Safeguarding Children
Safeguarding is the promotion of children’s welfare and protecting children from harm. This includes protecting them from abuse or maltreatment, preventing harm to their health or development and providing safe and effective care.
Providers on the Early Years and Childcare registers must continue to meet the specific registration requirements in relation to safeguarding children, including an in-house safeguarding policy that covers how to recognise the signs of abuse and neglect, and what actions to take if you are concerned about a child’s safety.
As childcare providers, you may see and talk to children who are at risk and you need to know how to respond in the child’s best interests. The Safeguarding Sheffield Children website has a wealth of resources to help you to do this.
- There is a range of general advice available but also a dedicated section for Early Years and Childcare Settings.
- The Safeguarding Practice Guidance page has advice on various matters involving child safety including First Aid, attendance and the use of photographs.
- The Model Policies, Templates & Tools page includes guidance for safeguarding audit and assessments, recruitment and supervision, reducing the risk of abuse and model policies for settings.
- Specialised guidance for childminders is also available.
Reporting a safeguarding concern
- Key information on how to make a referral must be available to all staff.
- Where a family needs support but it is not a child protection issue please request a service from Early Help Services.
- Please download the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub poster from the site and display it in an area where all staff can see it.
Safeguarding training
All providers should have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who takes responsibility for co-ordinating safeguarding practice and training in the setting. It is recommended that the DSL for each setting refreshes their training and awareness on a regular basis.
If you have not yet accessed the refreshed Early Years training offer then please do. The training is FREE and the details are here: Early Years Safeguarding Sheffield Training Offer. We are keen that as many settings as possible access our training as it is tailored to our children's needs in Sheffield.
We offer:
- A Universal (Basic) Safeguarding Training course
- A Designated Safeguarding Lead and Designated Safeguarding Deputies training course
- Termly DSL/D and managers safeguarding briefings
There is also a range of online E-Learning courses. SSCB provides a free E-learning safeguarding course for all staff and volunteers working in early years and childcare settings.