Legal & Ethical Framework for Safeguarding Children in Early Years

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the legal requirements and guidance concerning child safeguarding in early years settings. It details the legal framework, including the Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) guidelines, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, 2021), the UNCRC, and the Children Act 1989 and 2004. The report identifies key policies and procedures related to safeguarding, child protection, and online safety, emphasizing the role of early years practitioners in reporting disclosures and promoting child welfare. It further explains the concept of whistleblowing and the responsibilities of practitioners, including student practitioners, in reporting concerns about a colleague's behavior. The report also identifies factors that may indicate a child is at risk of harm or abuse, and outlines procedures to protect children from domestic abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse, linking these procedures to practical examples. It highlights the importance of confidentiality, information sharing, and the safe use of technology in safeguarding children's welfare.

Childcare

Section 1- 1.1-1.3
Outline (do not use bullet points) the legal requirements and guidance on safeguarding, security,
confidentiality of information sharing and promoting the welfare of babies and young
children.
Working together to Safeguard Children (2018) – sets out role and responsibilities and best
practices for agencies and organisations that come into contact with children including early
years settings, social service, care providers and police, eg
Protection of Children Act 1999 and Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)- requires a list to
be kept of persons considered unsuitable to work with children. Anyone working with
children should be checked against the list to ensure that they do not pose a risk; this is
called a DBS checked.
Early Years foundation Stage (EYFS, 2021) section 3- Requirement Safeguarding
UNCRC - section 5.
The state must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child in
exercising his or her rights and in a way that is consistent with a child’s developing
capacities.
(protection from violence, abuse and negelect) The state must do all it can to protect children
from violence, abuse, neglect, bad treatment or exploitation by their parents or anyone else
who looks after them, article 19.
The Childre Act 1989, 2004 stated it is illegal to hit a child if it leaves a lasting mark on the
skin or causes mental harm.
1.2 Identify policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, child protection and on online
safety.
1.2 Policy: The protection and
safeguarding of a child policy
statement generally makes it clear
Procedure: The protection and safeguarding of a child
are generally the detailed instructions and
guidelines which can effectively support the

that what the workplace or a group
will do to keep the child more safe.
The organization must set out such
as:
◦ the commitments of an
organization to protect
every child.
◦ Having more detailed
procedures as well as
policies that the
organization can put in
place to keep the
children more safer as
well as can effectively
respond towards the
concerns of child
protection.
overarching safeguarding policy statement. The
procedures can efficiently describe the steps that
a workplace can take to keep the children as well
as the young adults safe as well as what to do
when there are the specific concerns about safety
as well as health of a child. In addition to this,
the safeguarding procedures must cover the
problems such as how the volunteers as well as
the staff must react to the concerns about a
children as well as the young adults and how it
can make sure that the organization can enlistee
the straight people to work with both young
adults and children as well (Writing safeguarding
policies and procedures, 2022).
1.3 Explain the roles and responsibilities of the Early Years Practitioner in relation to the
following procedures:
1.3 Policies 1.3 Procedures for each policy
stated
1.3 What is your role and
responsibilities?
Give examples linked to your
own practice
Remember you are to explain…
Reporting/dealing
with disclosure
Reassure and remain composed an
individual that they have done the
correct thing by raising their voice.
The early year practitioner
essential to be wakeful towards
the possible signs and symptoms
of harm or mistreatment.
Child protection and
promoting the
welfare of babies
and young children
The protection of a child is
generally a part of both
safeguarding as well as promoting
the welfare. This particular can
refers to the activity which is
undertaken in order to protect the
children who are generally
suffering from harm or at a
developing risk of a specific injury
or harm.
It is their main responsibility of
early year practitioner to ensure
the child protection concerns are
raised effectively as well as
responded more appropriately.
Safeguarding and
security
Safeguarding is keeping children
and young people safe from
maltreatment, neglect, violence
and sexual exploitation. In the
wider context it involves all
elements of ‘Staying Safe’ (Every
The role of early year
practitioner is to protect the
child from mistreatment, can
forbid the deterioration of health
and physical process of a child.

Child Matters Programme)
Confidentiality You must keep personal
information confidential. If
information circulate too freely,
parents can feel very exposed and
vulnerable. They may stop sharing
information with staff. Never
disclose any information about a
child’s welfare in an inappropriate
way to people outside the setting
or school, for example you would
not tell friends or family about a
child protection conference you
had attended.
Put the child’s interest first -if
sharing information will help
ensure a child’s safety, you must
do this in all cases, you should
start by explaining to all parents
why you wish to share the
information and how this could
help your child. If a parent refuses,
ask for advice and guidance from
the named person for safeguarding
or the manager/head of the setting.
It is the responsibility of a early
year practitioner that they can
respect the confidentiality as
well as can keep all the sensitive
informations of a child or young
adult confidential.
Information sharing The sharing of information can
assure the safe as well as legal
sharing of information in order to
protect the child from abuse or
maltreatment.
The early year practitioner
should ensure that the adequate
information is being common as
well as considered the necessity
with which to share it.
Use of technology The technological safeguard
generally means that the
technology, procedures and
policies for the use of a technology
in order to protect as well as
control the access towards the
personal information.
They must empower the
children as well as young adults
in utilising a range of resources
(ICT) that can involve
photocopiers, cameras, and
many more.
Section 2- 2.1-2.2
2.1 Explain what is meant by the term ‘whistleblowing’.
Whistle blowing is an important aspect of safeguarding with staff, volunteers, and student as they
are encouraged to share genuine concerns about a colleague’s behaviour. A worker can report
incident or things that aren’t right, are illegal or if anyone at work is neglecting their duties

which include someone’s health and safety in danger; damage to the environment and covering
up wrongdoing. Whistle blowing is very different from a complaint or grievance. The term
whistle blowing generally applies when you are acting as a witness to misconduct that you have
seen and that threatens other people.
2.2 Explain the responsibility of the Early Years Practitioner in relation to whistleblowing, also
consider your role as student practitioner.
There are no specific fixed Laws in The Uk that requires professionals to report and suspicions
they may have of a child abuse to the authorities in Northern Ireland. In the England, government
guideline Working together to safeguard children (Department for Education, 2013) states that:
‘Everybody who works or has contact with children, parents and other adults in contact with
children should recognise, and know how to act upon, evidence that child’s health or
development is or may be reduced, especially when they are suffering, or likely to suffer,
significant harm.’ The guidelines also state that all staff members who have or become aware of
concerns about the safety or welfare of a child or children should know:
whom to contact in what situations, and how.
When and how to make a referral to Local Authority children’s social care services, NSPCC, or
the police. All legislation and guidelines in recent decades, including The Children Act 2004,
make it clear that the child’s interests must come first.
Section 3- 3.1-3.5
3.1 Identify a minimum of 4 factors that may indicate that a baby or child is in danger or at risk
of serious harm or abuse.
The evidence on the protective as well as the risk components for the maltreatment is so
far from the definitive. In this, there are some of the new components such as reduced socio-
economic status are generally systematically linked with the neglect as well as child abuse. In
this, the commonly cited risk components for the child abuse as well as neglect are as mentioned
below:
 Individual child risk components: low weight during birth, child disability, temperament
and behaviour of a child, pregnancy or birth complications.
 Parental risk components: involvement of child in the criminal behaviours, mental well-
being issues, family violence and conflicts, history of child neglect and abuse, having
exposure to stress, parental temperament, single parents, having unplanned pregnancy,

having low level of parental education, physical well-being issues, reduced self-esteem,
having large size of the families, parental substance abuse and many more.
 Environmental or social components: the parental unemployment, housing stress, socio-
economic disadvantages, absence of pre-natal care, neighbourhood violence, having lack
of access to social support.
3.2 Explain the procedures to be followed to protect babies and young children including:
Areas of
safeguarding
Explain the procedures to be followed. Link to own practice using
examples.
Domestic
abuse
The domestic abuse is generally any of the patterns of incidents of
simply controlling, coercive, threatening the behaviours as well as
violence among those children who are under the age group of 15 and
above or the family members irrespective of sexuality. The domestic
mistreatment can include, but is not restricted to; financial, physical,
emotional, psychological, sexual and many more. In context with
controlling behaviours, it is generally a range of actions that are
generally designed to make an individual mutualist by simply analytic
them from the source of assist, exploiting their such resources as well as
the capacities for the personal mean, usually impoverish their
independence, escape, resistance as well as regulating their daily
behaviours as well.
Physical
abuse
Physical abuse or non-accidental injury (NAI) involves someone
deliberately harming a child. This may take to form of bruising- front
being slapped, punched, shaken, or squeezed.
Cuts- scratched, bite marks, a torn fraenulum (the web of skin inside the
upper lip).
Burns and scalds- from cigarettes, irons, baths, and kettles; often the
injurie can be explained easily; but you should always be suspicious if a
child has any bruises or marks that shows the particular pattern of any
object for example belt strap teeth marks or the imprint of an iron.
Likewise look out for behaviour disturbances in the child, such as
aggressiveness towards other or withdrawn attitude.
Procedure:
All signs of marks/injuries to a child, when they come into nursery will
be recorded as soon as they are noticed by a staff member. If there are
clearly visible signs on entry to nursery parents will be asked to sign an
original injury form.
The incident will be discussed with the parent/carer at the earliest
opportunity.
Such discussions will be recorded, and the parent/carer will have access
to such records.
If there appears to be any queries regarding the enquiry, the
Safeguarding Children’s Board IC will be notified.

Emotional
abuse
Emotional abuse occurs when a child consistently faces threatening ill
from an adult. This can take the form of verbal abuse, mocking and
insulting the child. It is difficult to find out how common this form of
abuse is because its bard to identify. However, signs of emotional abuse
include: withdrawn behaviour- a child may not join in with others or not
appear to be having fun. Attention seeking behaviour. Low self-esteem
and confidence.
Telling lies and stealing.
Tearfulness. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s
developmental capability or preventing them participating in normal
social interaction, as well as over-protection, or limitation of exploration
and learning. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill treatment of
another (for example domestic abuse). It may involve serious bullying
causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the
mistreatment or dishonesty of children. Some level of emotional abuse is
involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur
alone.
Procedure:
The incident will be discussed with the parent/carer at the earliest
opportunity.
Such discussions will be recorded, and the parent/carer will have access
to such records.
If there appears to be any queries regarding the enquiry, the
Safeguarding Children’s Board IC will be notified. Action by
practitioner.
Sexual
abuse
Means that the adult uses the child to gratify their sexual needs. This
could involve sexual intercourse. It may involve watching pornographic
material with the child. Sexual abuse might also mean children being
encouraged in sexually explicit behaviour or oral sex, masturbation, or
the founding of sexual parts. Signs of sexual abuse are as follows:
bruises or scratches as in a non-accidental injury or physical injury.
Itching or pain in the genital area.
Poor self-esteem and lack of confidence.
Poor sleeping and eating patterns.
Procedure:
The observed instances/concerns will be detailed in a confidential
report.
The instances will be reported to the Managing Director, the Nursery
Manager or Assistant Manager.
The observed instances will be reported to the Safeguarding Children’s
Board IC will be notified.
Neglect Neglect, including non-organic failure to thrive: Neglect is the persistent
failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs,
likely to result in the serious impairment of child’s health or

development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of
maternal substance abuse. Once a child’s born, neglect may involve a
parent or care-giver. failing to:
Provide adequate food, clothing or shelter including exclusion from
home or abandonment, for example unwashed clothes, which are often
dirty and smelly.
Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger.
Ensure adequate supervising including the use of inadequate care-
givers.
Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also
include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to child’s basic emotional needs.
Procedure:
The concern will be discussed with the parent/carer.
Such discussions will be recorded, and the parent/carer given access to
records. If there appear to be queries regarding the circumstances the
Safeguarding Children’s Board IC will be notified.
 FGM FGM is a Female Genital Mutilation. It is generally characterized as
every process that can involve the incomplete or the entire dismission of
the external female genitalia or the various other harms or injuries to the
genital organ among female for the no surgical account. In addition to
this, the infibulation can narrow the opening of the vagina by simply
creating a seal, that is being formed by cutting as well as locating the
labia, the other noxious activities towards the female genitals, consisting
the piercing, pricking, scrapping, cutting or burning the particular
region.
3.3 Explain the benefits of working with others in the context of safeguarding, protection, and
welfare of children.
Working together to safeguard children (2013)
Different professional and agencies should work together to help the child and family
early on when there are difficulties. They should not wait until something serious happens before
acting, for example, a health visitor might notice that a mother is getting very stressed by the
behaviour of the toddler and is struggling to cope.
Initial assessments are undertaken by specialist children’s social workers in response to
referrals made by e.g., school, doctors, nurse, and early year’s settings. The initial assessment
informs the decision of what to do next.

Decisions include the following: offering service to support the child and the family, if it
is judges that the child is not immediate risk of harm but is at risk of poor development
outcomes.
Urgent action to protect the child from harm, (e.g. apply for a court order to take the child
into care). Social workers cannot take children from their parents, only the court can direct this.
However, a police officer can take a child into police protection in an emergency.
3.4 Explain support and advice available to the following:
Safeguarding advice
that is available
Explain the support and
advice that is available. Link
to own practice using
examples.
Link to organisations that can
support in relation to
Safeguarding
 Child The children can be protected
by simply preventing them
from specific harms to the
well-being and development
of a child. A person must
assure that the child can grow
up with the condition of safe
as well as impressive care.
The organization will set up the
child safeguarding policies,
practices as well as the
procedures that are generally
employed to make a business
safe for every children they
generally work with. The
protection of a child is about
making the world much safer for
the child. It significantly cite to
the actions that are done to
defend the significant child from
the concern of harm and risk as
well.
 Parents/carers The basic responsibility of
protecting the young and
children as well as
encouraging their welfare rests
with their carers and parents as
well. They generally give
encourage, help as well as
protection to their children.
The concept of safeguarding is
generally the responsibility of
every people. In this, there is
mainly a duty over a workplace
to form appropriate set up to
safe-conduct as well as
encourage the welfare of a child.
The young and vulnerable adults.
The guidance of the higher
administrations generally make it
clear which is a shared
responsibilities as well as can
depends over effective
associated working among the
office and professionals which
have various roles and expertise

as well (Safeguarding and Child
Protection Policy, 2022).
 Early Years
practitioner
The early years practitioners
generally need to be cognizant
to the signs and the specific
symptoms of mistreatment. It
is their main responsibility of
early year practitioner to
ensure the concerns are raised
effectively as well as
responded more appropriately.
Protecting and safe-conduct in
the early years is generally
protecting the children from any
type of maltreatment at
workplace. It is essential that the
practitioners can determine the
effective signs of harm or
mistreatment as well as to be
able to deal quickly with a
condition in a manner which is
not going to cause issues or harm
as well.
3.5 Explain why serious case reviews are required, why are they important?
The serious case reviews are generally one of the execution via that the workplace can
acquire to safeguard the child more better. The serious case reviews usually concentrate over
determining the learning that can aid the workplace to alter as well as become environments in
which both the systems as well as the practice can be safely challenged and enhanced as well.
These are essential it is because it generally help to review when a child is majorly injured or
harmed as an outcome of neglect and abuse as well. In addition to this, review can effectively
determine how the local professionals as well as the workplace can enhance the way they can
work collaboratively to safeguard or protect the child (Serious Case Review Panel, 2020).

REFERENCES
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Harman, J.J., Kruk, E. and Hines, D.A., 2018. Parental alienating behaviors: An
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Kohrt, B.A., Asher, L., Bhardwaj, A., Fazel, M., Jordans, M.J., Mutamba, B.B., Nadkarni, A.,
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Online:
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, 2022 [Online] Available through:
<https://pacso.org.uk/safeguarding-policy/>
Serious Case Review Panel, 2020 [Online] Available through:
<https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/serious-case-review-panel>
Writing safeguarding policies and procedures, 2022 [Online] Available through:
<https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/writing-a-safeguarding-
policy-statement>