What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is an umbrella term for what we do in order to ensure children are safe from harm.
It means the protection of children within your setting from abuse and maltreatment, including child protection, recruitment of suitable people, medication, accidents, illness and emergencies, suitability of the premises and equipment, health and safety.
In England, the Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks, Section 3: Safeguarding and Welfare requirements state “All practitioners must be alert to any issues for concern in the child’s life at home or elsewhere.” and “Childminders/Providers must have and implement policies and procedures to keep children safe and meet EYFS requirements.” (EYFS statutory framework for childminders p15 and EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers p23)
In Wales standard 20 of the National Minimum Standards relates to child protection, the outcome for this standard is that “Children are protected from harm and abuse and parents are confident that all possible steps to protect children from abuse are taken.”
Parents want to be able to see that their childcare provider can provide a safe, secure environment for learning and children will learn and thrive at their best when they are healthy, safe and secure, with their individual needs met.
What do you need to do in your setting?
- Providers must be fully aware of all safeguarding policies and procedures.
- All childcare professionals must understand how to respond to any concerns regarding child protection.
- The Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks in England and National Minimum Standards in Wales requires that in every setting there must be a designated person to take lead responsibility for safeguarding. For childminders, this responsibility falls to themselves.
- The designated professional must be trained in child protection but all childcare professionals must be trained to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures and have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues.
- There are four categories of abuse – physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect. It is an essential requirement that all practitioners understand what the categories of abuse are and what the signs and symptoms are for each.
- Providers must train all staff to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures, and ensure that all staff have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues.
PACEY Safeguarding children course – endorsed by CACHE
PACEY provides a course to help everyone who works in childcare understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding, protection and the welfare of children. This could be nursery workers, childminders, nannies and childminding assistants in England**.
Our Safeguarding course has been reviewed by Cache and the content fully endorsed. Cache is the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education and is the leading specialist awarding organisation for the care and education sector. Learn more.
**Important information for those in Wales** Following changes to the National Minimum Standards (NMS) in May 2023 this course should be seen as an introduction to safeguarding in Wales and further training to meet the requirements of the NMS will be required by providers. See the Wales training information below, and Safeguarding training in Wales for further information.
Why should I do this course?
Children are vulnerable and rely on adults to help them to feel safe and secure. As an early years and childcare practitioner, you have a responsibility to ensure that children are able to grow and develop in a safe and stimulating environment.
The PACEY safeguarding course has been designed to help you meet your responsibilities and ensure you have the confidence to recognise, respond and refer if you should have any concerns.
The child protection course covers your duty of care and how this links to policy and practice. Many of the aspects of safeguarding children are generic, for example risk assessing and signs and symptoms, however how you report will depend on your own local authority. So here we look at how you can identify your own local procedures. You’ll also explore your responsibilities as either a lone worker or an employer.
You will know the children in your care very well and will be alert to any issues or concerns. The course looks at different types of abuse and how you might recognise any signs. You will also learn what actions you need to take if needed.
The final section of the course covers policies and procedures and encourages you to consider the procedures you will follow, whether you work alone or in a group setting. Having and reviewing a safeguarding policy allows you to clearly demonstrate to parents, colleagues and regulatory bodies that you understand the importance of having a clear procedure to follow should you have any concerns over a child, parent or colleague.
"I've been on other child protection courses. This was the best learnt so much more. Many thanks to PACEY."
"I am aware of what I need to include in my safeguarding policy. Being a childminder is lone working and I did not think about a whistle-blowing policy. Thanks to this training I will now include this."
Safeguarding training in Wales
Changes to the National Minimum Standards for regulated childcare in May 2023 saw the introduction of new enhanced safeguarding training requirements in Wales, with a lead in period to allow time to meet the new training requirements. Further information about the safeguarding training courses and some Frequently Asked Questions to support you in understanding and meeting the requirements is at Safeguarding training in Wales.
Sample Policies
There are sample policies in MyPACEY which will support you to ensure you have what you need to meet the requirements of the EYFS Framework (in England). The templates include
- Safeguarding children policy
- Health and Safety policy
- Risk Assessment policy
- Administering medicine policy
- Accident and emergency procedure
- Illness/Infection disease and exclusion
- Complaints procedure
Members in Wales have access to guidance to draft the policies and procedures that meet the National Minimum Standards for regulated childcare in Wales.
PACEY Resources
- PACEY Safeguarding factsheet
- PACEY Health and Safety factsheets
- Sample policies
- Wales policy guidance – Childminders
- Wales procedure updates December 2019
- Healthy and safety products in the PACEY shop
- Creating a safe and welcoming environment
- Staying safe online
- Helping children to assess risk and stay safe
- PACEY’s Legal helpline can support eligible members if you are dealing with a child protection case.
Additional Resources
- Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks DfE publications (England)
- Keeping children safe in education – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) DfE publications (England)
- Wales Safeguarding Procedures
- Regional Safeguarding Boards (Wales)
- Safeguarding Children in your Setting – Cwlwm Autumn 2022
- Research from Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT)
- Working together to safeguard children – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (England)
- Child abuse concerns: guide for practitioners – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (England)
- Prevent duty guidance: England and Wales (2023) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (England)
- NSPCC child protection information, including the multi-faith safeguarding hub, helping approach safeguarding from within the beliefs, teachings and cultural context of faith communities.
- NSPCC safeguarding children information
- New digital portal to strengthen safeguarding guidance for charities – GOV.UK