PEER ON PEER ABUSE POLICY
At Nelmes Pre-School we work in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024, which states that ‘Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure their child protection policy includes procedures to minimise the risk of peer-on-peer abuse and sets out how allegations of peer-on-peer abuse will be investigated and dealt with’.
The document also states it is most important to ensure opportunities of seeking the voice of the child are heard, our setting will ensure the child’s wishes and feelings are considered when determining what action to take and what services to provide. Systems will be in place for children to express their views and give feedback. Ultimately, any system and processes should operate with the best interests of the child at their heart.’
At Nelmes Pre-School, we continue to ensure that any form of abuse or harmful behaviour is dealt with immediately and consistently to reduce the extent of harm to the young person, with full consideration to impact on that individual child’s emotional and mental health and well-being.
Purpose and Aim
Children and young people may be harmful to one another in several ways which would be classified as peer-on-peer abuse. The purpose of this policy is to explore the many forms of peer-on-peer abuse and include a planned and supportive response to the issues.
Introduction to Abuse and Harmful Behaviour
Abusive behaviour can happen to children in settings and it is necessary to consider what abuse is and looks like, how it can be managed and what appropriate support and intervention can be put in place to meet the needs of the individual and what preventative strategies may be put in place to reduce further risk of harm. Abuse is abuse and should never be tolerated or passed off as ‘banter’ or ‘part of growing up’.
Types of Abuse
There are many forms of abuse that may occur between peers and this list is not exhaustive. Each form of abuse or prejudiced behaviour is described in detail followed by advice and support on actions to be taken.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse may include, hitting, kicking, nipping, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm to another person. There may be many reasons why a child harms another and it is important to understand why a young person has engaged in such behaviour, including accidently before considering the action or punishment to be undertaken.
Sexually harmful behaviour/sexual abuse
e.g. (inappropriate sexual language, touching, sexual assault etc.)
Sexually harmful behaviour from young people is not always contrived or with the intent to harm others. There may be many reasons why a young person engages in sexually harmful behaviour and it may be just as distressing to the young person who instigates it as well as the young person it is intended towards. Sexually harmful behaviour may range from inappropriate sexual language, inappropriate role play, to sexually touching another or sexual assault/abuse.
Prejudiced Behaviour
The term prejudice-related bullying refers to a range of hurtful behaviour, physical or emotional or both, which causes someone to feel powerless, worthless, excluded or marginalised, and which is connected with prejudices around belonging, identity and equality in wider society – in particular, prejudices to do with disabilities and special educational needs, ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, gender, home life, (for example in relation to issues of care, parental occupation, poverty and social class) and sexual identity (homosexual, bisexual, transsexual).
Expected action taken from all staff
Although the type of abuse may have a varying effect on the victim and initiator of the harm, these simple steps can help clarify the situation and establish the facts before deciding the consequences for those involved in perpetrating harm.
It is important to deal with a situation of peer abuse immediately and sensitively. It is necessary to gather the information as soon as possible to get the true facts around what has occurred as soon after the child(ren) may have forgotten. It is equally important to deal with it sensitively and think about the language used and the impact of that language on both the children and the parents when they become involved.
In all cases of peer on peer abuse it is necessary that all staff are trained in dealing with such incidents, talking to young people and instigating immediate support in a calm and consistent manner. Staff should not be prejudiced, judgemental, dismissive or irresponsible in dealing with such sensitive matters.
Gather the Facts
Speak to all staff who were present and children dependant on age and understanding, using consistent language and open questions. The easiest way to do this is not to have a line of questioning but to ask the young people to tell you what happened. Only interrupt the young person from this to gain clarity with open questions, ‘where, when, why, who’. (What happened? Who observed the incident? What was seen? What was heard? Did anyone intervene?)
• Track evidence through observations, incident reports, ABC charts and CCTV if available..
• Consider the Intent (begin to Risk Assess)
• Has this been a deliberate or contrived situation for a young person to be able to harm another?
• From the ABC tracker charts, can you define a trigger?
• Are staff consistent with behaviour management?
• Are all new staff to the room informed of the circumstances and required amount of supervision?
• Are the parents working together with the setting on using the same strategies? And are the parents consistent at home?
• Decide on your next course of action
If from the information that you gather you believe any young person to be at risk of significant harm you must make a safeguarding referral to social care immediately (where a crime has been committed the police should be involved also). If this is the case, once social care has been contacted and made a decision on what will happen next then you will be informed on your next steps.
It may also be that social care feel that it does not meet their criteria in which case you may challenge that decision, with that individual or their line manager. If on discussion however, you agree with the decision, you may then be left to inform parents.
Informing Parents
If, once appropriate advice has been sought from police/social care you have agreement to inform parents or have been allocated that role from the other services involved then you need to inform the parents as soon as possible. If services are not going to be involved then equally, this information may need to be shared with parents .
The best way to inform parents is face to face. Although this may be time consuming, the nature of the incident and the type of harm/abuse a young person may be suffering can cause fear and anxiety to parents whether their child is the child who was harmed or who harmed another.
Points to consider:
What is the age of the children involved?
How old are the young people involved in the incident and is there any age difference between those involved? (In relation to sexual exploration, children under the age of 5, in particular 1-4-year olds who are learning toileting skills may show a particular interest in exploration at around this stage. This, however, should not be overlooked if other issues arise (see following)
Where did the incident or incidents take place?
Was the incident in an open, visible place to others? If so was it observed? If not, is more supervision required within this area?
What was the explanation by all children involved of what occurred?
Can each of the young people give the same explanation of the incident and also what is the effect on the young people involved?
Is the incident seen to be bullying for example, in which case regular and repetitive?
Is the version of one young person different from another and why?
What is each of the children’s own understanding of what occurred?
Do the young people know/understand what they are doing? E.g. do they have knowledge of body parts, of privacy and that it is inappropriate to touch? Is the young person’s explanation in relation to something they may have heard or been learning about that has prompted the behaviour?
Is the behaviour deliberate and contrived?
Does the young person have understanding of the impact of their behaviour on the other person?
In dealing with an incident of this nature the answers are not always clear cut.
If you are concerned or unsure as to whether or not there is any risk involved, please seek advice from Children’s Services Social Care.
Repetition
Has the behaviour been repeated to an individual on more than one occasion? In the same way it must be considered has the behaviour persisted to an individual after the issue has already been discussed or dealt with and appropriately resolved?
Next Steps
Once the outcome of the incident(s) has been established it is necessary to ensure future incidents of abuse do not occur again and consider the support and intervention required for those involved.
For the young person who has displayed harmful behaviour
In this circumstance it is important to find out why the young person has behaved in such a way. Particular support from identified services may be necessary through family/early help referral and the young person may require additional support from family members.
Once the support required to meet the individual needs of the young person has been met, it is important that young person receives a consequence for their behaviour. This may be in the form of restorative justice e.g. making amends with the young person they have targeted if this has been some form of bullying.
Even following the conclusion of any investigation, the behaviour that the young person has displayed may continue to pose a risk to others in which case an individual risk assessment may be required. This should be completed via a multi- agency response to ensure that the needs of the young person and the risks towards others are measured by all those agencies involved including the young person and their parents. This may mean additional supervision of the young person or protective strategies if the young person feels at risk of engaging in further inappropriate or harmful behaviour.
After Care
It is important that following the incident the young people involved continue to feel supported and receive help even if they have stated that they are managing the incident. Sometimes the feelings of remorse, regret or unhappiness may occur at a much later stage than the incident.
Preventative Strategies for Settings
It is important to develop appropriate strategies in order to prevent the issue of peer on peer abuse rather than manage the issues in a reactive way. It is necessary that staff consider each issue and everyone in their own right before taking action.
At Nelmes Pre-School, we reserve the right to terminate a contract if we feel that we have exhausted every possible strategy to avoid a child hurting another child; we have evidence that the child’s behaviour is not being dealt with consistently at home; advice to take child to an outside agency, ie. GP, Health Visitor is not followed.
Supporting documentation:
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2024.
