Safeguarding: It’s everybody’s business

Our work in the early years is diverse, often challenging, but usually hugely rewarding because we make a difference to children and families every day. Even so, we must never be complacent.

Half a million children a year suffer abuse in the UK according to the NSPCC – and these are just the ones that we are aware of. A total of 22,505 children were involved in referrals from the charity’s helpline in 2021/22. The NSPCC says that 69% of these were aged just nine-years-old or under. Many more children are living every day with abuse or neglect that has yet to be recognised and flagged for investigation. These are the children that all too often the authorities are not made aware of until it is too late.

Whenever a child dies or is seriously injured where abuse or neglect are thought to have been involved, a Serious Case Review (SCR) is held. The purpose of these reviews is to learn lessons from the case and to help prevent future similar incidents. SCRs also make recommendations for the services that have been, or should have been, involved with a child and family.

SCRs often make for painful reading, but time and time again the key message that comes out of them is that somebody did not recognise or react to the situation, information was not shared or sought with relevant people and that there was a lack of understanding of the daily life of a child, particularly where domestic abuse was involved.

Personal responsibility is something that we all have towards children and families.
What can be more difficult for early years educators are the smaller concerns and uneasiness.

But as educators working in the early years sector, we also have a duty to report any suspicions of abuse. Those of us working directly with children will recognise the clear signs and signals that a child may be being abused or is at risk of harm. We know what we need to do thanks to our safeguarding training – and because our setting will have procedures in place to support us every step of the way.

What can be more difficult for early years educators to deal with are the smaller concerns and uneasiness about a child or a colleague’s behaviour that fall outside of the recognised ‘signs and signals’ from our training. Nobody wants to think the unthinkable – that a family we have forged close bonds with, or a colleague that we work closely with, may have put a child at risk or committed a crime against them. But sadly, it does happen.

Doing nothing about these doubts is never an option. We must be self-aware and overcome the barriers that our thought processes often place in our way when it comes to voicing these low-level concerns.

Here are some tips for safeguarding the children at your setting:

Always be vigilant – be aware of changes in a family’s circumstances, or a colleague’s behaviour.
Don’t ignore any low-level concerns or worries you have.
Never assume that the information you have is irrelevant. The small bit of knowledge you hold may be the missing piece of the puzzle for authorities.
Speak up – talk to your manager or Designated Safeguarding Lead if you have any concerns. They will always listen, and they will know what to do next.Ask yourself: if you don’t speak up, who will? The consequences of doing nothing can be read in too many SCRs. Don’t let your inaction contribute towards another tragedy.

Safeguarding: it's everybody's business

Learning from SCRs