The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a critical period in a child's life, as it sets the foundation for their development and future learning. During this stage, children are particularly vulnerable, and it is essential to ensure that they are safe and protected from harm. Safeguarding is the process of protecting children from abuse, neglect, or harm. It is an essential aspect of EYFS and must be a priority for all educators as safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
In this blog, I will explore the different ways in which children in the early years foundation stage can be safeguarded.
1. Creating a Safe Environment
One of the most critical aspects of safeguarding in the early years is creating a safe and secure environment. This includes ensuring that the physical environment is safe, with adequate safety measures, such as safety gates, window locks, and safety surfaces. It also involves creating an emotionally safe environment, where children feel secure, loved, and valued. Educators must ensure that children feel safe and comfortable in their setting, and that they know how to access help if they need it, age appropriate.
2. Staff Training and Development
All educators working with children in the early years must receive adequate training and development on safeguarding. This includes understanding what safeguarding means, recognising the signs of abuse or neglect, and knowing how to respond and report these concerns. It is also essential that educators are aware of their responsibilities under law, such as the legal duty to report any concerns about a child's welfare to the relevant authorities.
3. Effective Communication
Effective communication is key to safeguarding children in the early years. This includes having clear communication channels between educators, parents or caregivers and visitors to the setting. Educators must ensure that they communicate effectively with parents and carers, informing them of any concerns they may have about their child's welfare whilst obviously being mindful of protecting the child from further harm. This also involves providing regular updates on their child's progress and development to the relevant authorities and attending relevant early help, strategy, core group, child in need or child protection meetings.
4. Record Keeping
Accurate record-keeping is a crucial aspect of safeguarding in the early years. Educators must keep detailed records of any concerns they have about a child's welfare, including any observations or incidents that may be cause for concern. This information should be stored securely and shared only with those who need to know, such as the child's parents (if appropriate and safe to share) or the relevant authorities.
5. Partnership with Parents and Carers
Working in partnership with parents and carers is essential for effective safeguarding in the early years. Educators must build positive relationships with parents and carers, ensuring that they are involved in their child's learning and development. This includes providing regular updates on their child's progress, inviting parents to observe their child's learning, and providing information on how parents can support their child's learning at home.
6. Multi-Agency Working
Safeguarding in the early years often requires multi-agency working, where different professionals work together to ensure that children are safe and protected from harm. This may involve working with social services, health professionals, or the police. It is essential that educators understand how to work effectively with these agencies and know when to make referrals if they have concerns about a child's welfare.
In conclusion, safeguarding children in the early years is crucial for their overall well-being and development. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ensure that children are safe, protected, and secure in their environment. By creating a safe environment, providing staff training, effective communication, record-keeping, partnership with parents and carers, and multi-agency working, we can ensure that children in the early years are safeguarded from harm as much as they can be.
Please refer and download these documents to ensure that you are following the appropriate procedures:
Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk),
EYFS Statutory Framework (2021) Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk),
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 (publishing.service.gov.uk),
Keeping children safe in education 2022 (publishing.service.gov.uk),
Early years inspection handbook for Ofsted-registered provision - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) as at April 2023.
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