Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults policy

Alongside associated procedures in 06.1-06.10 Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, this policy was adopted by the Meadows Community Pre-school in August, 2025.

Designated safeguarding lead is:
Julie Nettleship, Manager and Lauren Riley, Deputy Manager

Aim

We are committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and will do this by putting young people and vulnerable adult’s right to be ‘strong, resilient and listened to ‘at the heart of all our activities.

The Early Years Alliance ‘four commitments’ are broad statements against which policies and procedures across the organisation are drawn to provide a consistent and coherent strategy for safeguarding children young people and vulnerable adults. The four key commitments are:

  1. The Alliance is committed to empowering children, young people, and vulnerable adults, promoting their right to be ‘strong, resilient, actively listened to, and heard’.
  1. The Alliance upholds a culture of safety in which children, young people and vulnerable adults are protected from abuse and harm in all areas of its curriculum and service delivery.
  1. The Alliance is committed to preventing harm and responding promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns of abuse that may occur. Working with statutory agencies to achieve the best possible outcomes for every child.
  1. The Alliance is dedicated to increasing safeguarding confidence, knowledge and good practice throughout its training and learning programmes for adults, advocating support and representation for those in greatest need.

NB: A ‘young person’ is defined as 16–19-year-old. In an early years setting, they may be a student, apprentice educator, or parent/carer.

A ‘vulnerable adult’ (see guidance to the Care Act 2014) as: 'a person aged 18 years or over, who is in receipt of or may need community care services by reason of 'mental or other disability, age or illness and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation'. In early years, this person may be a service user, parent/carer of a service user, or a volunteer.

Key Commitment 1

  • All staff receive adequate training in child protection matters and have access to the setting’s policy and procedures for reporting concerns of possible abuse and the safeguarding procedures of the Local Safeguarding Partners.
  • All staff have adequate information on issues affecting vulnerability in families such as social exclusion, domestic violence, mental illness, substance misuse and parental learning disability, together with training that takes account of factors that affect children that arise from inequalities of race, gender, disability, language, religion, sexual orientation, or culture.
  • We use available curriculum materials for young children, taking account of information in the Early Years Foundation Stage, that enable children to be strong, resilient, and listened to and heard.
  • All services seek to build the emotional and social skills of children and young people who are service users in an age-appropriate way, including increasing their understanding of how to stay safe.
  • We adhere to the EYFS Safeguarding and Welfare requirements.

Key Commitment 2

  • All staff are trained in line with the Criteria set out in Annex C of the EYFS (November 2025). Our training providers include Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership, EY Alliance and Noodle Now,
    Safeguarding training is refreshed annually and renewed every two years. The designated safeguarding lead ensures support, advice and guidance for all staff to meet their safeguarding responsibilities by:
  • Regular 1:1 supervision, team briefings at staff meetings, bulletins, and reviewing safeguarding procedures together,
  • There are procedures in place to prevent known abusers from coming into the organisation as employees or volunteers at any level.
  • Safeguarding is the responsibility of every person undertaking the work of the organisation in any capacity.
  • There are procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against a member of staff, or any other person undertaking work whether paid or unpaid for the organisation, where there is an allegation of abuse or harm of a child. Procedures differentiate clearly between an allegation, a concern about quality of care or practice and complaints.
  • There are procedures in place for reporting abuse of children or a young person in the setting.
  • There are procedures in place for reporting safeguarding concerns where a child may meet the s17 definition of a child in need (Children Act 1989) and/or where a child may be at risk of significant harm, and to enable staff to make decisions about appropriate referrals using local published threshold documents.
  • There are procedures in place for reporting abuse of a vulnerable adult in the setting.
  • There are procedures in place in relation to escalating concerns and professional challenge.
  • There are procedures in place for working in partnership with agencies involving a child, or young person or vulnerable adult, for whom there is a protection plan in place. These procedures also take account of working with families with a ‘child in need’ and with families in need of early help, who are affected by issues of vulnerability such as social exclusion, radicalisation, domestic violence, mental illness, substance misuse and parental learning disability.
  • These procedures take account of diversity and inclusion issues to promote equal treatment of children and their families and that take account of factors that affect children that arise from inequalities of race, gender, disability, language, religion, sexual orientation, or culture.
  • There are procedures in place for record keeping, confidentiality and information sharing, which are in line with data protection requirements.
  • We follow government and Local Safeguarding Partners guidance in relation to extremism.
  • The procedures of the Local Safeguarding Partners must be followed.

Key Commitment 3

  • We have a ‘designated safeguarding lead person’, who is responsible for carrying out child, young person, or adult protection procedures. (It is recommended that this person is the setting manager.)
  • The designated safeguarding lead is responsible for overseeing all child, young person or adult protection matters.
  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead’ ensures they have links with statutory and voluntary organisations regarding safeguarding children.
  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead’ ensures they have received appropriate training on child protection matters and that all staff are adequately informed and/or trained to recognise child abuse in the categories of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect.
  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead’ ensures all staff are aware of the additional vulnerabilities that affect children that arise from inequalities of race, gender, disability, language, religion, sexual orientation, or culture and that these receive full consideration in child, young person, or adult protection related matters.
  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead ensures that staff are aware and receive training in social factors affecting children’s vulnerability including, but not limited to:
    • social exclusion
    • domestic violence and controlling or coercive behaviour
    • mental Illness
    • drug and alcohol abuse (substance misuse)
  • parental/carer learning disability
    • radicalisation
  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead’ ensures that staff are aware and receive training in other ways that children may suffer significant harm and stay up to date with relevant contextual safeguarding matters:
    • abuse of disabled children
    • fabricated or induced illness
    • child abuse linked to spirit possession
    • sexually exploited children
    • children who are trafficked and/or exploited
    • female genital mutilation
    • extra-familial abuse and threats
    • children involved in violent offending, with gangs and county lines.

  • The ‘designated safeguarding lead’ ensures they are adequately informed in vulnerable adult protection matters.

Key commitment 4

  • There are procedures in place to ensure staff recognise children and families who may benefit from early help and can respond using local early help processes. Designated safeguarding leads should ensure all staff understand how to identify and respond to families who may need early help.
  • Staff are supported to make the right decisions that enable timely and appropriate action to be taken.
  • Designated safeguarding leads contribute towards local safeguarding arrangements to ensure that the views of the sector are heard at the highest level by:
    • Finding out how education and childcare are represented at a strategic level within their Local Safeguarding Partnership (LSP) structures.
    • Sharing their knowledge of the experiences of children in their cohort with LSP local leaders
Legal references
Primary legislation

Children Act 1989 – s 47

Protection of Children Act 1999

Care Act 2014

Children Act 2004 s11

Children and Social Work Act 2017

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

General Data Protection Regulation 2018

Data Protection Act 2018

Modern Slavery Act 2015

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Serious Crime Act 2015

Criminal Justice and Court Services Act (2000)

Human Rights Act (1998)

Equalities Act (2006)

Equalities Act (2010)

Disability Discrimination Act (1995)

Data Protection Act (2018)

Freedom of Information Act (2000)

Legal references

Working Together to Safeguard Children (HMG 2023)

Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2024

What to Do if You are Worried a Child is Being Abused (HMG 2015)

Prevent duty guidance for England and Wales: guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales on the duty of schools and other providers in the Counterterrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’ (HMG 2015)

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024

Education Inspection Framework (Ofsted 2024)

The framework for the assessment of children in need and their families (DoH 2000)

The Common Assessment Framework (2006)

Statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (DfE 2015)

Further guidance

Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners (DfE 2024)

The Team Around the Child (TAC) and the Lead Professional (CWDC 2009)

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) – guide for practitioners (CWDC 2010)

Multi-Agency Statutory Guidance on Female Genital Mutilation (HMG. 2016)

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) (Ministry of Justice, National Offender Management Service and HM Prison Service 2014)

Safeguarding Children from Abuse Linked to a Belief in Spirit Possession (HMG 2010)

Safeguarding Children in whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced (HMG 2007)

Safeguarding Disabled Children: Practice Guidance (DfE 2009)

Safeguarding Children who may have been Trafficked (DfE and Home Office 2011)

Child sexual exploitation: definition and guide for practitioners (DfE 2017)

Handling Cases of Forced Marriage: Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines (HMG 2014)

Spotlight: Creating a culture of safeguarding (Early Years Alliance)

Developing an effective safeguarding culture in early years education (Early Years Alliance publication)