Our team at CSAWS fully recognise that Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and this is embedded in our service ethos, our practice and our policies and procedures.  

 

Our practice is to keep the child at the centre of everything we do.  We are child focused and we will take appropriate action to safeguard children from harm whenever necessary.  We follow the statutory guidance in Working Together 2018 and the Local Safeguarding Boards practice and procedures.  

 

CSAWS can assist schools in making sometimes difficult decisions around safeguarding - offering advice and assistance in making referrals and talking to children, parents and families affected.  Schools are able to access expert advice in-between scheduled AWO school visits via phone contact or email at any time.  

 

We offer a range of specific safeguarding interventions including home visits, professional staff supervision (see more about this on our Supervision page), advice and guidance, whole school child protection training (see more about this on our Training page). We work in a coordinated way undertaking CAF and Early Help assessments where appropriate to ensure that children and families' needs are identified and appropriate services engaged.

 

CSAWS staff follow General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 and information sharing guidance to ensure our information is shared appropriately and stored securely.  

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“A child going missing from education is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect. School and college staff members should follow the school’s or college’s procedures for dealing with children who go missing from education, particularly on repeat occasions, to help identify the risk of abuse and neglect including sexual abuse or exploitation and to help prevent the risks of their going missing in future. More information can be found in departmental advice about school attendance and statutory guidance about children who run away or go missing from home or care."

 

DFE School Attendance Guidance (September 2018)

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"Poor attendance is often a sign that there are some more serious issues going on in the child’s home, but many schools have commented on the difficulty of getting social workers to take it seriously enough. If the family circumstances that are leading to children not being sent to school regularly are addressed early then further more serious and costly interventions from social care may be avoided."

 

Charlie Taylor, Government Expert on Child Behaviour

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Learn more about our Safeguarding Training here.