Be Alert And Question Behaviours

I am going to respond to something that David, our Co-ordinator at CR & A, has been asking. He asked me whether I ever use closed questions when I write. He suggested that clear yes or no answers to closed questions might really help you look at your Early Years Practitioners’ knowledge of safeguarding and to consider if that knowledge is truly embedded in practice.

As you are very well aware the Early Years Foundation Stage 2017, refers to you and your Practitioners having a clear understanding of two key documents – What to Do If You’re Worried A Child is Being Abused 2015, and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

The graphic above comes from the former. Let’s take a look at what this should mean to actual day to day practice. I am going to do this in two parts. Here’s Part 1.

Be Alert
- Are all of your Practitioner awake, aware, ‘on the ball’ ? Are they really observant, noticing what’s going on between children and their parents ?
- Are they aware of possible ‘clues’ to harm in terms of really being able to spot the signs of Emotional Neglect ? How about a child’s ‘frozen’ or frightened behaviour, or timid/quiet behaviour as a possible clue that they live in an unpredictable home environment where Domestic Abuse is a feature of day to day life ?
- Are they familiar with risky/dangerous behaviours in their team members ? i.e. the Practitioner who has their favourite children and parents, who is babysitting (despite the fact that the Professional Behaviour Policy says not to), or, is coercing or manipulating more vulnerable/less confident people in your setting ? I.e. grooming
- Are they confident in the doing of safeguarding ? I.e. Are they aware how what they have seen, heard or, felt translates into actions ?
Questioning Behaviour
- Are your Practitioners demonstrating that they think, feel and act on their observations I.e. They start by questioning behaviours or reactions to things in themselves before they start actually voicing their concerns. Are they ‘switched on’ and actively engaged in their work ?
- Are they actively talking with parents at the earliest opportunity to make sense of their child’s behaviour or the behaviour between the parent and child ? I.e. Well, well before any child protection level of safeguarding
- Are they sufficiently skilled in asking questions in such a way that probes around a concern, without necessary naming that concern ?
- Do you ever hear them say ‘oh, that’s cultural’, as a way of explaining away a possible abuse to a child ? Do they avoid raising questions that they feel may be viewed as prejudiced, discriminatory or racist ? Do they sometimes find it difficult to separate their personal beliefs from their professional responsibilities ?

How many ticks do you have?

If you already have more than 2 ticks, that is an indication that your Practitioner really does not have the knowledge and most importantly the capacity to confidently apply that knowledge to their practice with children and their families.

Please consider booking a place on the Group 2 Safeguarding Children, their Parents and Ourselves, Awareness Course on 4th April, or even think about booking an inset day for your whole Team.