Boy at school - safeguarding?

[comoatoupeira]

There’s a boy at school in reception I got concerned about this afternoon.
I always notice him as he’s always in the playground after school, careering around, always seems to be with different groups. Mixes a lot with kids in other years.
He’s also got a broken foot in a cast. He’s very, very skinny and doesn’t look too healthy although could just be genes. Very pale, anaemic looking.
Today he had a tumble and was in tears because his leg was hurting (the broken foot one). I didn’t see what happened but he was sitting and an older boy, maybe year 3, was trying to comfort him a bit half heartedly. I asked them who was looking after him and he pointed me to someone sitting all the way on the other side of the park, on the grass, with her back to us. But he did it in a bit of a hesitant way.
I went over to her. Asked her if she was with the boy, told her what happened. Clearly a nanny as she was in her 20s and didn't look like him.
I watched what happened next, pretending not to. And there was just something about the way she dealt with it that made me feel weird. It didn’t seem like there was any trust between them, and it didn’t seem like she cared a lot. Next minute he was off on the other side of the park and she was back on the grass on her phone like before.
I feel like finding out who his parents are and saying that I’ve noticed their nanny isn’t actually looking after, or even keeping an eye on, their boy in the playground (it’s a huge playground with multiple areas).
Am I being a busybody?

It won't be a "nanny" - it's obviously the child's mum. Just op can't fathom out that women often do reproduce in their 20s.

Nobody should ever keep their thoughts private when it comes to safeguarding children. How on earth do people still think this?

We do in genuine red flag circumstances yes. This isn't one.

I thought you had died Hyacinth....?

Is this set in the school playground or the park?…

You know this for certain do you?

I’m not sure what you would report.

he has a broken leg which is in a cast so clearly he’s getting medical treatment.

you are jumping to conclusions to think it is a nanny - could be elder sibling, elder step sibling, auntie, almost anything. I get that you think it’s not mum but it’s a long way from there to nanny.

so realistically you’d be saying the he fell over and wasn’t being supervised closely. Unless there is anything more specific? What triggered your spidey senses?

I actually think you should speak to the safeguarding lead at school about him. Often there’s lots of small things that add up to a bigger picture, and you don’t realise how significant they all were until you find out what was really going on. (I’m a safeguarding lead at a school.) Low-level concerns from lots of different people add up.

You saw no warmth in the interaction between the boy and the person looking after him. That’s significant.

If everyone miss their own business nothing would ever get reported. Better to over report. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility!

This is all rather odd. I don't find it strange that kids are friendly with other year groups, it's a good sign the child is confident and making friends. Maybe the boy had something wrong with him that he's pale and thin or that's just his complexion! I am really pale myself. Perhaps she is the mum and she's not a molly coddler, sometimes mums can not want their kids making a fuss when they fall over ect so it might come across as uncaring but it's not. Perhaps she's an older sister. I find your comments about age really weird and who has nanny's?! Where on earth do you live that you would assume it was a nanny? Is it a private school? Also the parents you see in reception may well have other older kids so did in fact have kids at a younger age. Secondly many parents never make pick up as they are working so you won't meet them to judge their age. Regardless If you're worried perhaps you should report it and let the school decide if it's nonsense or not.

What makes you think what the op saw is worthy of a report to safeguarding?
-a mother/sister playing on her phone
-a child with a treated injury (meaning he would have come into contact with the hospital, who are very skilled at assessing for suspicion injuries) in fact all breaks/burns on children are routinely referred to HV/SS to check in on how the family is doing.

• a mum/sister that dealt with the boy by not being too invested in him saying his foot hurt.

-a perception of 'not a close bond' (that's a reach )

• the child looking pale and slim

None of those things warrant an overt suspicion of abuse.

Sorry - I totally disagree.

With any safeguarding issue, you can't assume someone else will deal with it.

It may be that they don't know and this brings it to their attention. It may be that someone has noticed but hasn't said anything because they think they are blowing it out of proportion. You vocalising what they were thinking might help take things forward. It might be something that is already being dealt with and your additional comment isn't needed, but won't be unwelcome.

That's not to say there is definitely an issue with this child, but raising it to the school means they can look into it. In some cases, it is the small 'pieces' of the jigsaw that add up to show a real issue. People seeing only one piece might dismiss it.

This is very strange advice. How do you know that the school will be aware? What happened to see something say something?

If she has concerns for the wellbeing of the child she should mention it to the school and let them look into it instead of assuming the school will know.

Do you know how many children could have been saved by someone speaking up?

A lot of words, but, if instinct is telling you to say something, then say something. Not to a random mum or gossip but to somebody trusted, the school in this instance.

There’s young mums everywhere I was 20 when my eldest started school and loads of kids don’t look like their mums.

That said if you worried about him tell the school not much else you can do unless you know his full name