As a childcare organisation, Bright Secure Future fully adheres to the legislation of POCA.
POCA came into legislation in October 1999 to provide a list of names of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children. All regulated childcare organisation such as ourselves (and all organisations such as sporting clubs) are required to refer names to the Secretary of State for possible inclusion on the POCA list.
All childcare organisations are obliged to check names of prospective employees against the POCA list through the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Any individual included on the POCA list will be therefore ineligible for employment.
The following information are government legislated guidelines for all childcare agencies that advises on how all professionals should co-operate to promote children’s welfare thus protecting them from abuse and neglect. It is addressed to all individuals in the health and education services who are likely to come into contact with children and is relevant to all those working in the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors.
Below are key sections taken from the legislation pertaining to the standards of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 section.
Mechanisms to identify abuse and neglect wherever they may occur;
Work to increase understanding of safeguarding children issues in the professional and wider community, promoting that message that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility;
Work to ensure that organisations working or in contact with children operate recruitment and human resources practices that take into account of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
Monitoring the effectiveness of organisations implementation of their duties under section 11 of the Children Act 2004;
Ensuring children know who they can contact when they have concerns about their own or other’s safety and welfare;
Ensuring that adults (including those who are harming children) know who they can contact if they can contact if they have a concern about a child or a young person;
Work to prevent accidents and other injuries and,
where possible, deaths;
Work to prevent and respond effectively to bullying. A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 89.
