At the Duckling Nursery we believe that children learn best when they are healthy, safe, secure, when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them.  We are committed to being a high-quality, welcoming, and safe setting where children can enjoy learning and grow in confidence.

It is everyone’s responsibility to keep children safe, so if you have any concerns about a child or would like to speak to any of our lead practitioners for safeguarding, please contact us.

There is government guidance set out in Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2023) on how agencies must work in partnership to keep children safe. This guidance places a shared and equal duty on three Safeguarding Partners (the Local Authority, Police and Health) to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in their area under multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. These arrangements sit under the Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB). In Essex, the statutory partners are Essex County Council, Essex Police, and three NHS Integrated Care Boards covering the county.

The Duckling Nursery has a duty under section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006 to comply with the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, under which settings are required to take necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of young children.

In Essex, all professionals must work in accordance with the SET Procedures.

The Duckling Nursery also works in accordance with the following legislation and guidance (this is not an exhaustive list):

Well-kept records are essential to good child protection practice. The Duckling Nursery is clear about the need to record any concern held about a child or children within our setting and when these records should be shared with other agencies.

Any member of staff receiving a disclosure of abuse or noticing signs or indicators of abuse will record it as soon as possible, noting:

  1. what was said or seen
  2. if appropriate, using a body map to record
  3. giving the date, time, and location

All records will be dated and signed and will include the action taken, then presented to the Lead Practitioner for Safeguarding (or Deputy) who will decide on appropriate action according to our safeguarding policy and record this accordingly.

All visitors are signed in at the beginning of their visit using our QR code and agree to our visitors safeguarding agreement. Another QR code is used for sign-out.

Mrs Moore is our Lead Practitioner for Safeguarding and Mrs Rodger and Miss Orphanou are the Deputy Lead Practitioners for Safeguarding