Staff Behaviour: Guidelines for the Cumbria Arts in Education’s staff and creative practitioners working in educational settings

 To safeguard the protection of the children, as indicated in the recommendations below, it is imperative that the Company / Creative Agent/ Creative Practitioner liaise with the school/college before a project commences to establish the member/s of staff within the educational setting who will have overall responsibility for the education and welfare of the students for the duration of the project.

1 Duty of Care
• All young people should be under direct supervision wherever practically possible.
• No young person should be permitted to leave direct supervision (e.g. go off premises) without the expressed written permission of their parent / guardian.
• In the event of a young person absenting themselves mid-way through a session, you should notify someone with more authority (co-worker, project leader, class teacher) of their absence. The young person’s parent / guardian should be notified immediately. If the young person may be in immediate danger of harm (to themselves or others) the police should be informed.

It is primarily the school’s responsibility to contact parents / guardians and the police. Notification should only be undertaken by the Company’s staff / Creative Agent/ Creative Practitioner if no school officers are available to undertake this responsibility.

2 Openness
• Be publicly open when working with young people and avoid situations where you and individual children are completely unobserved.
• One-to-one teaching should take place in a room with a glass panel in the door. Where this is not possible, the door should be left open. Alternatively, this could take place in an area where the activities are within the view of school/ organisation staff.
• As a basic principle, when running activities that the Company’s staff and Creative Practitioners should ensure that a member of school / organisation staff is present at all times:
• Creative Practitioners should endeavour to keep their address / phone details private wherever possible.

3 Physical contact
• Any form of physical punishment is forbidden, even if a parent requests it.
• Do not allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any form. It is recognised that caring for children can at times necessitate physical contact, but even when this is appropriate it can be open to misinterpretation.
• The Company’s Staff and Creative Practitioners should be aware of how and when physical contact might be appropriate and ensure that they are public at all times, e.g. children must never be picked up or cuddled against their will. Always ask permission and explain the reason for any need to touch.
• Do not engage in rough, sexually provocative games ,including horseplay.
• Do not restrain any young person unless you have received specific training in the appropriate holds for therapeutic crisis intervention (CI). Even with such training, restraint should only ever be used to protect young people from causing harm to themselves or others.

4 Personal activities
• Do not do things of a personal nature that a child can do for him / herself.
• In the event that there is a need for children to undress they should be encouraged to undress themselves as far as is possible and, if they require assistance, to help each other in groups. If help is necessary from a staff member, two members of staff should be present.
• If a child requires help with toileting, two members of staff must be present and parental permission obtained in writing.
• Male members of staff / artists should not use urinals when there are children present.

5 Behaviour towards young people
• Adults should praise positive behaviour. Criticism should always be constructive. A verbal assault can be as damaging to a young person as a physical one.
• Do not make sexually suggestive comments to young people — even in fun.
• If a member of the Company’s staff / professional artist accidentally hurts or distresses a young person in any way, or if the young person misunderstands something that the adult has said or done, the member of school staff who has overall responsibility for the pupils should be informed immediately, an incident form should be completed and the parents / carers contacted in line with the procedures of the school / educational setting.
• Adults should provide positive role models with regards to friendliness, care, courtesy and valuing individuals.
• Occasionally the Company’s staff / artists may experience inappropriate behaviour from young people, including approaches of a sexual or provocative nature. In most cases this can be addressed by a response which is clearly discouraging without being insensitive, supported by strict adherence to the principles of openness outlined above, and by behaviour which consistently and visibly treats all young people equally.
• Any instances of such inappropriate behaviour should immediately be reported to the member of school staff who has overall responsibility for the pupils. The details should be recorded in line with the educational setting’s reporting systems and it is recommended that the Company’s member of staff / artist should not continue to work with this young person for the duration of the project.

Appendix (9) B Guidelines for Creative Practitioners, Creative Ambassadors and Others Working with Children and Vulnerable People

Responsible planning and forethought mean that Creative Practitioners can work safely and successfully with children and vulnerable people. It helps avoid misunderstandings and prevents things going wrong.
o Ensure parents/carers know and approve your plans. Listen to their advice and requests. Don't agree to anything that would compromise you.
o Remember that you are always “the adult” and responsible for what happens. You should know what is appropriate; children may not.
o Never work alone with individuals where you can't be clearly seen and heard by others.
o Don't allow any physical contact with children even to be “helpful”, unless this has been agreed with parents/carers and is in the presence of others.
o Be alert but don't get involved in children's “problems”. If you feel a child wishes to disclose something, seek advice from someone with professional responsibility/experience.
o Creative Practitioners are vulnerable too. False or malicious accusations are more difficult to defend if guidelines for good practice have been ignored. They can also ruin a career.
o Never invite children to your own room/home unless you know there will be other responsible adults present. The same applies to use of your (or your employer's) vehicle.
o Avoid “special” relationships with any individuals; spread your time evenly and fairly; minimise one-to-one work.
o Be aware of the behaviour of others. Ensure that everyone follows best practice in spirit aas well as in word. If you become uncomfortable about anything you see, tak to someone responsible.
o If an emergency prevents you from following these guidelines, act as prudently as you can, and explain fully to parents/carers and to Creative Futures Cumbria as soon as possible.
o Remember that your contract will include a requirement for Creative Futures Cumbria to seek CR clearance, if your role involves much (or unsupervised) contact with children.
FINALLY, remember that work with children and vulnerable people is immensely fun and rewarding, if you go about it the right way.
o These guidelines form part of the Creative Futures Cumbria Safeguarding Policy. Creative Practitioners and others are expected to read and conform to the policy in full but these guidelines are offered as a convenient aide memoire.
o Throughout the word child(ren) is taken to incorporate other vulnerable people.

David Penn (2008) adapted

Appendix (9) C A Code of Conduct

• Always put the welfare and safety of the child or young person first

• Treat all children and young people equally, with respect and dignity

• Do not have, or be perceived to have, favourites

• Ensure you have agreed roles, responsibilities and standards of behaviour with other adults involved, including teachers

• Never agree to work with children or young people without a teacher or other responsible adult in the room

• Wherever possible avoid spending time with individual, or small groups, of children or young people unobserved

• If it is absolutely necessary to be alone with a child or young person:

- make sure another adult knows where you are and approximately how long you will be
- invite the child or young person to bring a friend
- leave the door open of the room you are in
- move into the centre of the room so you are in plain view

• Avoid physical contact with children or young people unless it is necessary for a particular activity or if a child or young person has been, or is about to be injured

• If physical contact can’t be avoided, seek the permission of the child or young person first and ensure they are comfortable with what you are going to do

• Listen to what children and young people have to tell you

• Ensure that children and young people understand that you will treat what they tell you with confidentiality, unless you believe them (or another young person) to be in danger

• If a child or young person discloses something to you, or you see something that concerns you, tell the member of school staff you are working with and contact the Creative Partnerships area office

• If you see something that concerns you regarding an adult, contact the Creative Partnerships area office, who will contact the school if appropriate

• Do not contact children and young people outside of the school setting or hours

• Do not develop social or sexual relationships with the children or young people you are working with

• Never accept, or give, gifts or money to children and young people

• Support and watch out for other creative practitioners you are working with to ensure they are not being drawn into situations that could be misinterpreted.
(How colleagues view each others’ practice will indicate how outsiders will view it)

 Appendix (9) C ii A Code of Conduct : A Young People’s Version

 It is good practice to provide a code of conduct for the children and young people you work with, so that they also are clear about what to expect from anyone working with Creative Futures Cumbria .

Creative Futures Cumbria are committed to making sure that you have the best time possible while we are working with you.

We believe that you have a right to feel safe while taking part in our projects and programmes.

We will:

• Always put your needs first
• Treat all children and young people fairly – we will not have favourites
• Make our activities as safe as possible
• Not tolerate bullying in any shape or form
• Be clear about what you can and can’t do
• Make sure that all our staff and other adults know what they are supposed to be doing
• Listen to what you tell us
• Not reveal anything you tell us in confidence, unless we believe you or another child or young person will be in danger if we don’t
• Ask your permission if we have to have any physical contact with you
• Make sure your teacher or other adult is always involved in the project or programme
• Give constructive feedback to help you learn from what you do with us
• Do our best to make sure learning is interesting and creative
• Do what we say we will do

 Appendix (9) D Guidelines for listening to children who are disclosing abuse

When young people participate in projects where adults other than teachers are involved they can sometimes disclose information that they have been reluctant to share with school / college staff. If this occurs the matter should be reported to a teacher/ senior member of staff at the school/ learning setting as a possible.

• Listen carefully to what the child / young person is saying, and allow them to speak freely:
- don’t panic
- don’t express anger or shock
- don’t interrupt
- don’t insist that the child I young person speaks to another staff member
- don’t make judgements about the content of what is disclosed, or the people involved.

• Take what the child/young person is saying seriously.

• Don’t ask detailed questions or press the child I young person for more information

• Offer support and reassurance that they have done the correct thing by telling someone.

• Inform the young person of any actions you are preparing to take.

 Appendix (9) E Definitions and recognition of abuse

Physical abuse
Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.
Physical harm may be caused when a parent or carer deliberately causes ill health to a child they are looking after, or when they feign or falsify the symptoms of health or ill health in a child.

Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on a child’s emotional development.
It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only insofar as they might meet the needs of another person. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or involve the exploitation or corruption of children.

Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or a young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.
The activities may involve physical contact, involving penetrative (e.g. rape and buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at or the production of pornographic activities or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological needs.
It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of or unresponsiveness to a child’s basic emotional needs.