Cherry Kids� Club

Registered Charity Number 1064757

Child Protection Policy

(Suspicion of or Disclosure of Child Abuse)

Policy Statement

The aim of Cherry Kids� Club is to provide good quality childcare in a warm, friendly, happy and supportive environment.� We wish to ensure the safety and well being of the children in our care.

We want our service to have a protective ethos and our staff to be given training and support to provide an appropriate response to the issue of child protection. We want our staff to be alert and responsive to problems and the potential indicators of abuse or neglect. We will ask potential employees for their views on child protection so that they are aware that there is a protective ethos in the Club.

In all cases our focus is the well being of the child.

This statement of policy will be reviewed and revised as appropriate to take account of changes in circumstances, or in legal requirements.

SIGNED:............................................................

NAME:.............................................................. � (Chair of the Management Committee)

DATE:...............................................................

Our Responsibilities

We operate with the following values and principles when working with children:

� The safety and well being of children is paramount

� Children should be listened to

� Children and their cultures should be respected

� Children should be encouraged to participate in decisions that affect them

We have a legal responsibility to refer any child protection concerns to Social Services or the Police.

� We must refer

� We must not investigate

� We cannot promise to maintain confidentiality

� We have to act on suspicions, facts and disclosures

We will nominate designated people to make referrals and be available for advice and support.

Procedures

1. A list of some of the signs or symptoms of child abuse is attached.� There is no clear dividing line between one type of abuse or another but the list is divided into four categories to help staff identify what they may be seeing or hearing.

2. If a member of staff is concerned about an incident or a sign or symptom of child abuse he or she should record his/her concerns on a logging form.�

3. An example of a logging form is attached.� The record must be clear, concise and must �stand alone�, in case the member of staff logging the concern leaves.

4. For a record to be used as evidence it must be dated, factual, accurate and descriptive.� It must not contain assumptions but may contain an opinion provided this is clear. The record must be contemporaneous, that is, written within 24 hours of the incident. The record must state the intended action and if the information was shared with anyone.

5. All incidents logged at Cherry Kids� Club will be referred to the Play Leader and/or a designated member of the Committee.

6. All logging forms will be kept in a secure place.

7. If the incident is considered to be sufficiently serious, it will be referred to the Duty Social Worker at either Cambridge City [tel 718211] or South Cambridgeshire, depending where the child lives.