What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the preventive action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from preventable harm, whereas Child Protection is the term used for reactive action taken after harm has been caused. All childcare settings are required by law to have Safeguarding measures in place to protect all children in their care, and we at the Gooseberry Bush take our safeguarding practice very seriously.
What does the GBDN do to keep children safe?
We practice “safer recruitment” by ensuring all new staff have been DBS checked before they begin working; this is done during their induction training. All staff and volunteers are DBS checked regardless of their job role, so rest assured everyone from the Room Leaders to the Cleaners are adequately checked before employment commences.
- DBS results take several days to return, so new staff working in the classrooms are not allowed to do nappies, supervise toileting or potty time, and are not allowed to work alone with the children in any capacity.
As part of our staff inductions, all new employees are required to read the main policies outlined on our website; this includes our Safeguarding Policy, the Whistleblowing Policy, our Staff Code of Conduct and our Complaints Policy. This way regardless of their department, they know what to do and who to contact if they have a concern about a child’s wellbeing or an adults behaviour.
All nursery practitioners receive mandatory safeguarding refresher training every Spring Term, and all staff are invited to complete online refresher training at their leisure throughout the school year. This allows staff to improve their understanding of safeguarding risks relevant to the region and local area, as well as stay up to date with any changes made by law and put into practice.
Part of our Whistleblowing Policy is that we have a specific individual who all staff can report to if they believe their concern will not be addressed by our internal Safeguarding Team; said individual’s responsibility is to investigate any concerns reported to them and resolve conflicts as and when needed, however Whistleblowing covers a broad range of topics with Safeguarding being one of them.
Do you have a concern about a child’s wellbeing or safety?
The Gooseberry Bush Day Nursery has several DSLs with experience and training in handling safeguarding concerns, referrals, etc. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL for short) is Claire Buscombe, and the main person you need to see if you have a concern. If she is absent, you can report your concerns to one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs for short), which are Jean Scoffin and Jenni Richards.
Jean and Jenni have the exact same training as Claire, however Claire leads the Safeguarding Team and handles the majority of safeguarding enquiries. You can contact them using the buttons below:
Other authorities
If you are unable to contact the GBDN, you can contact MASSH, MAAT or LADO depending on what concerns you might have. Please be aware that if your concern involves a child that attends our setting or a person who works with our children, the authorities below will contact us regarding your concern.
