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Support workers who work with early years children with SEND should be aware of the additional needs early years SEND children may have that could mean they are more vulnerable to abuse and/or less able to speak out if something isn’t right. The term SEND refers to children who have disabilities or additional needs, and early years refers to children from birth to 5 years old.
What is safeguarding?
Early years SEND support workers are likely to work in settings such as nurseries or reception classes, working with the early years practitioner, and making sure that each child with SEND in the learning environment is getting the attention and care that they need. This work may involve working one on one with a specific child, or may involve working with the entire group. Everyone who works with children needs to understand how to recognise the signs and symptoms that could indicate a child is being abused or is at risk of harm, but also how to respond to any safeguarding concerns.
Safeguarding means protecting people from harm including physical, emotional, sexual and financial harm and neglect. Support workers have a duty to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and to act on any concerns. Duties to safeguard clients are required by professional regulators and service regulators and are supported by law.
A child means anyone aged under 18 years, or under 25 years if they have special educational needs or disability (SEND).
Safeguarding children and young people’s welfare are defined in “Working Together to Safeguard Children” 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.
The Care Act 2014 lists six key principles of safeguarding. These are intended to form a core set of standards for anyone who has a responsibility for safeguarding. Although these principles have been designed with a focus on vulnerable adults, they should be applied to any type of vulnerable individual, children included.
The principles are as follows:
- Accountability – in the event of a disclosure, if an adult or young person entrusts you with information that you know could be indicative of abuse, you must be clear with the individual that you need to report what you have heard.
- Empowerment – it’s important for any person who has been a victim of abuse to feel that they have control over their situation. Support and encouragement are key to effective working with a victim of abuse or neglect.
- Partnership – it is important to work in partnership with your local authority and all services or organisations in your community that might be able to assist in detecting and reporting abuse.
- Prevention – it is sometimes possible to take action before harm has come to an individual. If you know the signs and indicators of abuse, you will understand when something is not quite right and will be better placed to report any concerns for an individual’s wellbeing.
- Proportionality – when a safeguarding incident occurs, you should report your concerns in a manner that is appropriate for the risk presented. For example, if you suspect that a child is in immediate danger, dialling 999 is the recommended response.
- Protection – it is crucial to be an ally for individuals who have experienced or who are at risk of abuse. Supporting and representing these individuals in the appropriate manner can help to protect them from further harm.
What risk factors make someone more likely to experience abuse?
Abuse and neglect can occur anywhere to anyone.
Any child can be at risk of abuse; however, there are a number of factors that can increase vulnerability to abuse and neglect including, but not limited to:
- Very young children.
- Children with disabilities and health problems.
- Children with speech and language difficulties.
- Children with behaviour or conduct disorders.
- Socioeconomic factors such as poverty, poor housing and deprivation.
- Family factors such as parental/carer substance misuse problems, parental/carer mental health problems and domestic abuse. These factors may be compounded if the parent/carer lacks support from family or friends and experiences social isolation.
- The parent or carer does not engage with services.
- There have been one or more previous episodes of child abuse or neglect.
- The parent or carer has a mental health or substance misuse problem which has a significant impact on the tasks of parenting.
- There is chronic parental stress.
- The parent or carer experienced abuse or neglect as a child.
- A family history of maltreatment.
- Being in care, a looked-after child.
- A history of offending, either parent or child.
This list is not exhaustive, and others might also be considered to be children at risk.
The types of abuse children can encounter
Statutory guidance across the four countries of the UK describes four main categories of child abuse, and these definitions will normally be reflected in local organisations’ policies and procedures.
The four categories are:
- Physical harm/abuse – this may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child/young person. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child/young person. Harm can also occur due to practices linked to faith and culture, for example, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
- Emotional harm/abuse – this is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child/young person such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child/young person’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child the opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or “making fun” of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capacity, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, including cyberbullying, causing children/young people frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children/young people. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child/young person, though it may occur alone.
- Sexual abuse – this involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetrative acts, for example rape or oral sex, or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse, including via the internet. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males; women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.
- Neglect – this is the persistent failure to meet a child/young person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child/young person’s development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy, for example as a result of maternal substance abuse, maternal mental ill health or learning difficulties or a cluster of such issues. Where there is domestic abuse and violence towards a carer, the needs of the child may be neglected. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
– Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, including exclusion from home or abandonment.
– Protect a child/young person from physical and emotional harm or danger.
– Ensure adequate supervision, including the use of inadequate caregivers.
– Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment, and also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child/young person’s basic emotional needs.
What safeguarding issues do early years SEND support workers need to be aware of?
Abuse and neglect can take many forms, ranging from exploitation and disrespectful treatment to physical harm. It can be at a low level, and take place over a long time, or it can take place over a short time and be more extreme. It is all abuse.
Abuse may be deliberate or as a result of lack of attention or thought, and may involve combinations of all or any of the above forms. It may be regular or on an occasional or single event basis; however, it will result in some degree of suffering to the child concerned. Children with additional needs (SEND) are at increased risk of abuse and neglect and sometimes indications of abuse are harder to identify.
Indications might include, but are not limited to:
- A child experiencing abuse or attempting to disclose abuse may self-harm or display inappropriate sexual behaviour or other repetitive and challenging behaviours. If this is misinterpreted as part of a child’s disability or health condition rather than an indicator of abuse, it can prevent adults from taking action.
- Injuries such as bruising may not raise the same level of concern as they would if seen on a non-disabled child. Adults may assume that bruising was self-inflicted or caused by disability equipment or problems with mobility.
- Disabled children and their families may have limited access to support systems. Support may not be available due to lack of funding or it may not be appropriate for the child’s physical, emotional or cultural needs. This can make it difficult for parents to provide the care their child needs and add to the pressure of caring for a disabled child.
- Children with speech, language and communication needs, including those who are d/Deaf, or have a learning disability or physical disability, face extra barriers when it comes to sharing their worries and concerns.
- Parenting children with disabilities comes with additional stresses or challenges, which can heighten the potential for abuse or neglect, especially in the context of a society where there remains much prejudice and barriers to disabled children and their families.
Organisations and individuals should not be constrained in their view of what constitutes abuse, neglect or harm and should always consider the circumstances on a person-centred basis. Child safeguarding concerns vary according to the nature of harm, the circumstances it arose in and the people concerned.
The roles and responsibilities of an early years SEND support worker in regard to safeguarding
Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility and early years SEND support workers will have an individual responsibility to safeguard children in their care, to identify and respond to allegations of abuse and neglect. An early years SEND support worker should act as an effective advocate for the child, proactively seeking the child’s views but also considering how to balance children’s rights and wishes with a professional responsibility to keep children safe from harm.
Early years SEND support workers either directly provide or facilitate access to a wide range of services to support vulnerable children. Adults who work with children with SEND should be aware of the additional needs children may have that could mean they are more vulnerable to abuse and/or less able to speak out if something isn’t right.
Health and social care services have a duty to safeguard all clients, but also to provide additional measures for clients who are less able to protect themselves from harm or abuse. Safeguarding children covers a spectrum of activity from prevention through to multi-agency responses where harm and abuse occurs. Multi-agency procedures apply where there is concern of neglect, harm or abuse to a patient defined under the Care Act (2014) guidance as vulnerable.
An early years SEND support worker’s role in child safeguarding is to:
- Recognise – you should have a clear understanding of what the different signs and symptoms of potential abuse, harm and neglect can be. Robust safeguarding training can help you to spot these signs and symptoms.
- Respond – it is essential that you respond appropriately and do not ignore the situation.
- Report – concerns need to be reported without delay. Confidentiality is important, so only share information with those who are a part of the safeguarding process.
- Record – you should make precise, comprehensive notes that detail everything about your safeguarding concern.
- Refer – if the safeguarding risk is urgent and you suspect somebody is under immediate or severe threat, you should contact the relevant local authority or police services.
Early years SEND support workers have a duty to make sure that:
- Safeguarding concerns are dealt with promptly, appropriately and reported in a secure and responsible way to all relevant agencies.
- Steps are taken to escalate or alert those able to protect clients and/or other children at risk from harm and minimise the risk of abuse.
- Appropriate and proportionate measures are in place to protect from harm all those who work for them, or with them, or come into contact with them.
The safeguarding issues early years SEND support workers may come across
Understanding what abuse and neglect might look like and how to recognise warning signs is an important aspect of safeguarding. Signs of abuse can range from injury to changes in the way a child acts.
Some examples early years SEND support workers might encounter may include, but are not limited to:
- Communicating solely with parents or carers may pose a risk if the child is being abused by their parent or carer.
- It can be difficult to teach messages about what abuse is or how to keep safe to children with communication needs. Without this knowledge children may not recognise that they are being abused or won’t know how to describe what’s happening to them.
- Disabled children may have less contact with other people than non-disabled children, which means they have fewer people to turn to if they need help or support.
- Children with disabilities may have regular contact with a wide network of carers and other adults for practical assistance in daily living including personal intimate care. This can increase the opportunity for an abusive adult to be alone with a child.
- Communication barriers may prevent adults from fully understanding what the child is telling them.
- Difficult or withdrawn behaviour may indicate that a child is being abused or neglected.
- Neglect – there are many signs that may indicate that a child is being neglected. Children who are neglected might have poor appearance and hygiene, health and development problems, or be living in an unsuitable home environment, such as having no heating. If your common sense and instinct tell you that something is wrong then you should take action. A child who is neglected will often suffer from other forms of abuse as well, such as physical, sexual or emotional, although this isn’t always the case. Neglect is dangerous and can have a debilitating and long-term effect on a child’s physical wellbeing, and on their mental, emotional and behavioural development.
- Signs of sexual abuse may include physical signs or changes in a child’s behaviour that need attention and can include:
– Unexplained soreness or bruises around private parts.
– Pain, discoloration, bleeding or discharges in genitals, anus or mouth.
– Persistent or recurring pain during urination and bowel movements.
– Wetting and soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training.
– The child acting in a sexual way with toys or objects.
– Becoming withdrawn or very clingy.
– Personality changes or suddenly seeming insecure.
– Regressing to younger behaviours, such as bedwetting and thumb sucking.
– Unaccountable fear of particular places or people.
– Outbursts of anger.
– Changes in eating habits.
– Becoming secretive.
Where should early years SEND support workers go with a safeguarding concern?
Some concerns may be minor in nature but provide an opportunity for early intervention, for example advice to prevent a problem from escalating. Other safeguarding concerns may be more serious and need a response through multi-agency procedures and possible statutory intervention through regulators, the criminal justice system or civil courts.
Early years SEND support workers can work in schools or nurseries, so immediate concerns about abuse or neglect should be dealt with under local safeguarding procedures first. You have a responsibility to formally inform and consult the designated safeguarding lead in that setting at the earliest opportunity. The designated safeguarding lead will normally be someone who has been given special responsibility and training in dealing with employees’ concerns.
The role includes:
- Making sure appropriate systems for raising concerns are in place and that all staff can access them.
- Making sure staff can see all concerns are taken seriously, even if they are later seen to be unfounded.
- Investigating concerns promptly and including a full and objective assessment.
- Taking action to deal with the concern, and record and monitor this action.
- Keeping the employee who raised the concern up to date with what is happening.
- Having processes in place to support employees raising concerns.
- Having a role in highlighting learning and may facilitate or be part of learning events.
The person who raises a safeguarding concern within their own organisation should follow their organisation’s policy and procedures. This concern may result from something that you have seen, been told or heard. You don’t need to have all the facts to prove your concern, but you must have a reasonable belief that wrongdoing is either happening now, took place in the past, or is likely to happen in the future.
Should you continue to have a well-reasoned concern which has not been taken up by the setting in which you are working, you should take responsibility for reporting your concern to the relevant authority. Speaking up on behalf of people in your care is an everyday part of your role. Just as raising genuine concerns represents good practice, doing nothing and failing to report concerns is unacceptable.
If you witness or suspect that there is a risk of immediate harm to a person in your care, you must act straight away to protect their safety. You should report your concerns to the appropriate person or authority immediately; this may be the police in some situations. Involvement of the police is indicated in incidents of suspected theft and common assault, including sexual assault, and assault causing actual bodily harm. However, the police may also be involved in other safety incidents such as wilful neglect of a person lacking capacity.
In all cases full notes should be taken of your decision, actions and reasons for them.
What legislation do early years SEND support workers have to follow in regard to safeguarding?
There are a number of pieces of legislation for safeguarding of children, including several Acts and statutory guidance documents which are always being amended or updated. Early years SEND support workers must follow the statutory guidance in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (Department for Education, 2021).
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 – the way that agencies and organisations should work together to carry out their duties and responsibilities under the 1989 Children Act and other legislation is set out in a document called ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.
It sets out the responsibilities of all agencies in the protection of children, and is aimed at staff in organisations that are responsible for commissioning or providing services to:
- Children, young people and adults who are parents/carers.
- Organisations that have a particular responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
The Care Act 2014 sets out statutory responsibility for the integration of care and support between health and local authorities. NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups are working in partnership with local and neighbouring social care services. Local Authorities have statutory responsibility for safeguarding. In partnership with health they have a duty to promote wellbeing within local communities.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Protection of Freedoms Bill – this Act was passed to help avoid harm, or risk of harm, by preventing people who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work. Organisations with responsibility for providing services or personnel to vulnerable groups have a legal obligation to refer relevant information to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
GDPR and information sharing – all child healthcare professionals and agencies have a responsibility to inform child social care and to share information with other agencies if they are concerned that a child is in need or at risk of harm. Good practice shows that they should always discuss this with the parents/carers and the child, if they have sufficient understanding. However, if you are concerned that this could increase risk to the child, you should share their information and get advice from child social care services. You may need to pass on information without the consent of the family if you think it is necessary to protect the child.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 – this Act, often referred to as the Whistleblowers Act, encourages staff to report suspected wrongdoing and protects those that do against being dismissed or suffering a detriment by their employers. It also gives protection to employees against suffering a detriment or retaliation from another employee for reporting suspected wrongdoing.
The Human Rights Act 1998 applies to anyone whose care or treatment is funded or provided by a public body. Section 6 requires all public authorities to act in ways that are compatible with human rights when making decisions.
Why is safeguarding training important?
It is important that we all understand safeguarding, and know what to do should safeguarding concerns arise.
Safeguarding induction and training is essential for all early years SEND support workers appropriate to their role, including:
- Information on types of harm, abuse and neglect.
- How to spot abuse.
- How to respond to concerns.
- Who to report concerns to.
Training should be directly applicable to the responsibilities and daily practices of the person being trained, and to the care and support needs of the individuals that they are working with. An example of appropriate safeguarding training includes Safeguarding Children Level 2, designed for people who are working with children and teaches the skills needed to safeguard children who are at higher risk of abuse and is recommended for child psychologists who have regular contact with families and children as part of their role.
Other training that is recommended for early years SEND support workers to provide the skills and knowledge for effective safeguarding includes, but is not limited to:
- Paediatric First Aid Training
- Domestic Violence Awareness
- Self-Harming Awareness
- Autism Awareness
- Understanding the EYFS 2021
- Supporting Children with Speech, Language and Communication
Managers should evaluate changes in understanding and confidence of an early years SEND support worker before and after training, assessing this:
- Immediately after the training.
- In regular long-term evaluations, for example as part of supervision sessions.
- Annually, for example as part of the performance management/appraisal process.
Managers should provide feedback through supervision and appraisals, acknowledging how the early years SEND support worker has learned from their experience of identifying, reporting and managing safeguarding concerns.>
How often should early years SEND support workers renew their safeguarding training?
Managers should assess an early years SEND support worker’s safeguarding knowledge annually, and run refresher training if needed. To help early years SEND support workers increase their confidence in managing safeguarding concerns, they should at a minimum refresh their safeguarding training at least every 2 years and participate in continuing professional development (CPD).
