Super Scientists is committed to building a ‘culture of safety’ in which the children in our care are protected from abuse, harm and radicalisation. 

The Club will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns regarding the safety of a child that may occur. The Club’s child protection procedures comply with all relevant legislation and with guidance issued by Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Education authority. 

The club lead will pass any Child Protection concerns to the Schools/County Child Protection Officer (CPO) and or DSL. The School/County CPO will liaise with external agencies (eg Social Care and Ofsted).

Dismissal of students after science club

Super Scientists will work with the schools to get school support on dismissal where possible. 

Students are asked to line up in the classroom where science club has taken place and one staff member to be at the front of the line and one behind, where possible. Students who are signed up to an onsite after school club are asked to be at the front of the line. 

Students who are signed up to an on-site after school club are escorted there first. 

The rest of the students are then escorted to the dismissal point and each child is in turn dismissed to their appropriate adult and ticked off as they escalate the queue on the register. Any students whose appropriate adult is not there is expected to wait with us or a staff member until they arrive.  

If parents are more than 5 minutes late the students may be placed into the schools on-site after school club until they arrive and arrangements for a late collection fee may be incurred, if the school requires it. 

Dismissal of students from on-site tutoring

Students are escorted to the roadside where they are checked to be in the car with their parents or taxi provided by County.  

Parents who are late must notify us as soon as possible and if other children are booked in then they are asked to wait under the canopy in the back garden for safety purposes. 

Repeat lateness may involve a late collection fee. 

Child abuse and neglect

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm. An individual may abuse or neglect a child directly, or by failing to protect them from harm. Some forms of child abuse and neglect are listed below. 

1). Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child so as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve making the child feel that they are worthless, unloved, or inadequate. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone. 

2). Physical abuse can involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may be also caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child. 

3). Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This can involve physical contact, or non-contact activities such as showing children sexual activities or encouraging them to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. 

4). Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs. It can involve a failure to provide adequate food, clothing, and shelter, to protect a child from physical and emotional harm, to ensure adequate supervision or to allow access to medical treatment. 

Signs of child abuse and neglect 

Signs of possible abuse and neglect may include: 

5). Significant changes in a child's behaviour 

6). Deterioration in a child’s general well-being 

7). Unexplained bruising or marks 

8). Comments made by a child which give cause for concern. 

9). Reasons to suspect neglect or abuse outside the setting, eg in the child’s home, or that a girl may have been subjected to (or is at risk of) female genital mutilation (FGM), or that the child may have witnessed domestic abuse 

10). Inappropriate behaviour displayed by a member of staff, or any other person. For example, inappropriate sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention beyond the requirements of their role, or inappropriate sharing of images. 

If abuse is suspected or disclosed 

When a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff will: 

11). Reassure the child that they were not to blame and were right to speak out. 

12). Listen to the child but not question them. 

13). Give reassurance that the staff member will take action. 

14). Record the incident as soon as possible (see Logging an incident below). 

If a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they will record the matter straightaway with the schools CPO/DSL and if necessary, logging on ‘my concern’. If a third party expresses concern that a child is being abused, we will encourage them to contact Social Care directly. If they do not do so, we will explain that the Club is obliged to, and the incident will be logged accordingly.

Peer-on-peer abuse

Children are vulnerable to abuse by their peers. Peer-on-peer abuse is taken seriously by staff and will be subject to the same child protection procedures as other forms of abuse. Staff are aware of the potential uses of information technology for bullying and abusive behaviour between young people. 

Staff will not dismiss abusive behaviour as normal between young people. The presence of one or more of the following in relationships between children should always trigger concern about the possibility of peer-on-peer abuse: 

1). Sexual activity (in primary school-aged children) of any kind, including sexting. 

2). One of the children is significantly more dominant than the other (eg much older) 

3). One of the children is significantly more vulnerable than the other (eg in terms of disability, confidence, physical strength) 

4). There has been some use of threats, bribes or coercion to ensure compliance or secrecy. If peer-on-peer abuse is suspected or disclosed 

We will follow the same procedures as set out above for responding to child abuse. 

Extremism and radicalisation 

All childcare settings have a legal duty to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and being drawn into extremism. There are many reasons why a child might be vulnerable to radicalisation, eg: 

1). Feeling alienated or alone 

2). Seeking a sense of identity or individuality 

3). Suffering from mental health issues such as depression 

4). Desire for adventure or wanting to be part of a larger cause. 

5). Associating with others who hold extremist beliefs. 

Signs of radicalisation 

Signs that a child might be at risk of radicalisation include: 

1). Changes in behaviour, for example becoming withdrawn or aggressive. 

2). Claiming that terrorist attacks and violence are justified. 

3). Viewing violent extremist material online 

4). Possessing or sharing violent extremist material 

If a member of staff suspects that a child is at risk of becoming radicalised, they will record any relevant information or observations on a Logging a concern form and refer the matter to the CPO. 

Logging a concern

All information about the suspected abuse or disclosure, or concern about radicalisation, will be recorded on the Logging a ‘my concern’ form as soon as possible after the event. The record should include: 

Date of the disclosure, or the incident, or the observation causing concern, date and time at which the record was made, name and date of birth of the child involved, a factual report of what happened. If recording a disclosure, you must use the child’s own words, name, signature and job title of the person making the record. 

The record will be given to the School/County CPO who will decide on the appropriate course of action. 

For concerns about child abuse, the CPO will contact Social Care. The CPO will follow up all referrals to Social Care in writing within 48 hours. If a member of staff thinks that the incident has not been dealt with properly, they may contact Social Care directly. 

For minor concerns regarding radicalisation, the CPO will contact the Local Authority Prevent Co-ordinator. For more serious concerns the CPO will contact the Police on the non-emergency number (101), or the anti- terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321. For urgent concerns the CPO will contact the Police using 999.

Allegations against staff

If anyone makes an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff: 

The allegation will be recorded on an Incident record form. Any witnesses to the incident should sign and date the entry to confirm it. 

The allegation must be reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and to Ofsted. The LADO will advise if other agencies (eg police) should be informed, and the Club will act upon their advice. Any telephone reports to the LADO will be followed up in writing within 48 hours. 

Following advice from the LADO, it may be necessary to suspend the member of staff pending full investigation of the allegation. 

If appropriate, the Club will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Promoting awareness among staff 

The Club promotes awareness of child abuse and the risk of radicalisation through its staff training. The Club ensures that: 

The club leaders and employees have relevant experience and receives appropriate training in safeguarding and the Prevent Duty and is aware of the ‘my concern logging procedures’. 

Staff training is refreshed every two years or when the training expires, (some are very 3 years). 

Safe recruitment practices are followed for all new staff. 

All staff have a copy of this Safeguarding policy, understand its contents and are vigilant to 

signs of abuse, neglect or radicalisation 

All staff are aware of their statutory duties with regard to the disclosure or discovery of child 

abuse, and concerns about radicalisation 

All staff receive basic safeguarding training, and safeguarding is a permanent agenda item at all 

staff meetings 

Lead staff receive basic training in the Prevent Duty 

The Club’s procedures are in line with the guidance in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 

(2018)’ and staff are familiar with ‘What to Do If You’re Worried a Child Is Being Abused (2015)’.

Use of mobile phones and cameras

Photographs will only be taken of children with their parents’ permission. Only the club business mobile will be used to take photographs of children at the Club, except with the express permission of the manager. Neither staff nor children nor visitors may use their mobile phones to take photographs at the Club. 

Attendance

Registers will be taken every session, and any missing children will be reported to a member of staff for them to follow up the child’s whereabouts.  

Contact numbers 

Police: 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency) 

Anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321 

NSPCC: 0808 800 500 

Ofsted: 0300 123 1231 

This policy was adopted by: Super Scientists 

Date: October 2018. Reviewed 11/01/25 

To be reviewed again 12/01/26 

LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer), contact details: Rutland: 01572 758454, Leicestershire: 0116 305 0005 or 0116 305 999, Northamptonshire: MASH, Multi agency safeguarding hub 0300 126 7000, out of hours is 999 or 112. 

Signed: K Esgate-Green 

Written in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017): Safeguarding and Welfare requirements: Child Protection [3.4-3.8] and Suitable People [3.9-3.13] 

My Concern logging form

Signature and job title of person making the record: …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 

Up-dated by K Esgate-Green: 11/01/25. Needs up-dating again: 12/01/26