Kent Academy of Musical Theatre

Privacy Policy

DATA PROTECTION GDPR

Purpose and Statement:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is committed to ensuring the data processed by our school remains safe and

secure.

 

This policy has been written in line with legislative change, including both the Data Protection Act (1998) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

 

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre has determined the lawful reasons with which it processes personal data:

·        Legal obligation – GDPR Article 6(1)(c)

·        Legitimate interest – GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

·        Contract - GDPR Article 6(1)(b)

 

There is also some limited data we process with consent from the Data Subject; Consent – GDPR Article 6(1)(a).  

 

While Kent Academy of Musical Theatre avoids sharing data with third parties at most times, some data is shared in accordance with our business practices. The sharing of data with third parties will always be

consensual with the data subject and/or their parent/guardian, and only if Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their Data Protection policy is GDPR compliant.

 

Main Aims for the policy:

-        Specify the data Kent Academy of Musical Theatre collect, how it is stored/protected and the reason for collecting it

-        State how Kent Academy of Musical Theatre use personal data in processing

-        Disclose who has access to the data and how long we retain information for

-        Explain Data Subject’s rights with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre data including access, rectification and erasure


Distribution:

·        To be distributed to Board at AGM and Induction sessions for Board Members

·        To be displayed on the Kent Academy of Musical Theatre website

·        This policy will be sent directly to members of the public on request

Confirmation of receipt of information - Signed statement from recipient to be held on file

Review and monitoring of policy:

·        Reviewed annually or in instances of legislative change

Monitoring is part of Management and Supervision


The following policy is based on the below principles:

The GDPR includes the following rights for individuals:

-        the right to be informed

-        the right of access

-        the right to rectification

-        the right to erasure

-        the right to restrict processing

-        the right to data portability

-        the right to object

-        the right not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling

 

General Principles

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is committed to providing fair and understandable privacy policies in relation to personal data.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will, at all times, keep data in secure locations (including, but not limited to, encrypted and access restricted files) and not retain data unnecessarily or past the retention length as set out in this policy.

In the rare instance a data processor that is not an Kent Academy of Musical Theatre employee is used, such as a third party, the data subject will either be asked for consent pre to supplying the data or be notified and have the right to object to processing.


Participants and Customers

 

How Kent Academy of Musical Theatre collect personal data:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre customers and participants supply their personal data when signing up for classes through our registration form either via the website, or via paper form.
This is either completed by a parent/guardian or the child themselves if they deemed able to do so.

Personal data may also come to us unsolicited via enquiries through our website and to our generic email account.

Why Kent Academy of Musical Theatre collect personal data:
To attend any of Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s activities participants/parents/guardians must agree to some processing of their personal data. This is due to Legitimate Interests – GDPR Article 6(1)(f), Legal Obligation GDPR Article 6(1)(c), Contract - Article 6(1)(b) and/or Consent - Article 6(1)(a).

 

Should Kent Academy of Musical Theatre be unable to process participant’s data, we would be contravening both our Health & Safety and Child Safeguarding policies. We would also be ignoring best practice regarding working with children/vulnerable adults.

 

Our participants must remain safe at all times, therefore information about participants must be collected in order to create registers and accurate student records. This information is also used to provide students with appropriate classes, including dividing students into age groups.

 

Special category data is only collected with the consent of the data subject. Special category data Kent Academy of Musical Theatre collects includes but is not limited to: Medical/Disability information, Income information, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality.

 

As physical activity providers it is essential that this consent is given should a participant have any medical/disability needs. This allows us to incorporate participants safely into classes. It is also used in assessing if we can incorporate participants safely into classes.

 

Income information is only collected in instances where a participant applies to attend our classes at a concessionary price, or on a bursary. This financial support is means tested, and therefore is subject to documented proof. Proofs of entitlement to concession are shredded after the entitlement has been noted.

 

Ethnicity and other sensitive data is to provide information to funding bodies for statistical purposes.

This data is always provided to third parties as quantified data (i.e. cumulative numerical data only with no identifying information relating to any data subject).

 

What data we collect:

Personal data and some special category is collected.

It is essential to our primary function (providing classes to participants) that we are provided, and allowed to process and store the following:

Participant Personal Data:

-        FullName - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Date of Birth - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Home Address -  GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Sex -  GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Permission to go home alone -  GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        School/Educational Institution -  GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Exam results (vocational exams taken through Kent Academy of Musical Theatre only) - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Classes attended/Price paid - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

Participant Special Category Data:

-        Medical Information/History – GDPR Article 9 (a)

-        Disability Information - GDPR Article 9 (a)

-        Ethnicity – GDPR Article 9 (a & j) – further explicate consent sought

-        Gender/Sex – GDPR Article 9 (a & j) – further explicate consent sought

-        Sexuality – GDPR Article 9 (a & j) – further explicate consent sought

Parent/Guardian Personal Data:

-        Name - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Address - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Email Address - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Mobile Telephone Number - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Work/Home Number - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

-        Emergency Contact Number - GDPR Article 6(1)(f)

Parent/Guardian Special Category Data:

-        Concession Type – further explicate consent sought

-        Documented proof of financial need – further explicate consent sought

-        Bank Details – further explicate consent sought in the instance of refunds etc.


How data collected is sent internally:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre transports data with all due diligence.

Enrolment forms are sent to Kent Academy of Musical Theatre through an encrypted email server directly from our website which has controlled access. Received enrolment forms are stored on an encrypted email server for no more than 6 months. Received paper enrolment forms are destroyed after no more than 4 weeks.

 

Storage/Retention of data:

Data received through enrolment forms is uploaded manually into our database software. Our database is stored both in encrypted files on office-based hardware and backed up regularly in our encrypted cloud-based server. Access to these files is restricted through password protection and only available to authorised staff members.

 

Registers and emergency contact lists created from student data are stored in encrypted files on office-based hardware and backed up regularly in our encrypted cloud-based server. Access to these files is restricted through password protection and only available to authorised staff members.
Hard copies of registers and emergency contacts are carried by authorised staff members. They are locked away while not in use. When they are no longer in use or out-dated, they are destroyed thoroughly.  

 

Waiting lists are stored on an encrypted cloud-based server.

 

Our standard retention policy (without the data subject’s right to access, rectification and erasure etc.) is THREE YEARS post final attendance.

Exceptions to our retention policy:

-        Financial records are kept for 6 years due to legal obligation

-        First Aid records are kept for 21 years due to legal obligation

-        Photo consent may be kept indefinitely

-        Child Safeguarding records are kept indefinitely on a case-by-case basis, the minimum these will stored for is 6 years due to legal obligation

-        Bank details are deleted after the action concerning them is complete

-        Unsolicited enquiries that do not turn into bookings with current classes are deleted after they have been dealt with

 

Third Parties/Data Processors:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre does not actively share data with third parties, however there are certain instances where sharing information is crucial to our business processes.

 

Freelance Teachers:

As many of Kent Academy of Musical Theatre teachers are freelance staff, we have confidentiality and data processor agreements in place. Teachers will never be provided with personal details aside from participant’s first names and any medical information that is pertinent to the running of a class (subject to consent from the data subject)

 

MailChimp:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre uses a USA based company ‘MailChimp’ to provide newsletters and marketing via email. This is an optional process, which people consent to during enrolment or sign-up directly through our website. Data Subjects can opt-out and erase/rectify their record stored with MailChimp at any time.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR regulations are thorough, and the information stored in MailChimp (email addresses) is secure. We have a processor contract in place, and copies are available upon request.

 

PayPal:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre uses PayPal to process orders through our website.
By purchasing through PayPal you must agree to their own (GDPR Compliant) policies.
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR regulations are thorough, and the information stored in PayPal is secure. We have a processor agreement in place, and copies are available upon request.

 

Child Performance Licensing:

In order to process child performance licences, Kent Academy of Musical Theatre are legally required to provide some personal data to local councils (including but not limited to: full name, date of birth and school details). This is an optional consent, which will be sought at the time of sending participation consent forms.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR process are thorough and any data will be stored in a secure environment, and not unnecessarily retained. For more information: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/aboutthecouncil/access-to-information/Pages/Data-Protection-Act.aspx

 

Child Safeguarding Concerns:

In the unlikely event Kent Academy of Musical Theatre has a safeguarding concern in relation to one of our participants, Kent Academy of Musical Theatre are legally required to provide data to the safeguarding board at the local council.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR process are thorough and any data will be stored in a secure environment, and not unnecessarily retained.

 

Event Programmes:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre may occasionally produce programmes for events. These will only ever contain the first name and first initial of a child’s last name (unless otherwise consented to). The name of a child’s class may also be included. Participants/their Parent and/or Guardians may choose if they want to be included in the programme when they agree to participate at an event.

 

Examination Entry:

In order to enter examinations, Kent Academy of Musical Theatre must provide some personal data to examination boards (currently Kent Academy of Musical Theatre work with: LAMDA, RAD and ABRSM). This sharing of data is to be consented to by the data subject and/or parent/guardian upon being entered for the exam.

 

Schools:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre must sometimes share personal data with schools (names, DOB and payment information) when taking part in an internal class in order for them to check persons attending. This also helps the school work out Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s payment in terms of renting space.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR process are thorough and any data will be stored in a secure environment, and not unnecessarily retained.

 

Independent Examiner:
It is Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s legal obligation to have an independent examination with regards to its financial processes at the end of every financial year. This includes access to our income relating to classes and services. Any data shared will be purged of as much identifying data as possible.
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is satisfied that their GDPR process are thorough and any data will be stored in a secure environment, and not unnecessarily retained. Kent Academy of Musical Theatre has a copy of the privacy agreement on file.

 

 

Rights of the data subject and Kent Academy of Musical Theatre compliance with responses:

Any data subject with personal data stored within Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is entitled to the rights of:

 

-        Access

You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time to access all data held relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a subject access request without undue delay and within one month of receipt. If the information request will also include data regarding others, Kent Academy of Musical Theatre has the right to refuse the request or take steps in order to obtain consent from other involved parties.
The right of access does not apply to Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s legal obligations such as Child Safeguarding records.

 

-        Rectification
You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to rectify data held relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a rectification request without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
The right to rectification does not apply to Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s legal obligations such as payment record information.

-         

-        Erasure
You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to erase data held relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to an erasure request without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
The right to erasure does not apply to Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s legal obligations such as First Aid records.

-         

-        Restrict Processing
You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to restrict the data we process relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a request to restrict processing without undue delay and within one month of receipt.

However, due to our legitimate interest in most of the data collected- we may have to revoke your membership with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre until the restriction is lifted. This is due to Health and Safety and Child Safeguarding.


-        Data Portability
You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to obtain the data we process relating to you and/or your child(ren) and reuse it across different services. Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a request to restrict processing without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
Please note, this does not apply to Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s legal obligations.

-         

-        Objection

You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to object to the processing of data relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a request to restrict processing without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
However, due to our legitimate interest in most of the data collected- we may have to revoke your membership with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre until the restriction is lifted. This is due to Health and Safety and Child Safeguarding.

 

 

-        Rights related to automated decision making including profiling

You may contact Kent Academy of Musical Theatre at any time in order to object to profiling relating to you and/or your child(ren). Kent Academy of Musical Theatre will ensure that we respond to a request to restrict processing without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
However, due to our legitimate interest in most of the data collected- we may have to revoke your membership with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre until the profiling restriction is lifted. This is due to Health and Safety and Child Safeguarding.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre has a lawful reason for profiling; Legitimate Interests and consent.
None of Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s decision making is automated. Profiling is only used in circumstances where a participant may have certain health/disability needs which may prevent them from taking part in classes (as it would be unsafe to do so).

 

Any and all verbal requests are noted, and then contacted again either via phone or email to verify the request. Verbal requests will be responded to in the time frames mentioned above.7


Photos/Videos of Participants

 

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre often use footage/photos used from shows, performances and classes for marketing purposes both in print media and the website. Participants/their Parent and/or Guardians may choose if they do not wish themselves/their child to be depicted.

 

Some attendees at events may film/take photos for their own personal use (e.g. parents of other participants). Participants/their Parent and/or Guardians may choose if they do not wish themselves/their child to be depicted.


Social Media:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre regularly share photos/videos of students in workshops, events and performances through social media platforms including; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Email. These will never be shared with any identifying information (age, location etc.). There may be times where we will share first names, but only with the explicit consent of the parents.


Policy: Facebook Page (for users) GDPR Policy


 

Purpose and Statement:

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre uses a Facebook page to advertise its services and connect/share with its’ (and a wider) audience. The web address for our Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/KAMTmaidstone

Facebook has its own GDPR policies & uses cookies. Please refer to Facebook GDPR policies for further details.

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is able to process some personal data from interactions with our Facebook page, which is described below, however how Kent Academy of Musical Theatre processes this data is very limited.


Distribution:

·        To be displayed on our Facebook Page (LINK) https://www.facebook.com/KAMTmaidstone

This policy will be made available to members of the public on request


Review and monitoring of policy:

·        Reviewed annually or in instances of legislative change

Monitoring is part of Management and Supervision


General Principles:

·        Administrators of the Kent Academy of Musical Theatre Facebook Page are authorised Kent Academy of Musical Theatre staff

·        Kent Academy of Musical Theatre does not actively collect, harvest or store any data in connection with Facebook


Facebook Posts:

 

Types of Facebook Posts:

·        Marketing/Advertisement of our various courses, events and workshops

·        General News and updates including, but not limited to, student achievements, photos from events

 

If you communicate with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre via the page we will respond to your communications & make information available to you that is relevant to those communications. If you choose to ‘like’ the page, you can ‘unlike’ at any time.

 

As a public Facebook page all communication you share to the page can be seen by anyone. If you need to discuss anything privately with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre, please contact the office.

Anonymous Data:

 

Administrators of Facebook Pages can obtain anonymous statistical data on visitors to the page, and those who ‘like’ the page via a function called ‘Facebook Insights’ which Facebook makes available to them free of charge under non-negotiable conditions of use.

 

The data is collected by ‘cookies’, each containing a unique user code, which are active for two years and are stored by Facebook on the device used by visitors to the page. This user code, which can be matched with the connection data of users registered on Facebook, is collected and processed by the Facebook Insight programme.

 

Anonymous Data our Facebook Page collects:
- Demographic information (including Age, Sex, Location, Relationship Status, Occupations)

- Internet usage (including times online and length of page visits)

- Sales information (including online purchase history, categories of goods or services)

 

How Kent Academy of Musical Theatre may use this data:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre may use this anonymous data to target marking to specific categories of peoples, and to effectively time manage campaigns (in terms of when to release posts and time lengths of special offers etc).
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre may also use this data in the evaluation of marketing campaigns.

 

How Kent Academy of Musical Theatre retain/archive this information:
Kent Academy of Musical Theatre do not remove any of this anonymous data from Facebook (a GDPR compliant company), except in the instance of reporting the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Non-anonymous Data:

 

Administrators of Facebook Pages can obtain limited personal data about people who choose to ‘like’ and/or ‘follow’ the page and/or communicate with the page.

A Facebook user’s Name is actively sent by Facebook to the page administrator as a notification.
The Facebook page contains a list of all users who ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the page.

 

Administrators are also able to access the profile of those who choose to ‘like’ and/or ‘follow’ the page and/or communicate with the page.

How Kent Academy of Musical Theatre retain/archive this information:

No record of names are removed from Facebook or used for any purpose.



Policy: Child Protection and Safeguarding

Purpose and Statement:

Children and young people have the right to be safe and happy whilst participating in activities organised by Kent Academy of Musical Theatre. The company therefore takes all reasonable precautions to safeguard the welfare of the young people who work and train with us.

 

This child protection policy and associated procedures have been drawn up for the benefit of children and young people under the age of 18, or adults who may be considered vulnerable.  They apply to all the teaching and support staff, voluntary class assistants and artists engaged by the company.

 

In accordance with the provisions of The Children Act 1989, the "welfare of children is paramount".  This means that some of the usual considerations of confidentiality may be superseded by the need to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults (collectively referred to as 'young people' in this document).

 

The person at who has overall responsibility for child protection issues with Kent Academy of Musical Theatre is the Principal, Joanna Mason 07813434432.  They have received training in the protection of young people and is responsible for ensuring that the company's policies and procedures are kept up to date and adhered to by Kent Academy of Musical Theatre’s staff.  She is also the person to whom any concerns regarding suspected child abuse should be addressed. The principal is also responsible for health and safety matters within the company. However, it is not their role to decide whether a young person has been abused or not; this is the job of the statutory authorities to whom she has a duty to report possible child abuse.

Distribution:

·       To be distributed to venue hire

·       To ensure distribution to all permanent and freelance staff

·       Confirmation of receipt of information - Signed statement from recipient to be held on file

Review and monitoring of policy:

·       Reviewed annually or in instances of legislative change

·       Monitoring is part of Management and Supervision

The following policy is based on the below principles:

·        The welfare of the child is paramount

·        All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse

·        All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately

·        All staff (paid/unpaid) have a responsibility to report concerns to the Designated Person with responsibility for child protection

Staff/volunteers are not trained to deal with situations of abuse or to decide if abuse has occurred

We will aim to safeguard children by:

·        Adopting child protection guidelines through procedures and a code of conduct for staff and volunteers

·        Sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents and carers, staff and volunteers

·        Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately

·        Carefully following the procedures for recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers

·        Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through support, supervision and training

·        We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice regularly

Child Protection:
When recruiting staff and volunteers, the company takes up a minimum of two references and requires an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service. This is a check that reveals whether the prospective member of staff is known to the police in relation to committing offences against children and any other convictions and/or cautions.

 

Every Kent Academy of Musical Theatre activity has a teacher or other responsible adult who is in charge and has overall responsibility for the welfare of the participants.

 

Kent Academy of Musical Theatre aims to have at least two members of staff present during each class, workshop, rehearsal etc.  This will usually be the class teacher and an assistant. Exceptions may occasionally be made for teachers who are well known to the group.  However, until references and police checks have been completed, new staff will not be left in sole charge of young people.

 

Young people will be supervised by adults throughout the session, including during breaks.  However, this only applies from the advertised start of the session and if children arrive early then parents and carers should take steps to ensure they are properly looked after until the session starts. Parents and carers also need to ensure that children are collected promptly at the end of sessions.

 

All activities organised by Kent Academy of Musical Theatre are subject to risk assessments both during the planning stage and by monitoring the activity.  Appropriate steps are taken to minimise any risks identified. 

 

Arts activities often involve physical contact between participants and between staff and participants.  Physical contact will only be made when it is necessary in relation to the particular arts activity and with the agreement of the young people involved.

 

We will not use photographic images of young people, for example for publicity purposes, without written permission from the legal guardian.  Even when such permission is given, the young person's full name and address will not be revealed.

 

We keep records about participants so that we know whom to contact in case of an emergency, whether they suffer from any allergies, have a medical condition or a disability/special need and for monitoring purposes.  These records are treated as confidential except where relevant information is given to class teachers/persons in charge.

 

If a participant arrives at a session with a visible injury, this will be noted in the Accident Book and the parent/carer will be asked to sign the record. If a participant sustains an injury during a session, this will also be recorded in the company's Accident Book and treatment given if appropriate.  In the event of a serious incident, the parent/carer will be contacted immediately. A telephone (landline or mobile) is always available for staff to use in case of an emergency.


This policy sets out agreed guidelines relating to the following areas:

Supervision of organisational activities

Definitions of abuse:

These definitions are based on those from Working Together to Safeguard Children (Department of Health, Home office, Department for Education and Employment, 1999)

 

Physical abuse

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing harm to a child.

Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child whom they are looking after. This situation is commonly described as factitious illness, fabricated or induced illness in children or “Munchausen Syndrome by proxy” after the person who first identified this situation.

A person might do this because they enjoy or need the attention they get through having a sick child.

Physical abuse, as well as being the result of a deliberate act, can also be caused through omission or the failure to act to protect.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is also classed as physical abuse. FGM has been a criminal offence in the UK since 1985. In 2003 it also became a criminal offence for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to take their child abroad to have female genital mutilation.

 

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve making a child feel or believe they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of the other person.

It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. It may also involve causing children to feel frequently frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of a child.

 

Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of, or consents to, what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative acts such as rape, buggery or oral sex, or non-penetrative acts such as fondling.

Sexual abuse may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Boys and girls can be sexually abused by males and or females, by adults and by other young people. This includes people from all different walks of life.

 

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It may involve a parent or a carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, leaving a young child home alone or the failure to ensure that a child gets appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

It is accepted that in all forms of abuse there are elements of emotional abuse, and that some children are subjected to more than one form of abuse at any time. These four definitions do not minimise other forms of maltreatment.

 

Note

Recent guidance notes other sources of stress for children and families, such as social exclusion, domestic violence, the mental illness of a parent or carer, or drug and alcohol misuse. These may have a negative impact on a child’s health and development and may be noticed by an organisation caring for a child. If it is felt that a child’s well-being is adversely affected by any of these areas, the same procedures should be followed.

Recognising and Responding to Abuse:

The following signs may or may not be indicators that abuse has taken place, but the possibility should be considered.

 

Physical signs of abuse

Changes in behaviour which can also indicate physical abuse

 

Emotional signs of abuse

The physical signs of emotional abuse may include: