Safeguarding involves:

• ​ protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
• ​ preventing harm to children’s health or development
• ​ ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
• ​ taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18.

Early years and childcare practitioners are in a unique position to observe changes in a child’s behaviour or appearance which give rise to concern about their well-being and everyone should act in a timely and co-ordinated manner to respond to any concerns about the welfare of a child.

Find out more about safeguarding