Safeguarding & Child Protection

Safeguarding means protecting children from abuse, harm and neglect; preventing harm to their health or development; making sure they grow up with safe and effective care; and acting so that every child has the best outcomes. Child protection is the part of safeguarding that responds when a particular child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. (Working Together to Safeguard Children, the statutory guidance every early years setting must take into account: EYFS 3.9.)

Why it is different with the youngest children. Babies and toddlers can’t tell us what is happening, or don’t yet have the words. They depend completely on adults, including for intimate care. So in a nursery, safeguarding is mostly noticing: what we see, what we hear, and what changes. The key person who knows a child best is often the first to notice.

🧭 It could happen here. Every adult at JLK is a safeguarder: practitioners, cooks, cleaners, students, volunteers, managers and owners. If something feels wrong, it is everyone’s job to say so.

• I can say in my own words what safeguarding means, and what child protection means
• I understand why babies and toddlers depend on us to notice, because they often can’t tell us

Working Together and the EYFS recognise four main categories of abuse, harm and neglect: physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. There are also specific issues to be alert to, even with under-fives: domestic abuse (seeing or hearing it harms a child), female genital mutilation (FGM), radicalisation in the family (the Prevent duty), online abuse and the sharing of images, and exploitation of older brothers and sisters that can reach younger children.

Physical: hitting, shaking, throwing, burning. Bruising in unusual locations, hand-shaped marks, inconsistent stories about an injury.

Emotional: persistent lack of love or affection, constant criticism, threats, isolation. Symptoms: withdrawn behaviour, low self-esteem, developmental delay.

Sexual: any sexual activity with a child. Includes online. Signs: age-inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviour, regression, soreness, fear of a specific adult.

Neglect: persistent failure to meet basic physical or psychological needs. Often the most common — hunger, poor hygiene, inadequate clothing, missed medical care, leaving young children unattended.

⚠️ Important: these signs can have many causes other than abuse. Your job isn't to diagnose — it's to notice and report.

What can lead or contribute to abuse, harm or neglect

No single thing causes abuse, and most families facing these pressures care for their children well. But they raise the risk, so they matter when you put small worries together:

• Around the parents or carers: domestic abuse; mental ill-health; drug or alcohol misuse (together often called the “toxic trio”); a parent’s own learning disability without support; very young or isolated parents; their own experience of abuse in childhood.
• Around the family’s circumstances: poverty, debt, poor or overcrowded housing, homelessness, moving often, insecure immigration status, little or no support network.
• Around the child: being a baby (the most vulnerable age of all); disability, SEND or complex health needs; being born premature or unwell; a child seen as “difficult”.
• Around the setting: poor supervision, adults out of sight with children, a culture where people don’t challenge each other, ignoring our own policies. This is why “working in ways that keep children safe” (Module 6) matters.

• I can name the four main categories of abuse
• I understand that signs of neglect are the most common and the most commonly missed
• I can name some of the factors that can lead or contribute to abuse, harm or neglect
• I know that specific issues (domestic abuse, FGM, radicalisation, images) exist and that any concern goes to the DSL

The EYFS (Annex C) asks every practitioner to be able to identify signs of possible abuse, harm and neglect at the earliest opportunity. Any one of these may have an innocent explanation. Your job is to notice, record and tell the DSL, not to work out what happened.

• Significant changes in a child’s behaviour: a happy child who becomes withdrawn, clingy, aggressive or frozen; regression (toileting, sleep, speech); fear of a particular adult or of going home.
• A decline in their general wellbeing: weight loss, often hungry, tired, unwashed, unexplained nappy rash or soreness, missed health appointments, illness left untreated.
• Unexplained bruising, marks or other signs: bruises on soft areas (ears, neck, cheeks, torso, buttocks), patterned marks, burns, or explanations that don’t fit. Any bruise on a baby who is not yet mobile is a concern and goes to the DSL the same day. Check the child’s pre-existing injury record too.
• Concerning comments or behaviour from a child: something they say (a disclosure may be partial or in play), sexualised knowledge or play beyond their age, re-enacting violence.
• Inappropriate behaviour from a practitioner, or anyone else working with the children: inappropriate sexual comments; excessive one-to-one attention beyond what their role needs (always choosing the same child, seeking time alone, gifts, “special” secrets); inappropriate taking or sharing of images. Report it to the manager or DSL, or through whistleblowing. This is not disloyalty; it protects children and colleagues.
• Reasons to suspect harm outside the setting, for example at home: a child who may be suffering emotional or physical harm from witnessing domestic abuse or coercive control (one adult controlling another through fear, money, isolation or threats); or a girl who may have been subjected to, or be at risk of, FGM (for example talk of a special ceremony, a long trip abroad, or a girl in pain going to the toilet).

🧩 Small things add up. One late pick-up or one bruise may mean nothing; a pattern across a key person’s notes, the accident book and what a parent says can mean a lot. Record each one, so the DSL can see the pattern.

• I can list the signs the EYFS names, including changes in behaviour and a decline in wellbeing
• I know any bruise on a non-mobile baby goes to the DSL the same day
• I would report a colleague’s sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention or sharing of images
• I understand a child can be harmed by witnessing domestic abuse or coercive control, and I know the signs of FGM risk

The cornerstone of safeguarding practice. Recognise a sign of concern, Respond appropriately to the child, Record it factually and immediately, Refer to the DSL without delay.

Recognise: physical signs, behavioural changes, what a child says, environmental factors. Trust your instincts — if something feels wrong, it probably is.

Respond: listen calmly. Don't lead. Don't promise confidentiality — you can't keep that promise if a child is at risk. Reassure them they've done the right thing by telling you.

Record: facts only, in the child's own words where possible. Date, time, your name, who else was present. Use the JLK incident form.

Refer: to the DSL today, in person where you can. The DSL decides whether to escalate to children's services, the police, or LADO. You don't decide — you report.

• I can name the four R's without prompting
• I understand I should never promise a child confidentiality
• I know I record facts only — not my interpretation

At JLK, every concern follows the same flow, in a timely way: the same day, never “next time I see them”. Your job is to get it to the DSL; they take it from there.

1. Same-day, in person: tell the DSL at your site as soon as you can. If they're not on shift, the Deputy DSL.
2. Record on the JLK incident form within the same shift.
3. The DSL escalates to children's services / police / LADO as appropriate.
4. Follow-up: the DSL feeds back to you on what's safe to share. You may not be told everything — that's normal.

Your site’s DSL: Croydon — Maxine Ross · Lewisham — Millicent Brown · Bromley — Valdine McGregor
Above the DSL: Kimberley Ross (Director · Safeguarding Lead override) — go here if your DSL is unavailable, or if you have raised something and nothing has happened.
If the DSL is unavailable AND the child is in immediate danger: call 999. Then notify the DSL as soon as practicable.
If the concern is about a member of staff: tell the manager (or a director if it is about the manager). They contact the LADO, and must tell Ofsted of any allegation within 14 days (EYFS 3.10). NSPCC Whistleblowing line: 0800 028 0285.

• I know the name of my DSL and Deputy DSL
• I know where the incident form is and how to complete it
• I know what to do if the concern is about a member of staff
• I know the 999 / NSPCC whistleblowing fallback if the DSL is unreachable

Working in ways that keep children safe

• Be seen. Avoid being alone with a child out of sight of others; leave doors open; tell a colleague where you are. Our staff code of conduct sets this out.
• Intimate care (nappies, toileting, changing) follows the Respectful Intimate Care policy: talk the child through it, in the agreed place, and record it.
• Touch is warm and appropriate: comfort, help, care. Never rough handling, never as punishment. See Safe and appropriate physical contact.
• Professional boundaries with families: no babysitting for JLK families, no favours, no personal social media contact.
• Follow the policies, even when it is quicker not to: sign-in, collection passwords, supervision at meals and sleep, ratios.
• Speak up. If you see poor practice, say so: to the manager, the DSL, a director, or through whistleblowing.

Phones, photos and online

The JLK rules are simple and absolute:

• No personal phones in rooms with children. Phones live in the staff room or a designated locker.
• No photos of children on personal devices — ever. Photography is on the JLK setting's device only, with consent on file.
• No social media posts mentioning, tagging or showing JLK children — even with consent. Manager posts on the official account only.
• No personal contact with JLK families outside work. Don't accept friend requests from parents. If a parent contacts you personally, screenshot it and tell the manager.

These rules protect children and protect you. A breach is treated as a serious safeguarding matter.

• I work where I can be seen, and follow the intimate care and code of conduct policies
• I will keep my personal phone out of rooms with children
• I understand I cannot take or share photos of JLK children on personal devices
• I know to report any personal contact attempts from parents to the manager

The rules we work to

• The EYFS statutory framework, section 3 (the law for nurseries): a DSL in every setting (3.4); written safeguarding policies in line with the Local Safeguarding Partners (3.5–3.6); whistleblowing (3.7); notify children’s social care immediately, and the police in an emergency (3.9); tell Ofsted of allegations within 14 days (3.10); training in line with Annex C, renewed at least every two years (3.31–3.33). JLK renews it every year.
• The Children Act 1989 and 2004: the legal duties to protect children and to work together.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (statutory guidance): how agencies share information and protect children.
• The Prevent duty (Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015): early years settings must help stop people being drawn into terrorism. Concerns go to the DSL, who can refer to Channel.
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE): statutory for schools; the EYFS says other settings may find it helpful, and JLK uses Part 1 as good practice. KCSIE on GOV.UK.
• Our own policies and codes: the Safeguarding and child protection policy, the staff code of conduct, whistleblowing, mobile phones, intimate care.

Who does what

• You: notice, respond, record, tell the DSL the same day.
• The key person: knows the child best; often first to notice change.
• The DSL and deputy DSL: decide what happens next, refer, keep the safeguarding records, support staff.
• The manager and directors: handle allegations about staff, tell the LADO and Ofsted.
• Children’s social care (the local “front door” or MASH): assess and protect children; the DSL refers to them.
• The LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer): manages allegations against adults who work with children.
• The police: crimes and emergencies (999 if a child is in immediate danger).
• Health: health visitors, GPs and midwives see families too, and share concerns.
• The Local Safeguarding Partners (the council, the police and health, working together): set the local procedures we follow.
• Ofsted: registers and inspects us, and must be told about allegations and serious incidents.

• I know the EYFS safeguarding section is the law we work to, alongside Working Together and the Prevent duty
• I understand the Prevent duty applies to early years settings
• I know radicalisation concerns go to the DSL, who can refer to Channel, not me
• I know what the DSL, LADO, children’s social care, police, health and the Local Safeguarding Partners each do

The EYFS (3.31) says all practitioners must be trained in line with Annex C: criteria for effective safeguarding training. This is where this course covers each point, for anyone checking (including Ofsted).

Annex C, paragraph 2	Where
Training designed for 0–5s, right for the children’s age	Modules 1 and 3, all through
What is meant by the term safeguarding	Module 1
The main categories of abuse, harm and neglect	Module 2
Factors, situations and actions that could lead or contribute to abuse, harm or neglect	Module 2
How to work in ways that safeguard children	Module 6
Signs at the earliest opportunity: changes in behaviour; decline in wellbeing; unexplained bruising or marks; concerning comments or behaviour; inappropriate behaviour from practitioners (sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention, sharing images); harm outside the setting (domestic abuse, coercive control, FGM)	Module 3
How to respond, record and refer concerns or allegations in a timely way	Modules 4 and 5
The setting’s safeguarding policy and procedures	Modules 5, 6 and 7
Legislation, national policies, codes of conduct and professional practice	Module 7
Roles and responsibilities of practitioners and other professionals	Module 7
Renewed at least every two years (EYFS 3.33)	This course is renewed every year

The Department for Education’s free early years safeguarding training (Annex C, point 4) is on the EYFS framework page.

• I have looked through the Annex C list