In Australia, this week is National Child Protection Week. Although we don’t tend to allocate a standalone week in the UK as the safeguarding of children is paramount every day of the year, it does provide a timely opportunity to reflect on the important role childminders play when it comes to child protection and safeguarding children. This blog from Susannah Knox, SCMA’s Professional Learning Manager explores the regulations, standards and guidance that childminders must follow and highlights the training available to ensure childminders have the knowledge and understanding they need.
Child protection in a childminding setting is an emotive and hard subject. It is knowledge that childminders must have, but hope they never have to use. In my experience, it is only by having the correct knowledge and understanding through essential training courses and resources, that childminders can support children, their families, and themselves when a child discloses.
What are the regulations around Child Protection?
The importance of child protection and safeguarding is evident in the cornerstone role it plays in childminding and the wider landscape. It is built into regulations (Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010), Health and Social Care Standards, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021.
What does child protection really mean for childminders and their everyday practice?
For me, safeguarding is the backbone of childminding around which everything grows. If children don’t feel safe or are experiencing harm in any way, they cannot thrive either physically or emotionally. They must feel safe, nurtured, supported and listened to.
The childminder’s role when a child discloses abuse
As a childminder, when a child discloses it is very upsetting. But the child is placing their trust in the childminder and hopes the childminder can help them. This is a huge responsibility as the person abusing the child may be someone the child knows and loves, so it takes a great deal of courage from the child. That feeling of responsibility may seem overwhelming, but childminders are made of stern stuff, and I know their first thought will immediately be: How can I help and support this child?
It is entirely due to this attitude, and having robust policies and procedures in place, that childminders meet their responsibilities. The childminder is able to follow a procedure that was created when there was no emotion or stress involved. It will ensure that the childminder collects all the information required and that the childminder has the correct paperwork in place and knows who they need to speak to. This will make the process as seamless as possible and gives the childminder piece of mind that they haven’t missed something important.
What happens if a childminder has concerns over a child’s safety?
The above process will also help if a child has not disclosed, but the childminder has concerns. It is only by understanding what signs to look for, and maintaining relevant factual records, observations and notes of dates and times to reflect upon, that the childminder will be able to build a bigger picture of what is going on in the child’s life. Section 3.7 of the guidance tell us that “degree of professional confidence in the information that either the abuse has occurred and is likely to be repeated, or that the child is at risk of harm”.
What training is available for childminders on Child Protection and Safeguarding?
SCMA has a suite of resources that our members can access for essential training. These cover different aspects of child protection learning, from fundamental knowledge to more nuanced training around trauma-informed practice and neglect, as well as the National Practice Model. Members can find out what we have on offer by visiting their Membership Dashboard or by calling the Professional Learning team on 01786 445377 or email learn@childminding.org.
Where can I find resources for childminders on Child Protection?
The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 is a large document and when released it contained many additional aspects of child protection. These include topics like radicalisation, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, child sex trafficking to name a few. To help break down all this information, our members can access additional online learning resources that covers these, and other related child protection subjects. Although these are very important, they should not replace fundamental child protection learning but instead should reinforce and complement it.
SCMA have developed a ‘Child Protection' Quick Guide, which you will find within the Resources section of your Membership Dashboard. This is a useful resource for childminders to save or print, and refer back to when considering their next learning requirements.
Alongside these, SCMA members can also access templates and guidance on how to frame their child protection policy through our Policy Toolkit, plus a Self-Evaluation Toolkit to reflect on what their service does well and where they need to improve.
Is support available for childminders’ wellbeing after a Child Protection incident?
Although of course the child’s wellbeing is the most important thing, we should not forget the need for the childminder to look after their own wellbeing. This can be a distressing time for all involved, but by having the right procedures in place a childminder can confidently support the child and the family after the child has disclosed abuse.
At SCMA we take the wellbeing of our members very seriously and have additional resources available, including private counselling. We would also advise members to seek support from their Care Inspector and remember they can always contact our Helpline for further information. Let’s look after our childminding professionals and support them in the right way at the right time. After all, no one can drink from an empty well.
This article has been written by SCMA’s Professional Learning Manager, and former childminder, Susannah Knox.
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