Intimate Care Policy

Date of issue: September 2024

Date of review: September 2025

Ratified by Academy Governing Council on:

The Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding every student. We acknowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and ensure all of our staff are trained to be vigilant and aware of the signs and indicators of abuse and understand and follow safe working practices.

The viewpoints and voice of students is of paramount importance to our Academy and we will always listen to their wishes, thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying and supporting their needs. We will work alongside students to develop trusting, consistent and professional relationships and show we care by advocating the early help processes where possible. We will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively. We will always provide support and advice for families and parents/carers, whilst acting in the best interests of the student at all times and doing what matters most. Safeguarding also includes ensuring we work in an open and honest way, enabling our students to feel safe by providing a secure learning environment, are equally protected regardless of any barriers they may face and are able to grow and develop in the same way as their peers.

Co-op Academy Oakwood safeguards students by:

• Maintaining a secure site and ensuring that all visitors to the Academy are recorded, monitored and clear about how to raise a safeguarding concern should one arise.
• Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are followed to prevent those who pose a risk to children gaining access to our students.
• Filtering and monitoring all internet traffic into the Academy to ensure that students cannot be exposed to harmful material and communication.
• Ensuring that all staff employed by the Academy have received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance which is recorded in the Single Central Record
• Providing regular training and briefings for all staff in child protection and ensuring that all staff and visitors know who our designated safeguarding officers and designated senior lead are.
• Ensuring that admission and attendance procedures are robust to protect students, ensure that they are safe and prevent students from going missing from education.
• Empowering young people to identify risks both within the Academy and in their community; ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to help and protect themselves and others.
• Making sure that all students understand the importance of reporting concerns about themselves and peers and giving them the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.
• Providing pastoral and inclusion support to ensure that all students have access to guidance and advice, and when needed referrals for additional agency support to meet their needs.
• Sharing information when appropriate with other agencies and services to ensure that students, children and their families have support to meet their needs and prevent students from harm or further harm
• Taking immediate action and contacting the appropriate agencies when we believe that a student is in danger or is at risk of harm.

Co-op Academy Oakwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all of our pupils. We expect our staff, governors, wider professionals, volunteers and all other stakeholders to share this commitment. All of our policies are underpinned and linked to our safeguarding policy through this commitment.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set out clearly the process that will take place at Co-op Academy Oakwood, should a child need intimate care in school. Intimate care is any activity such as feeding, oral care, washing, changing clothes, toileting, first aid and medical assistance, comforting and support, or supervising intimate self-care that is required to meet the personal needs of a child regularly or during one-off incidents.

School staff have a duty to safeguard children at all times. It is important to develop independence for each child but on those occasions when children need assistance they must feel safe, have personal privacy, feel valued, be treated with dignity and respect and be involved and consulted about their own intimate care with school staff who are specially trained in intimate care procedures.

We, as a school community, have a commitment to promote equality. The policy has been designed in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Aims

All children have the right to be safe, to be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect and to be able to access all aspects of the educational curriculum.

Staff at Co-op Academy Oakwood will work: 

• To safeguard the rights of children.
• To safeguard school personnel trained in intimate care procedures.
• To ensure that pupils with continence difficulties are not discriminated against in line with the Equalities Act 2010.
• To ensure that pupils with feeding and medical needs are not discriminated against in line with the Equalities Act 2010.
• To provide help and support to pupils in becoming independent in personal hygiene.
• To treat continence issues sensitively so as to maintain the self-esteem of the child.
• To work with families in delivering a suitable care plan where necessary.
• To ensure that staff dealing with continence issues work within guidelines that protect themselves and the pupils involved (Health and Safety and Safeguarding Children Policy).
• To ensure that staff delivering personal medical or feeding care have the correct training needed.

At Co-op Academy Oakwood, we recognise that all children have different rates of development and differing needs during their time at school. Most children achieve continence before starting nursery and full-time school, however, there are many children in mainstream education who are not fully independent. Some children may require and depend on long-term support for personal care, while others progress slowly towards independence.

Children with toileting problems who receive support and understanding from those who are working closely with them are more likely to achieve their full potential. The achievement of continence can be seen as an important self-help skill, improving the person’s quality of life, independence and self-esteem. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils are able to access the whole curriculum and are able to be included in all aspects of school life. This includes providing suitable changes of clothing and attending to the continence needs of our pupils where necessary.

Pupils’ Needs

The staff at Co-op Academy Oakwood work hard to build effective relationships with the families of all our children. Any particular needs that a child may have will be dealt with sensitively and appropriately, working with families to ensure that each child can access the curriculum and the wider academy life. Any child who has personal care or continence needs will be attended to in designated areas within school. Families will be contacted in extreme cases where soiling is severe and/or linked to illness eg. sickness and diarrhea, or when a child refuses to let a member of staff help change their clothing. Families will be told at the end of the school day if a child has required intimate care that is not part of the child’s usual routine.

Training

Practice in intimate care should be as consistent as possible. This does not mean that everyone has to do things in an identical fashion, but it is important that approaches to intimate care are not markedly different between individuals. Liaison with other professionals is essential where there are a number of carers and settings.

Staff should never do something unless they know how to do it. If unsure how to do something, it is the responsibility of the staff member to ask. Treatment procedures, such as intermittent catheterisation, must only be carried out by staff who have been formally trained and assessed as competent. All school personnel will have equal chances of training, career development and promotion. Periodic training will be organised for all school personnel so that they are kept up to date with new information and guidelines concerning equal opportunities.

Care Plans

Where a pupil has particular needs (for example, wearing pull-ups regularly, or has continence difficulties which are more frequent than the odd ‘accident’), staff will work with families (health visitors/school nurses and other professionals if appropriate) to set out a care plan to ensure that the child is able to attend daily. The written care plan (Appendix A) will include:

● Who will change the child including back-up arrangements

● Where changing will take place

● What resources and equipment will be used (cleansing agents used or cream to be applied?)

● Clarification of who is responsible (parent or school) for the provision of the resources and equipment.

● How the product, if used, will be disposed of, or how wet or soiled clothes will be kept until they can be returned to the parent/carer

● What infection control measures are in place

● What the staff member will do if the child is unduly distressed by the experience or if the staff member notices marks or injuries

● Additional information such as training requirements, school trips etc.

● Care plan review arrangements

Care Plan Agreements

In these circumstances it may be appropriate for the school to set up an agreement that defines the responsibilities that each partner has, and the expectations each has for the other (see Appendix B). This will include:

The family:

● agreeing to ensure that the child is changed at the latest possible time before being brought to the setting/school

● providing the setting/school with spare pull ups and changes of clothing understanding and agreeing the procedures that will be followed when their child is changed at school including the use of any cleanser or wipes

● agreeing to inform the setting/school should the child have any marks/rash

● agreeing to a ‘minimum change’ policy i.e. the setting/school would not undertake to change the child more frequently than if they were at home.

● agreeing to review arrangements should this be necessary

The academy:

● agreeing to change the child during a single session should the child soil themselves or become uncomfortably wet

● agreeing how often the child would be changed should the child be staying for the full day

● agreeing to monitor the number of times the child is changed in order to identify progress made

●  agreeing to report should the child be distressed, or if marks/rashes are seen

● agreeing to review arrangements should this be necessary.

This agreement should help to avoid misunderstandings that might otherwise arise, and help families feel confident that the setting/school is taking a holistic view of the child’s needs. Should a child with complex continence needs be admitted, the school will consider the possibility of special circumstances and/or provision being made. In such circumstances, an appropriate health care professional (School Nurse or Family Health Visitor) will be closely involved in forward planning.

Personal Care and Health and Safety Procedures

The staff at Co-op Academy Oakwood will follow agreed procedures (see Appendix C) when attending to the care or continence needs of any pupil within the setting, whether this be a child with a care plan agreement or a child who has had an occasional ‘accident’. When dealing with personal care and continence issues, staff will follow agreed health and safety procedures (see Appendix D) to protect both the child and the member of staff.

Some children will require IPRAs (individual pupil risk assessment) which will be written by the SENDco in consultation with plans shared by health care professionals.

Child Protection

The usual process of changing a child  should not raise child protection concerns and there are no regulations that indicate that a second member of staff must be available to supervise the changing process to ensure that abuse does not take place. A child’s sense of privacy should always be considered. Much intimate care is carried out by one staff member along with one child. This practice should be actively supported unless the task requires two people.  DBS checks are carried out to ensure the safety of children with staff employed in our school. If there is a known risk of false allegation by a child, then a single practitioner will not undertake changing. A student on placement will not change a child unsupervised. Where ever possible, the same member of staff will be allowed to change named children. It may be possible to have a second member of staff in an adjoining room or nearby so that they are close to hand but do not compromise the child’s sense of privacy. A Personal Care Log (Appendix E) will be used to log occasions when changing is necessary. This reduces the risk to the child and promotes their dignity. The care plan will outline back-up or contingency measures in the event that the named member of staff is not available.  If a staff member notices any physical or behavioural concerns when carrying out intimate care, they must follow the school’s safeguarding procedures.

Links to other policies

This policy runs alongside the following school policies:

●       Safeguarding

●       Special Educational Needs and Disability

●       Health and Safety.

●       Monitoring and Review

The SENDco and Early Years Leader will take responsibility for monitoring that agreed procedures are being followed and are meeting the needs of children and families. It is the Early Years Leader’s responsibility to ensure that all practitioners within Early Years follow the school policy. Any concerns that staff have about child protection issues will be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and subsequently the Head Teacher for further referral if appropriate.

If your child needs cleaning, plain water will be used with a few drops of liquid cleanser added to the water. Please advise if this is not suitable for your child and send in an alternative.

I/we have read, understood and agree to the plan for Intimate Care

Signed ………………………………………………………………

Name ………………………………………………………………

Relation to child ……………………………………………………

Appendix B

Home/School Agreement to support staff involvement in Intimate Care

We aim to work closely with you and your child to ensure that they feel confident, secure and respected in our school. Our parents/carers will help support us by:

●  changing your child/young person at the latest possible time before coming to school

●  provide spare pull ups, wet wipes and sufficient changes of clothes

●  wash and return any clothing provided by the school as soon as possible.

●  a mutual agreement to the procedures to be followed during changing at school

●  assist us by informing our staff if your child/young person has any marks/rashes

●  encourage your child/young person’s self help in intimate care procedures wherever possible.

●  discuss any concerns regarding your child/young person's intimate care progress with our staff.

Our staff will support you by:

●  changing your child/young person should s/he require it.

●  informing you if your child/young person has any marks/rash and take further action as appropriate

●  encouraging your child/young person in their participation in their intimate care procedures wherever this is possible

●  respect cultural practices through discussion with you, the parents/carer.

Parent/Carers Signature……………………………………………………………

Staff Signature…………………………………………………………………

Appendix C

Personal Care Procedures

The staff at Co-op Academy Oakwood will follow agreed procedures:

●       Change the child’s clothing as appropriate, as soon as possible

●       Use appropriate cleaning products and adhere to health and safety procedures (see Appendix D)

●       Record that the child has been changed (see Appendix E)

●       Report any marks or rashes or other concerns to parents and/or DSL if appropriate.

●       Inform parent/carer that a continence issue has arisen during the session

●       Contact a parent/carer only where soiling is severe and/or linked to illness eg.

sickness and diarrhoea, or when a child refuses to let a member of staff help change their clothing.

Pull up changing procedures:

• Pull up changing undertaken in an allocated room.
• Pull up changing being carried out by the child's key person where possible.
• Record kept when each pull up is changed and with information shared with parents/carers.
• Children's pull ups checked at appropriate intervals by key person.
• Pull ups changing resources readily supplied.
• A new set of gloves and apron to be worn for every pull up change.
• Soiled pull up to be placed in a nappy sack for disposal.
• Any soiled clothes to be sent home in a separate bag.
• All cleaning wipes to be placed in a nappy sack.
• Nappy sack to be securely tied and placed in the appropriate bin for disposal.
• Before dressing the child, dispose of all personal protective equipment used in the appropriate bin.
• Hands to be washed before dressing child.
• Return child to the classroom/play room.
• Pull up changing area thoroughly cleaned using anti- bacterial spray and disposable paper towels.

What to do in the event that a child’s clothing needs to be changed:

Wet/dirty due to playing in water, paint, mud etc.

Outer clothing to be changed in the classroom where others are able to witness what is happening. If underwear needs to be changed, the child will do so in the toilets if they are able to. If they require assistance, an adult will tell another member of staff where they are going and for what reason. The other member of staff will check on them at least once to ensure that the adult and child are not left alone without witnesses.

Wet/dirty due to a ‘toilet’ accident.

Soiled clothing will be changed in the toilets. Children will be encouraged to do this independently if they are able. If they require assistance, an adult will tell another member of staff where they are going and for what reason. The other member of staff will check on them at least once to ensure that the adult and child are not left alone without witnesses. Both adults will sign and date the toilet record book.

Appendix D

Health and Safety Procedures

When dealing with personal care and continence issues, staff will follow agreed health and safety procedures:

●       Staff to wear disposable gloves while dealing with the incident

●       Soiled continence products used to be double wrapped, or placed in a hygienic disposal unit (identified bin in disabled toilet) if the number produced each week exceeds that allowed by Health and Safety Executive’s limit.

●       Changing area to be cleaned after use

●       Hot water and liquid soap available to wash hands as soon as the task is completed

 ● Paper towels available for drying hands.

Appendix E

Changing Record

Pupil ___________________________________

Week beginning ________________________

W(wet), D(dry), B(bowels open), M(menstruation), U(urinated), S(soiled)

Please remember – if you have any concerns, then please discuss immediately with a senior member of staff or Designated Safeguarding Lead.