To think my daughter doesn't need to be under 'safeguarding'?

[refreshercc2]

DD is 16 and self-harms, occasionally at school. We are waiting for an initial appointment after referral.

Why is she under the safeguarding team at school though? Will social services be coming around?? I'm really worried.

Worried about your DD or about her being under safe guarding?

I'm not sure what is involved technically, I expect someone else will soon. But safe guarding is a wide term about keeping them safe. They need a strategy to help her, that is all.

Also, to keep the other children safe at school, too.

I'd say she should be under safeguarding, yes.

Safeguarding isn't automatically 'look at the parents see if they are abusive//incompetent' more more getting all the correct professionals involved to make the outcome better for DD.

Safeguarding includes 'risk-taking behaviour' on the part of the child. It would be unusual if a SW did not contact you as the parent. Try not to stress about it as they will be focusing on your child. An assessment of her whole environment is likely to be undertaken so they can get a holistic picture and tailor intervention to suit.

They are monitoring her closely because they don't know why she is self harming

She is 16 d's can't do much

What everyone has said here. If social services get involved they won't take her away. Let them help you to help her. Support her and be there for her and try to do whatever you can to work with the safeguarding team to help her stop.

SS not d's

Safeguarding is the term used to cover any child with things in their lives that may impact on their safety. Of course if she self harms this would be a concern for the school. Social services may become involved but you would usually get told first, its not to criticise you but to help you and your daughter get the help and support you both need to help with the issue.
I would not worry at all about social service involvement, they are not the bad guys they are made out to be, my SW has been amazing.

Because they are concerned for her wellbeing. It's about her and keeping her safe. School need to do all they can to help and support her.
I'm sorry she's struggling. Must be so hard.

It would be a very poor do if the safeguarding team wasn't involved. She is engaging in risk taking behaviour, if she is doing this whilst actually at school its best that there is a team in place who are aware she's doing it. These services are in place to help... They are not the child snatchers some people believe them to be. Try not to worry. If social services do get in touch with you work with them and accept their help.

People naturally panic at the idea of social services being involved as they instantly assume that they want to take their kids away. Remember that removing a child is only done in extreme circumstances. Social workers main function is to help families so when they get in touch it will be to help, try to work with them and not panic. You can work with together to help your DD

Safeguarding is something schools have to take seriously because Ofsted will be looking at how they protect students. Any tiny hint or rumour or suggestion of a concern about a student's safety, the school will need to demonstrate that they've taken action and make sure that it is documented thoroughly and that they are absolutely beyond reproach and have left nothing undone that they could possible be criticised for in the future.

So you do tend to get massive overkill for the tiniest incident. Highly unlikely you'll see social services. This is just about the school protecting themselves from being accused of not doing their utmost to ensure your daughter is safe.

You don't think your 16 year old daughter who self harms needs safeguarding? Really?

My DD is under the safeguarding team due to a self harm incident a few months back. For us it just means that the schools safeguarding and pastoral team keep an eye on her and support her. They keep an eye out for any other instances and they arrange meetings with her periodically to check up on her wellbeing. They also check in with us so we can exchange information.

She self harms at school. Would you prefer they pretended not to notice??

She needs safeguarding input because she's at risk of harming herself

We've not had any recent incidents but if we did tbh social workers may have more
Clue than I do about helping her.

SS aren't there to take your kids away, they are there to help. You rarely hear the helpful stories however because there's a huge stigma that if SS are involved it means you are a shit parent. That's absolutely not the case at all.

Their job is to look after you and your daughter to make sure she's safe and getting the help she needs.

It's a good thing.

The fact that you don't see why she needs safeguarding when she self harms is a further reason for her to need safeguarding.

As she self harms she is blatantly at risk of physical and emotional harm which requires professional knowledge to keep her safe. That's what safeguarding is for. To help keep her safe. It's GOOD.

the parent rejecting help and support makes it more serious to social services.

If you're there, all big smiles, accepting what you've been told and taking on advice they're more likely to go away more quickly.

But what you should ALWAYS keep on board is that their priority is always the child's best interest, so if you're at loggerheads with them it suggests that you are not putting the child first. So if you're going to take this position, you need to justify it reasonably in order to make them go away. "I don't like being told what to do" won't cut it. If you don't want to go with their programme, you need to have a reasonable alternative to put to them which proves you are putting the child first.

The very fact that you don't think she needs safeguarding is enough evidence for the safeguarding team to be involved.

From the NSPCC website:
^Safeguarding means:
-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.^

So she's under the safeguarding team because they want to try and prevent harm to her health (physical and mental), and help her to have "the best outcomes".

Safeguarding doesn't automatically mean social services. It just means that key safeguarding & pastoral staff will know to keep an eye out, and she might have a care plan - although as far as I'm aware care plans are made alongside parents/guardians. For example a student who self harms may have a care plan which says her teachers know to tell the pastoral lead if the student spends an unreasonably long time in the toilets (if that's where she selfharms) or if the student seems particularly "low" during a lesson.