PROCEDURES FOR WHISTLEBLOWING & ALLEGATIONS
Any allegation of abuse to a student by a teacher must be reported to the relevant Designated Safeguarding Lead. It is then their responsibility to immediately inform the Head of Service, or the Head of Centre. Should the initial allegation first be made to any other member of staff then that member of staff must either request the person raising the allegation to report it to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or if that is not possible to pass details directly to Head of Service or The Head of Centre.
Centre Designated Safeguarding Leads will not investigate allegations made against members of staff, as this is the duty of the Head of service in partnership with Head of centre and Board when appropriate.
Should an allegation be made against the Designated Safeguarding Leads or Operation Manager it should be brought to the attention of the Heads immediately.
Should an allegation be made against the Head of Service then this should be brought to the attention of the Chair of Board.
Should the allegation meet any of the following criteria then the Head of Centre should report the allegation to the local authority designated officer the same day that the allegation is received. An ‘allegation’ refers to any information or concern which suggests an adult who works with children has:
- Behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child
- Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child
- Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates s/he would pose a risk of harm if they work regularly or closely with children living outside the family. The concern or allegation could relate to a current or historical concern.
- An allegation can be made in a number of ways:
- Directly by the child
- Indirectly, for example by friends of the child
- Complaint from a parent/carer to Head of Centre, Social Care or the Police
- Report from a colleague or another agency
- Anonymously Initial ConsiderationAll allegations are taken seriously and acted upon. The management of allegations sits within an effective cycle of good practice, which exists both to protect our students and those who work with them. Upon receipt of any allegation or concern the Head of Service and Head of Centre should not investigate the allegation at this stage. Together they will consider the nature, content and context of the allegation and agree whether there is sufficient evidence to establish whether the allegation is false or unfounded and agree the course of action to be taken. If agreed a referral will take place within 1 working day.The Head of Service or Head of Centre will discuss the matter with the ‘local authority designated officer’ (LADO) at the London Borough of Newham and provide any further details of the allegation and the circumstances in which it was made.If the allegation is not patently false and there is cause to suspect that a student is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, the local authority designated officer will immediately refer to children’s social care and ask for a strategy discussion in accordance with Working Together to safeguard Children to be convened straight away. In those circumstances the strategy discussion should include the local authority designated officer and the Head of service and Head of Centre.If there is no cause to suspect that “significant harm” is an issue, but a criminal offence might have been committed, the local authority designated officer should immediately inform the police and convene a similar discussion to decide whether a police investigation is needed. That discussion will also involve the student and any other agencies involved with the student.