Safeguarding Kit for Childcare and Babysitting

Overview

Childcare providers — whether registered childminders, nursery staff, nannies, or babysitters — are entrusted with the care of children at their most vulnerable. These settings involve intimate care tasks, one-to-one time, and often take place in private homes. Robust safeguarding practices are essential to protect children and to provide reassurance to parents. This kit covers the key areas that childcare providers should address, from nappy changing procedures to online safety.

Key Risks

• •Intimate care tasks such as nappy changing and toileting creating vulnerability for very young children.
• •One-to-one care in private homes with limited external oversight.
• •Children who are pre-verbal or very young being unable to disclose abuse or discomfort.
• •Use of personal devices to photograph or film children without clear consent and storage protocols.
• •Unvetted household members or visitors having access to children in home-based settings.

Policies

• •A safeguarding and child protection policy that meets Ofsted or local authority requirements, reviewed annually.
• •An intimate care policy that sets out procedures for nappy changing, toileting, and dressing, respecting children's dignity and privacy.
• •A safe sleep policy for settings caring for babies and toddlers.
• •A household member and visitor policy for home-based providers, ensuring all adults in the home are appropriately vetted.

Adult Conduct Boundaries

• •Intimate care tasks should follow a consistent, documented procedure, and parents should be informed of how these are handled.
• •Childcarers should never administer medication without written parental consent and clear records.
• •In home-based settings, unvetted visitors or household members should not have unsupervised access to minded children.
• •Childcarers should maintain professional boundaries, even in informal, home-like settings.

Communication Boundaries

• •Daily communication with parents should be through agreed channels — a communication book, an app, or a brief handover at collection.
• •Childcarers should not use personal social media to share images of, or communicate about, children in their care.
• •Any developmental or welfare concerns should be raised with parents sensitively and recorded in writing.
• •Confidential information about children and families must be stored securely and not shared without consent or safeguarding necessity.

Image Guidance

• •Obtain written parental consent at registration for any photography or filming, and specify how images will be used and stored.
• •Use a dedicated work device for photographs, not a personal phone, and ensure images are stored securely.
• •Delete images when a child leaves your care, unless parents have requested copies for their own records.

Emergency Escalation

Safeguarding Checklist

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