Child’s Voice
The child’s voice is at the heart of our practice
Without listening to our children, the impact of our work is disconnected from the very people we are seeking to support and for whom we are seeking improved outcomes.
At Three Spires, we are proud to be working towards being intentionally relational and restorative in our ways of working. We have worked with our specialist safeguarding teams in order to refine our record keeping to make it more child-centred; to ensure that the voice of the child is not lost in the work that we are doing.
Safeguarding
At Three Spires, our “child’s voice” entries in safeguarding records are written TO the child as a reflection about what they said to the adult and the conversation that followed. The record explains to the child what they said and how the adult responded – whether they challenged the views presented by the child, or whether they agreed with them and why. The child’s voice entries also capture any agreed actions.
In time, all of our safeguarding records will be written to the child – this is a key area of focus for our safeguarding practice.
SEN
SEN records include a range of documentation about children – it is important that the child’s voice is captured on their APDR cycles. The impact of the provision made to support them is best captured in their own words.
All APDR cycles include a parent / carer voice, child’s voice and school voice record. The narrative from the three different voices is so important – how does everyone feel the cycles of support are working for the child in the moment? What do the team around the child believe would make a difference to the child moving forwards?
