within an organisation, or those wishing to extend their knowledge on this important subject. This course covers the principal elements of training for designated members of staff as specified in the Ofsted briefing (Annex 3).

The Ofsted consultation Good early years provision for all opened on the 19th April and runs until 24th May. The consultation focuses on how Early Years providers will be inspected and proposes that from September 2013 :

•  a single judgement of ‘requires improvement’ will replace the current ‘satisfactory’ judgement for all early years providers
•  early years non-domestic settings judged as ‘requires improvement’ will be the subject of a full re-inspection within two years; they will have a maximum of four years to become good
•  where an early years non-domestic setting fails to become ‘good’ following two consecutive inspections, we propose that this would be likely to lead to an ‘inadequate’ judgement and subject to the monitoring arrangements as set in the early years inspection framework
•  where any inadequate early years setting has failed to improve sufficiently and is still judged to be inadequate when reinspected, it is likely that we may take steps to cancel that setting’s registration.

An article in Nursery World reports on some of  the reactions to the consultation with concerns having been made by some early years organisations related to funding and loss of local authority support.

An improvement notice imposed on Salford council in 2010 has been lifted following a recent Ofsted inspection. Inspectors found that good improvement had been made in the child protection department. Improvements identified included better support being given to children and families, improved social worker retention and better communication with the police about missing children.

The latest Ofsted inspection, which took place in November 2012, was unannounced and rated the Salford’s children services department as ‘adequate’.

For further details see Manchester Evening News

Following the government announcement to introduce childminding agencies, an independent focus group has been set up.  The Independent Childminders’ Focus Group (ICFG), founded by childminder Simona McKenzie, aims to provide support to childminders and seek clarification about what will happen to childminders who choose to remain independent and not join an agency.

The press release from ICFG raises concerns about safeguarding and quality under the new structure:

‘Childminders attached to an agency will no longer be registered directly with Ofsted. The proposal is that the childminder agency will be required to be registered with the regulatory body, Ofsted and the agency will be responsible to make checks on the childminder. This raises numerous concerns about quality and potentially a two tier service.’

Newly registering childminders will have to join an agency, under the new structure, whilst existing childminders can choose between remaining independent or registering with an agency.
Independent childminders will continue to be registered with Ofsted and will have to pay for registration and inspections, the cost of which are so far unclear.

An Ofsted report, based on inspections of ten authorities, found that the local services to support  missing children are frequently lacking. Ofsted describe a “weak understanding” of the reasons why children run away and what could be done to prevent it.

Quoted in CYPnow Ellen Broome,  from The Children’s Society encourages local authorities to sign up to the  Runaway Charter as part of the Make Runaways Safe campaign:

“A number of local authorities have taken that opportunity. We are calling on all the remaining councils to sign-up, so we can improve the protection that we offer to vulnerable young children across the country.”

To learn more about safeguarding children and how to identify the signs of bullying, domestic, emotional and neglect issues, which may lead children to run away, see details of our child protection training courses.

We are delighted to report that yesterdays e-Safety conference entitled  e-Safety: Ofsted Inspections and Good Practice in your School was a great success.  Attended by teachers, ICT leads and safeguarding leads from schools and academy’s across the country a wealth of information was shared about the safe use of technology in education, and the good practice required to safeguard children and young people whilst meetings the requirements of Ofsted.

The opening Keynote presentation by Elaine Long, an experienced teacher, senior leader and Ofsted Inspector was an extremely useful insight into how Ofsted conduct their inspections, what they are looking for in terms of e-Safety and how schools can ensure they are best prepared for an inspection.

William Baldet  talked about his work with PREVENT ( the government strategy which seeks to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism) and explained how young people use the internet to learn about terrorism and gave a fascinating insight into this area of safeguarding.

A presentation by Alan Mackenzie, a leading e-Safety expert, looked at examples of how schools are using technology and detailed how to mitigate the risks to schools of using ICT across the curriculum. This theme was further enhanced by a talk from Stephen Dadd, a local head teacher and some of his students, about the issues they have faced in their school and how these have been tackled.

We would like to thank all the speakers and attendees for their participation and contributions in making the day such a success.

Ofsted are now inspecting e-Safety practice within schools.  New guidance for Ofsted inspectors was published in September 2012 and is available here. The guidance highlights what Ofsted inspectors will be looking for are with regards to e-Safety in schools and this includes:

1. Evidence that all school staff have received annual e-Safety training.
2. A whole school approach to e-Safety.
3. The involvement of parents and families to continue the e-Safety message at home.
4. A clear e-Safety strategy with up to date polices.
5. A move to managed systems where children are taught to identify and manage e-Safety risks.

The ChildProtectionCompany.com have two online courses available to help schools fulfill their e-Safety responsibilities:

• The e-Safety Level 1 online training course is designed for teachers and all school staff and it enables schools to quickly and easily fulfil Ofsted’s requirement for all staff to receive at least annual e-Safety training.
• The Parents e-Safety course is an excellent way to engage and involve parents in the e-Safety message. This course is written to raise parents and carers awareness of e-Safety, equipping then to reinforce e-Safety practice in the home.

For more details please see our e-Safety for Schools page

Ofsted has released updated documents in January 2013 for Childminders and Yearly Years providers.

One document:  Records, policies and notification requirements of the Early Years Register  is a fact sheet setting out which written records and policies childminders must keep.  This fact sheet is designed to assists childminders to ensure they meet the legal requirements of the Childcare Act 2006  and the safeguarding, welfare, learning and development needs of young children; as set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Documentation childminders are required to maintain include records of:

• complaints received and their outcomes
• parental permission for outings
• personal information and contact details for each child in their care
• all medicines administered to children
• accidents and first aid treatment provided to children whilst in their care
• each child’s dietary needs.

An online e-safety training course designed specifically for schools is now available. It is designed to provide you with the e-Safety knowledge to help keep the children you are responsible for, and yourself, safe when using modern technology. In today’s high tech world e-Safety awareness and management is a vital part of an organisation’s safeguarding practice.

Meeting the requirements of Ofsteds publication  Inspecting e-Safety (Sept 2012) and written by a leading e-Safety expert, the e-Safety course covers:

• The different types of technology children are using today
• e-Safety risks to children
• Cyberbullying, sexting, grooming, social media.
• The importance of educating and empowering children
• How to identify and reduce safety risks to yourself
• How to deal with e-Safety incidents

At the end of the course there is a short assessment to test understanding and on successful completion of this assessment you will be awarded a certificate valid for one year.

To learn more or to purchase the e-safety training course please follow this link.