General Statement

The trustees and directors of Legacy XS recognise the importance of its work with children and young people and its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people entrusted to their care.

Staff of Legacy XS are not responsible for investigating cases of abuse themselves but have a duty to refer cases of suspected child abuse to Social Services via the appointed Children's Advocate(s).

Background / Legal framework

The legal framework for child protection work comes from the Children Act 1989 and the regulation entitled "Working Together- A Guide to Inter-Agency Working in Child Protection", which accompanied the Act.

Pastoral care for members of Legacy XS is provided by the Legacy Trust, part of the Church of England. As part of the Church of England, the Legacy Trust's policy and procedure is informed by the Church's official policy expressed both centrally and via The Diocese of Chelmsford Child Protection guidelines.

The Church of England, along with many other parts of the Church, has adopted a formal policy on protecting children from abuse. It forms part of the wider commitment to nurturing and supporting our children. The Diocese of Chelmsford Child Protection Guidelines focus on child abuse: how to minimize the risk of it happening and how to respond when suspicions arise.

Within the diocese the Bishop has his own Bishop's Representative for Child Protection, who reports directly to him. She will give advice or consultation.

In relation to abuse itself, it is estimated nationally that about 10% of children have been sexually abused in some way, with probably a similar percentage having been abused in other ways, with between one fifth to one third on average of all sexual abuse being carried out by children under the age of 18, this being child on child abuse.

Following investigations on abuse the vast majority of children remain at home with at least one of their carers, so the number of children who end up being taken into care is very small. Abuse takes place across all classes, cultures, religions and ethnic groups.

Most sexual abuse is carried out by males although there is evidence of sexual abuse by women and this should not be discounted. With other forms of abuse it is more evenly spread between men and women.

What is covered by Child Protection Procedures

Abuse, as dealt with under child protection procedures, is physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect carried out by either members of the child's family, extended family, people in a position of trust or people with regular contact with the child, for instance baby sitters, close family friends etc.

It is usually therefore, abuse carried out by a person or persons known to the child.

If a child is attacked by a stranger then this would be a matter for the police outside of child protection procedures, unless there were other concerns for the child.

In relation to child protection a child is someone under 18 years.

Basic principles of Child Protection

Staff and volunteers working for Legacy XS have a moral duty to refer cases of abuse to Social Services. Therefore information cannot be treated as confidential and the child must not be promised confidentiality.

The child must be listened to and supported and the appropriate action taken.

Children should not be put under pressure to disclose information that they are not ready to give, even if they may have only given part of the story.

Staff must not arrange any medical examinations of a child nor undress a child to look for injuries in cases of suspected abuse. However, injuries shown voluntarily should be observed and noted.

NB: In all circumstances keep information on a "need to know" basis so that any alleged perpetrator is not "tipped off". The child or young person's privacy should be respected at all times.

Role of Legacy XS

• To nominate a designated member of the board with responsibility for child protection. Legacy XS's Children's Advocate is: Liz Jermy
• To refer cases of abuse to the Bishop's Representative for Child Protection and Social Services or to monitor children where there are concerns but no clear evidence of abuse or a disclosure, in line with the procedures outlined in the Diocese of Chelmsford Child Protection Guidelines.
• To encourage a positive, supportive atmosphere which will make it easier for children to disclose abuse or talk about things which are worrying them.
• To safely recruit, supervise and train all youth workers within Legacy XS
• To support those affected by abuse
• Adopt a procedure for dealing with concerns about possible abuse
• Maintaining good links with the statutory childcare authorities and other organisations

Types of Abuse

Physical abuse

This is a physical injury which is inflicted by a person known to the child or which was knowingly not prevented. Signs of physical abuse can include the following:

• Frequent bruises, particularly on parts of the body which are not easy to bruise accidentally, such as the back, back of legs, buttocks, the mouth, stomach, under the arms and in the genital area.
• Finger marks
• Pinches
• Bruises with a clear outline which would indicate the use of an implement
• Bites
• Burns, specially with clear outline, for instance cigarette burns
• Poisoning

Neglect

This is described as the persistent or severe neglect of a child's needs which results in a serious impairment of the child's health or development.

Signs of neglect can include:

• Parents not attending to a child's physical, medical and developmental needs
• Exposing a child to unnecessary danger
• Child being unkempt, tired and dirty
• No attention paid to child's personal hygiene
• Hunger
• Poor attention span/learning problems which do not result from any known inherent difficulties
• Low self esteem
• Self harm
• Recurring illnesses or constant complaints of being unwell.

Emotional abuse

This is described as the persistent or severe emotional ill treatment of a child which has a severe adverse effect on the emotional development and behaviour of the child. Signs can include:

• No affection shown by the parent to the child
• Constant criticism of the child by the parent
• Unrealistic expectations
• Child totally ignored/rejected
• Over protection
• Scapegoating
• Delayed speech and language development
• Bed wetting or soiling
• Over activity
• Poor self confidence
• Lack of trust
• Depression
• Self harm
• Unexplainable illnesses

Sexual abuse

This is the involvement of children in sexual activities of any kind which is inappropriate. This includes physical sexual interference, sexual intercourse, being shown pornographic videos or magazines, being made to observe sexual activity or being made to sexually satisfy adults, for instance through masturbation. Signs of sexual abuse can include:

• Disclosure of abuse
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Suicide attempts
• Explicit sexual knowledge which is age inappropriate
• Explicit sexual activity, including persistent or open masturbation
• Sexual assaults on other children or involving children in explicit sexual activities inappropriate to their age.
• Genital injuries
• Pregnancy in under 14 year olds
• Explicit sexualised drawings
• Alcohol/drug misuse
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Soiling
• Self harm
• Prostitution
• Recurring urinary infections

NB: This is not an exhaustive list but these are all signs which indicate that abuse may be occurring, although there may be other explanations for a child displaying these signs. They are only intended as a guide and must be seen in context in relation to the child's age and stage of maturation. Any concerns you may have about a child should be discussed immediately with your designated member of staff (Children's Advocates) before any action is taken.

Groups of children most at risk

All children are at risk, but we know that sexual abusers tend to target specific groups of children because of their increased vulnerability, which include:

• children with disabilities who may find it difficult due to their disability to disclose that they have been abused
• babies and very young children, who again may not have the language skills to disclose abuse
• children who feel isolated or have poor self esteem. These children may be vulnerable to adults who appear to pay them attention and give them affection, particularly if they are neglected at home.
• children of lone or isolated parents. Abusers may enter into a relationship with lone parents as a means of gaining access to their children.

Pressures on children not to disclose

Children are often under tremendous pressure from the abuser not to say anything. This can include threats of violence or death, telling the child they will be responsible for the break up of the family or the abuser going to prison, or the abuser bribing the child. Children often have very mixed feelings about the abuser, they may love them but want the abuse to stop. Therefore children find it very hard to disclose abuse and the amount of courage needed to do so should be remembered when a child discloses.

Factors which may contribute to abusive behaviour

Physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect can be the result of stress within the family, such as poor housing, financial problems, separation/divorce, bereavement, mental health problems or drug and alcohol misuse by parents. However, such abuse can also be deliberate and malicious not resulting from any known stress factors, although these two explanations are not mutually exclusive.

Sexual abuse, however, is deliberate and planned and is not the result of momentary loss of self control or being drunk. Adult sexual abusers go through a process of preparing themselves and their victims before starting to abuse and may well be abusing more than one child. Adults who are abusing their own children may also be abusing children they know outside of the family.

Sexual abuse is not primarily about the need for sexual gratification but is concerned with the abuse of power by someone with authority over, or some responsibility for the child.

Responding to children

General Points
If you have any concerns that a child may be being abused or you see suspicious injuries or a child discloses abuse, then you must immediately discuss the situation with the designated member of staff who will then take responsibility for ensuring that the appropriate action is taken, either by making a referral to Social Services in line with procedures, contacting the Bishop's Representative for Child Protection or by setting up a system for monitoring the child as appropriate. The detailed procedures are contained within the Diocese of Chelmsford Child Protection Guidelines.

If a child discloses abuse, allow the child to talk but do not conduct an in depth interview or try to get them to say more than they wish to. You must listen to the child and tell them you will be passing on the information to people who can help them. Never promise confidentiality in order to encourage a child to talk about abuse. Do not delay in passing on your concerns to the designated member of staff (Children's Advocate).

• Listen!
• show acceptance of what the child says, however unlikely it may seem
• keep calm
• look at the child directly
• be honest
• let them know you will need to tell someone else - don't promise confidentiality
• even when a child has broken a rule they are not to blame for the abuse
• be aware the child may have been threatened
• never push for information. If the child decides not to tell you after all then accept that and let them know that you are always ready to listen.

Helpful things you might say or convey

• I believe you
• I am glad you have told me
• it's not your fault
• I will help you.

Avoid asking questions - you might put something into the young person's mind that wasn't there.

NB Do not discuss the disclosure with anyone except the people who "need to know" ie the Children's Advocate and/or Social Services

Informing parents of a referral to Social Services

Physical, emotional abuse and neglect: Do not inform parents of a referral unless specifically told to do so by social services.

If a child has to be taken to hospital, hospital staff should be informed of any child protection concerns. Parents need to be informed that their child has been taken to hospital. If there is an issue of poor parenting seek advice from children’s advocate before speaking to the parents.

Sexual Abuse: In cases where a referral is being made concerning sexual abuse, the parents must not be told of the referral under any circumstances, even if it is not the parent whom you suspect of being the abuser. This is because of the different procedures which Social Services follow in investigating sexual abuse and the fact that you could alert the abuser, which could put the child at risk or lose valuable evidence. If it is thought that the child is likely to tell their parents that a referral has been made to Social Services then the designated person must tell the Social worker at the time of the referral.

Medical Examinations

Any necessary medical examination will be arranged by Social Services, with the parents consent as part of their investigation.

The only exception is if a child is taken seriously ill whilst at Legacy XS and abuse is suspected, in which case the child needs to be taken to hospital or an ambulance called, Social Services must be informed immediately by designated person (Children's Advocate) of the action taken and about the concerns of the abuse and the parent should be informed, but without mentioning the concerns about abuse.

Making referrals to Social Services

Referrals are made by phone by the designated member of staff who should ask for the duty social worker in the Children and Families team and must be confirmed in writing within 24 hours of the referral being made and must use the standard child abuse referral form.

Referrals on children living in the County of Essex are made to: Social Services, on 01245 434090 ( helpline) or 01245 434083 ( after hours emergencies).

Recording Information

It is vitally important that if you have any suspicions of abuse or receive a disclosure, that detailed written notes are made by all members of staff involved using the child's and / or parent's own words where possible, which must be signed and dated. Including a simple line diagram of any injuries seen would also be very useful.

Abuse by children on children

If you are concerned about the behaviour of a child towards other children and feel that their behaviour may be considered abusive, especially sexually abusive, then this must be reported to the designated member of staff (Children's Advocate).

Abuse by staff

If you suspect, or receive information concerning the possible abuse of children by a member of staff, then you must report this immediately to the designated person, unless it is them that you are concerned about in which case you should inform another senior member of staff.

Sources of Advice

In the first instance, all concerns must be reported to your designated member of staff (Children's Advocate) or pastor Peter Hillman, who should be able to give appropriate advice and will help to deal with any concerns:

Children's Advocate is: Liz Jermy Tel: 01268 795664

Pastor: Peter Hillman Tel: 01268 755306

However, additional advice can be obtained without making a referral from:
The Bishop of Chelmsford's Representative for Child Protection Issues: Mrs Gill Hartley, Tel/fax: 01245 251461

or
Revd. Jeremy Allcock (St Paul's East Ham) Tel: 0208 552 9955
One of the Child Protection Advisors based in Essex Social Services on Tel: 01245 434090 ( helpline), who if necessary could arrange a formal consultation for you in order to discuss your concerns.

or Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) : Tel 0845 120 45 50

or Child Line: Tel: 0800 1111 .

or NSPPC: Tel: 0800 800 5000.

Child abuse should not be dealt with alone and if you have any concerns at all about a child seek immediate advice.

Compiled by Liz Jermy, Nov 2003

Sources:

Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service; Guidance to Churches July 2003
Children in the Diocese of London; Promoting their welfare Protecting them from harm. The London Diocese Bishops' Advisors Group. 2001
Chelmsford Diocese child protection policy 1999