These are defined in the Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance for Schools 2024.
Abuse
A form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm.
- Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others.
- Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse.
- Children may be abused by an adult or adults or by another child or children.
Physical abuse
A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or guardian fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.
Emotional abuse
The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development.
It may involve the following:
- conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.
- not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate.
- age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction.
- seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.
- serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children.
Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.
Sexual abuse
- Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.
- The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing.
- They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse.
- Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.
- The sexual abuse of children by other children is a specific safeguarding issue (also known as peer on peer abuse) in education and all staff should be aware of it and of their school or college’s policy and procedures for dealing with it (see paragraph 49).
Neglect
The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy, for example, as a result of maternal substance abuse.
Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or guardian failing to:
- provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
- protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
- ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
- ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
Legal information for parents and guardians
Under the Education Act 2002 (Section 175 for maintained schools/Section 157 for academies/free/independent schools), schools must make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Parents/guardians should know that the law (Children Act 1989) requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse.
Staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with the parent/carer and discuss the need to make a referral to Children’s Social Care if that is considered necessary. This will only be done where such discussion will not place the child at increased risk of significant harm or cause undue delay.
The school will seek advice from Children’s Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.
Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later found to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead and their team carries out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acts in the best interests of all children.
Bishop Fox’s School have an excellent reputation in working with the local Children’s Teams and other professionals.
Pastoral Support
It is important that students at Bishop Fox’s School are supported pastorally, as happy and healthy individuals are more likely to thrive and achieve their goals.
Our tutor system allows for a supportive, nurturing environment, where tutors get to know the students in their groups, offering individual tailored support with their wellbeing. This is supported with tutor time activities and our PSHE curriculum, which covers a variety of topics and life skills, including boosting positive mental health & wellbeing, and giving students tools and strategies to cope with an ever-changing environment.
Through our enrichment programme, students take part in extracurricular activities in addition to our calendared Curriculum Days opportunities which support in developing social skills, resilience and cultural capital. Our students also have opportunities to become members of School Council, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and Peer Mentors.
Our 2023 Ofsted Report noted ‘Staff are well trained to identify concerns and to respond to these. They understand the concerns that are prevalent in the school and the local area. Effective training and clear communication between staff contribute to a very strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders make prompt referrals to other agencies to secure the help pupils need.’
