Safeguarding – information and resources
Make a request for support or report a child safety concern
If you are worried about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person in Devon, please use the online referral form. This form will go through to the safeguarding mailbox and be triaged by a Team Manager within the ‘Front Door’.
However, if you deem the child to be at risk of significant harm you have an option to contact the ‘Front Door’ directly on 01392 388 428. Their lines are open Monday-Thursday 9am-4pm and Friday 9am-3pm. You will still be required to complete an online form within the timescales.
If you need help outside these hours or at weekends or bank holidays, please call the Emergency Duty Service on 0345 6000 388.
If a child is at immediate risk contact the police on 999.
Devon Children’s Front Door
The Devon Front Door incorporates the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which is Children’s Services first point of contact and the start of the child and family’s social care journey. The Front Door receives all the requests for early help and safeguarding from people who are worried and concerned for children. These requests can come from professionals, such as the Police, Education and Health, but also members of the public, family members and young people themselves.
Their job at the Front Door is to identify, assess and make safe at the earliest opportunity all vulnerable children and families in our communities. They do this through the sharing of information and intelligence across the safeguarding partnership, such as health, education, Police, and probation, to name but a few. This supports them to make informed decisions about how best to progress and support vulnerable children and families.
What checks should I do before employing a private tutor/enrolling my child at an unregistered setting?
If you choose to employ a private tutor it is your responsibility to ensure that this person has the right knowledge and skills to take on this role.
It is entirely appropriate that any tutor should also be able to demonstrate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance and provide references if they are not known to the family. Details of DBS checks are available from the Home Office website.
This Private Tutoring One Minute Guide has been written to support parents in understanding the potential risks associated with private tutoring.
Similarly, if you decide to enrol your child at an unregistered setting you will need to assure yourself that effective safeguarding processes are in place as the Local Authority does not undertake this role.
You may wish to ask your chosen provider:
-for their complaints policy
-who the lead person responsible for safeguarding children is, checking:
-what training staff have had
-how recent the training was
-for their child protection policy
-who is in charge of first aid
-if you need to complete a parental consent and emergency details form
-how they securely store any information they hold about your child, checking:
-who has access to this information
-if they’ll share it with anyone
-how they recruit staff and volunteers
-what checks they undertake to make sure staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children
-if any other adults will be present while your child is there, and if so, how regularly
-if they’ll allow your child to access to the internet unsupervised
-how they help children with special educational needs or disabilities
-how they help children with personal care needs such as: using the toilet, changing, feeding, taking their medication
Some of the questions will not be relevant to all providers. Answers may vary depending on the size and type of provision.
Further information regarding topics including
-Checks to make before your child’s first session
-Warning signs to look out for
-Policies providers should have
-Data Protection
-Online Safety
Visit the Department for Education Using after-school clubs, tuition and community activities page, for more details.
Important Safeguarding Notice: Children’s “Spy” Books
We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children’s books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series.
Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author’s website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content.
The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher.
What this means for you:
- If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site.
- It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves — the concern is only with the outdated link.
- We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first.
Prevent
Top tips for parents
Visit the educate.against.hate Top tips to help parents discuss radicalisation and extremism with young people to help you understand the risks that are prevalent online.
ACT Early – prevent radicalisation and extremism
Research shows that family and friends are best placed to spot the signs that someone might be vulnerable to radicalisation. If you’re worried someone close to you is being radicalised, act early and reach out for help. The team give advice and guidance, and together with other organisations, can put the right support in place. Without it, your loved one could be drawn down a dangerous path, so they will work with you to help them escape it.
The ACT Early website is designed to increase awareness of the signs of radicalisation, where to go for help and support and to increase understanding and confidence in the referral process. Watch the Introduction to Prevent clip to find out more.
Further information and resources can be found on the following Home Office website.
Preventing Exploitation Toolkit
The Preventing Exploitation Toolkit focuses on five types of exploitation which are major concerns in Devon. Exploitation can take many other forms and the information on these pages may also apply to other types of exploitation.
Online and mobile safety
UK Safer Internet Centre
Tips, advice, guides and resources for young people, their friends and their whole family can be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre webpages.
Childnet – supporting young people online
The Childnet website provides information and resources for parents and carers on how to keep their children safe online.
Information leaflets from Childnet are also available in a range of languages.
Better Internet for Kids
Better Internet for Kids has sites for all European countries.
Internet Matters
The Internet Matters website provides support and practical tips for keeping your child safe when using the internet.
Childline – Report Remove
Report Remove is here to help young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and remove them from the internet.
Help, advice and support
Early help
Earl help is the extra support your family can get if you need it. It may be that you want to prevent a problem or change things for your family before the problem becomes more serious. Find more information about early help on the Devon Children and Families Partnership website.
NSPCC
Support and tips to help you keep children safe. From advice on children’s mental health to staying safe online, support for parents and what to do if you’re worried about a child. See the NSPCC website for more information.
Talk to Frank
Use the Talk to Frank website to find honest information, advice and support about drugs
ChildLine
ChildLine offers a free, private and confidential service where young people can talk about anything by calling on 0800 1111. The ChildLine website also offers information, advice and resources.
YoungMinds
The UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health offers advice and support for young people and their parents. More information is available on the YoungMinds website.
Intercom Trust
A lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ charity working across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and the wider South West, providing support, counselling, support groups and much more. More information on the Intercom Trust website.
NHS – getting help for domestic violence and abuse
Domestic violence or abuse can happen to anyone. Use the NHS website to find out how to recognise the signs and where to get help.
Refuge
The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline. Call 0808 2000 247 or see the Refuge website for more information.
Resources
A supportive toolkit to help parents understand and navigate challenging behaviours