The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

P

Parents

When there is a child protection issue in school the Child Protection
Co-ordinator and/or headteacher should take responsibility for deciding on appropriate contact with parents, in liaison with the education authority Child Protection in Education Manager and the social work department, if they are involved. Further information can be found in the CP Co-ordinator section of this handbook.

See also Identification of Callers, Access to Information and Access to Schools.

Positive relationships with parents

Many parents who are struggling with family life are wary of professional involvement. Staff should consider ways that their establishment is open and accessible, and that there are as many opportunities as possible to build relationships informally.

It is important to recognise that parents may not respond to written communication for a number of reasons: they may have literacy problems; but they may also suffer from problems such as domestic abuse, mental illness or addiction which they feel will stigmatise themselves or their children if this becomes known to the school. Alternatives to written communication should be considered. All staff should be sensitive to the feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness with which some parents view professionals.

Many establishments have overcome barriers to building relationships with parents by:

• allowing other agencies to hold advice sessions within the school for parents ( e.g. welfare benefits) and making school staff available during these sessions to meet parents and offer support
• enabling a key member of staff to be the main contact for a parent throughout their child's time at the school; parents may have preferences for a member of staff they feel they can get on with, know and trust (as recommended in Happy, Safe and Achieving their Potential: a standard of support for children and young people in Scottish schools;SEED 2005)
• effective use of home-school link workers to bridge the gap between home and school
• positive liaison with health visitors in the early years
• involving other parents in developing parent rooms, support groups and other peer networking
• ensuring a welcoming atmosphere and reminding parents regularly that they can get in touch with the school to discuss any problems.

Parents and Parenting Classes

Some parents welcome the opportunity to discuss how they can improve their relationships with their children and their family life. Some successful approaches taken by schools to involve parents in developing their parenting skills are:

• developing a user-led approach - parents who use a parent room make a list of the kinds of issues they would like to discuss in a group
• working with parent and child together for short sessions, so that parents see an approach modelled by staff, e.g. managing behaviour
• working with health visitors or nursery staff to introduce parents to school staff and school practices before children start school; and involving school or nursery staff in toddler groups and other community groups
• using home-school link staff to build better relationships with families.

In 1998, a Commitment to Protect www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents1/sw-acom0.htm recommended that all education authorities should have in place a programme of personal safety education, promoting children's skills, knowledge and understanding to 'assist children to live safely and feel empowered to reject inappropriate behaviour'.

In 2001 an Expert Panel on Sex Offending further recommended the universal promotion of personal safety programmes through the curriculum ( The Cosgrove Report - Reducing the Risk - Improving the Response to Sex Offending) www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/justice/roso-00.asp .

Key components of schools curriculum should be:

• respect for self and others
• understanding risks from the environment
• able to assess risks from others
• able to anticipate risks from one's own actions
• knowledge of sources of help within and outwith school.

School staff should consider:

• progressive programmes of learning through the stages of education
• how to involve other agencies effectively to support a coherent programme
• addressing specific needs for groups more vulnerable to discrimination or attack (perhaps in partnership with their community organisations)
• ensuring learning is appropriate to the age and ability of children and young people so as not to raise anxiety or inflate their sense of danger and vulnerability.

Staff should be aware of issues that may have affected children and young people in ways which sensitise them to personal safety issues, including having been a victim or witness to a crime or being close to someone who has been a victim of crime (see Supporting Children who are Victims or Witnesses). Developing skills to aid recovery from adverse events is also an important aspect of education for personal and social development.
Children who are resilient are better able to cope with change and uncertainty and recover more completely from traumatic experiences, or indeed the many 'normal' challenges of growing up.

Resilience can be promoted in children in a number of ways:

• develop ability to cope with demands and risks, by providing regular opportunities to participate in challenging and demanding activities
• develop self esteem and self efficacy, by providing regular opportunities to succeed in valued tasks and meet manageable demands
• increasing children's capacity to re-frame activities and take a pro-active approach to life, by teaching coping strategies and skills and being supported to view negative experiences positively
• providing reliable and supportive contacts ( e.g. through the pastoral care system) when children are experiencing situations of conflict at home
• reinforcing for children in high-risk circumstances that not all of life is high-risk, by providing experiences and relationships that are positive and safe
• helping children break chains of negative effects by involving them in activities where they make a positive contribution ( e.g. citizenship, volunteering, peer programmes)
• increase likelihood of stability in adulthood, by paying particular attention to transition and support for choices on leaving school.

The 5-14 Curriculum Guidelines provides a basis for personal development which includes the development of life skills to enable them to participate safely and effectively in society.

Religious and Moral Education also provides opportunities to learn about and develop moral values and attitudes in the context of relationships with others in the community.

Primary schools have used the 5-14 Environmental Studies National Guidelines, www.scotland.gov.uk/5to14/guidelines/environmentalstudies/index.asp with Social Subjects: Understanding People in Society, to introduce aspects of citizenship and personal safety into their work, using the key features 'social rules, rights and responsibilities' and 'conflict and participation in decision-making in society'.

Useful resources for teachers (worksheets, etc) and an interactive site for young people are featured on the NSPCC site www.worriedneed2talk.org.uk

Changing

Staff responsible for physical education in schools should consider and regularly review supervision arrangements for changing rooms:

• changing areas should be arranged to ensure the dignity and privacy of children and young people and appropriate separation of males and females
• supervision of changing areas should be carefully managed for children and young people of the opposite sex to the teacher. Staff should use consistent language which children and young people will become familiar with before entering changing areas
• any public use of changing areas or corridor or other areas in the vicinity of changing rooms should be carefully managed.

Teaching movement

Physical education staff will be aware of teaching techniques to support children and young people as they learn physical skills and to help pupils to model physical skills as part of the learning process. It is good practice for staff to describe clearly to the individual or the group how they propose to handle or have physical contact with the child before doing so.

Children who voice objections should not be handled, although abstention on a regular basis should be discussed with the child and his/her personal support teacher.

Children should also be aware that they may approach their personal support teacher if they have concerns or worries about physical education.

Child protection concerns will normally be passed directly to the Social Work Department who will involve the police in due course, in line with local inter-agency guidelines. There are times when schools may consider contacting the police directly, usually when there are immediate concerns for children's safety:

• if staff suspect a crime has been committed or is about to be committed
• if there is an incident within the school which gives rise to child protection concerns
• if there are threats or intimidation of staff or children by a parent (or a non-contact parent/relative) or other adult
• if there are concerns about the motivation of an individual seen in the vicinity of the school
• if children report an incident or crime to a member of staff that occurred on the way to school.

Police officers involved in child protection investigations will occasionally need to see children while they are at school. Normally, specialist officers will see the child, and children may request, or may prefer not to have, a member of staff present to support them.

"We're happy to respond to requests for help at any time. But rather than being just reactive, it would be good to build relationships over time."
(Community Liaison Police Officer)

When police wish to pursue enquiries relating to incidents which have not occurred in school and which do not require immediate action, it may not be appropriate for police interviews to take place within the school. The headteacher or senior member of the staff should discuss this with the police, and consider what is in the best interest of the child or young person. On most occasions it would be in the best interests of the child to be interviewed at home, and with the explicit consent and support of their parents. An exception to this would be if the police were of the view that the parent/s were also involved in the incident being investigated. Requests by the police for personal information on children, for example when police have the names of children or young people who are alleged to have been involved in an incident, should always be dealt with through a senior member of school staff who will decide on the appropriateness of releasing information.

Good relationships with Community Liaison Officers and local Police Inspectors can assist schools to develop shared protocol on information sharing and the respective roles of police officers and school staff in different situations.

« Previous | Contents | Next »