Topics included in the safeguarding audit

Policies, procedures and promoting the welfare of children

• Thresholds for intervention
• Bullying
• Risk assessments
• Visitors and safeguarding

Line of accountability for safeguarding

• Designated safeguarding leads on site
• Staff knowledge of accountability
• Children’s emotional well-being in the setting

Safer recruitment

• Safer recruitment practices
• DBS
• Equality

Local Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures and dealing with allegations of abuse

• BSCP procedures
• Safeguarding poster
• What to do if you're worried a child is being abused

Staff training

• Staff safeguarding induction
• Professional development reviews
• Knowledge of child protection procedures in the setting

Effective inter-agency working and information sharing

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Think private fostering
• Early Help Assessments (EHA)

Staff and children’s behaviour with regards to the EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements

• Social networking
• Mobile phones, cameras and other electronic devices with photographic, recording or internet capabilities
• Anti-bullying practice

Why does breast ironing occur?

Breast ironing is a traditional practice in some parts of West Africa, usually arranged or performed by a girl’s mother to make her less attractive to males by delaying the signs that the girl is maturing into a young woman. It usually starts when a girl begins to develop breasts, generally between 8 and 12 years of age.

Reasons for it include protecting the girl from sexual harassment and discouraging pre-marital sex, unwanted pregnancy and early marriage. One of the drivers is often that the mother wants her daughter to avoid pregnancy so she can receive an education.

As breast ironing is a hidden practice, it's difficult to know how common it is. The UN estimate that nearly 4 million girls are affected. There are no official police or government figures for it in the UK, but it is widely acknowledged that it is practised in this country.

How breast ironing is carried out

Different methods are used to flatten the breast, often determined by the region where it takes place. A pestle or grinding stone are most commonly used. The object is heated in a fire or boiling water until very hot, then applied to the breast. The object will then be pressed, pounded and massaged into the breast for several minutes. Afterwards, the breasts are often tightly bandaged. The pounding or pressing can continue for several months until the breasts have dropped or not developed.

Health implications

Apart from the severe pain, breast ironing causes:

• burning and scarring
• long term malformation or disappearance of the breasts
• abscesses
• life threatening infections
• tissue damage
• interference with breastfeeding
• mastitis
• psychological problems such as anxiety, fear, depression and PTSD

It may also lead to the development of cysts, skin and breast cancer.

Signs that a girl could be at risk of breast ironing

• She's embarrassed about her body.
• Her mother or a close relative has undergone breast ironing.
• She talks about breast flattening in conversation, and may tell other children about it.
• She asks a teacher or another adult for help if she thinks she's at risk.
• She's withdrawn from PSHE or sex and relationship education, as her parents try to keep her uninformed about her rights.
• Her parents or family consider breast ironing integral to their cultural identity.
• Herself or her family have a limited level of integration within the community.

Signs that a girl is undergoing breast ironing

• She talks about pains in her chest area, even though she might not say exactly why due to embarrassment or fear.
• She may tell a social worker, GP or another medical professional.
• She may be reluctant to undergo a medical examination.
• She may be nervous about changing clothes for physical activities due to scars or the risk of bandages being seen.

Forms of honour-based violence

Honour-based violence includes:

• forced marriage
• domestic violence (physical, sexual, emotional or financial)
• sexual harassment
• threats to kill
• denial of access to services such as phones or internet
• isolation from family and friends

Identifying honour-based violence

People could be a victim of honour-based violence if they feel threatened or abused should they:

• separate from their partner, or divorce
• start a new relationship
• talk to, or interact with, men
• become pregnant or give birth outside of marriage
• have an interfaith relationship, or marry outside a specified religion
• have sex before marriage
• marry a person of their own choice
• try to access higher education without approval of their family

What to do

Victims of honour-based violence or forced marriage should contact: 

• National Domestic Violence Helpline
• Forced Marriage Unit

Find out more about honour-based violence on the Refuge website.

What providers need to do to fulfil the Prevent duty

To fulfil the Prevent duty, providers must make sure:

• they focus on children’s personal, social and emotional development, making sure children learn right from wrong, mix and share with other children, value other’s views, know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes.
  
  
• staff are alert to harmful behaviours by influential adults in the child’s life. This may include discriminatory and/or extremist discussions between parents, family and/or staff members.
  
  
• they take action when they observe behaviour of concern.
  
  
• staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified.
  
  
• they assess the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, and work in partnership with local partners such as the police, Prevent Co-ordinators, Channel police practitioners and the Safeguarding Children Partnership to take account of local risks and respond appropriately.
  
  
• they make referrals to local Channel Panels, Channel police practitioners or the Safeguarding Children Partnership, if there are concerns that an individual may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism or extremism.
  
  
• they assess their training needs in the light of their assessment of the risk.

The fundamental British values

• Democracy - making decisions together
• Rule of law - understanding rules matter
• Individual liberty - freedom for all
• Mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs - treating others as you want to be treated

These principles are embedded in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Promoting the British values

To promote the British values within your setting you'll need to think about how you:

• actively promote tolerance of other faiths, cultures and races
• challenge gender stereotypes
• support children to understand the wider community
• challenge behaviours of staff, children and parents that are not in line with the British values
• demonstrate your practice to Ofsted
• as adults, can support children to understand and know their view counts
• support children to know right from wrong
• develop children’s positive sense of themselves
• can create a culture of inclusivity and tolerance in the setting

Where county lines operate

The main county line gangs operate from London and Liverpool, but other groups work out of other large cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Reading. The gangs are able to operate more easily in quieter areas where they might not be known to police.

The influence of county lines is nationwide; Metropolitan Police found gang members from Islington in 14 different police areas.

What happens

Young people, typically 15 or 16 but sometimes younger, travel by public transport into rural or coastal areas carrying the drugs and a disposable phone.

For the gang’s security, each runner along the delivery chain only knows one other phone number.

Cuckooing

If a drug runner needs a place to stay, the gang will take over the home of a vulnerable person, often after following them home. This is known as cuckooing.

Once in the property drugs and weapons can be stored there, as well as using it as a venue for dealing drugs and the sexual exploitation of girls and young women.

Health consequences of FGM

The consequences of FGM can include:

• death
• severe pain and shock
• broken limbs from being held down
• injury to adjacent tissues
• urine retention
• increased risk of HIV and AIDS
• uterus, vaginal and pelvic infections
• cysts and neuromas
• infertility
• increased risk of fistula
• complications in childbirth
• depression and post-natal depression
• psychosexual problems
• pregnancy and childbirth
• sexual dysfunction
• difficulties in menstruation
• trauma and flashbacks

Why do people practice FGM?

Many affected communities believe that FGM is a necessary custom to ensure that a girl is accepted within the community and eligible for marriage. Families who practice FGM usually see it as a way of safeguarding a girl's future.

Other reasons include:

• perceived health benefits
• preservation of the girl’s virginity
• cleanliness
• rite of passage into woman-hood
• status in the community
• protection of family honour
• perceived religious justifications

There are no religions that advocate for FGM.

What are the signs that a girl could be at risk of FGM?

• Her mother has undergone FGM, or one of their close relatives has.
• Mother requested re-infibulation following childbirth.
• Her parents or other family members regard FGM as integral to their culture or religious identity.
• Herself, or her family, has only a limited level of integration within the community.
• She is withdrawn from PSHE or sex and relationship education, perhaps due to her parents wanting to keep her uninformed about her body, FGM and her rights.
• She makes references to FGM in conversation, eg telling other children about it.
• She may say she's having a ‘special procedure’ or attending a special occasion to ‘become a woman’.
• She might ask for help from a teacher or other adult if she thinks she might be at risk of FGM.
• Her parents state their child will be out of the country for a long time and are reluctant to say why.
• She's taken to a country with high prevalence of FGM, especially during the summer holidays which is known as the ‘cutting season’.

What are the signs that FGM has occurred?

• Prolonged absence from school.
• Frequent need to go to the toilet.
• Changes in behaviour.
• Mentioning something has happened to them that they're not allowed to talk about.
• Difficulty in sitting down comfortably.
• Complaining about pain between their legs.
• Change of dress from tight to loose fitting clothing.
• Urinary tract infections.
• Menstrual problems.

What to do if you're worried a girl is at risk of, or has undergone, FGM

If you're concerned that a girl is at risk of FGM a referral must be made to the Safeguarding Child Assessment Team.

If you're concerned that the girl is in immediate danger, contact the police by calling 999.

Find out more on the National FGM Centre website.