Legal and Ethical Issues in Childcare

1. Outline current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people.

Often children die or get seriously injured due to abuse or avoidable accidents. Society has a duty to protect children. We have a range of professional organisations supported by legislation, policies and procedures in order to do this. When the procedures and policies do not work society has failed at the thing it is meant to do. It is vital and that the causes of failure are known and dealt with.

An Act to reform the law relating to children; to provide for local authority services for children in need and others; to amend the law with respect to children’s homes, community homes, voluntary homes and voluntary organisations; to make provision with respect to fostering, child minding and day care for young children and adoption; and for connected purposes.”

Children Act 1989 – Determines the duty of early year’s practitioners to identify and meet the separate and distinctive needs of children and to keep them safe. It initiated the belief that the child ought to be at the centre of planning and that a child’s well-being and safety are vital when judgements are made concerning them. This act also recognises the accountabilities of parents in keeping their offspring safe. In this act there are two particular segments that relate to the duty of local authority with concern to child protection, these are-

In order to not only promote the welfare of children within a setting but also to protect them from harm and abuse there are a number of pieces of legislation and statutory guidance that must be adhered to. Both laws and statutory guidance are mandatory and so legally enforceable and must act as a foundation of which policies and procedures within any setting can be based upon.

Assess strategies and methods used to minimise the harm to children, young people and their families where abuse is confirmed (M3). Justify responses where child maltreatment or abuse id suspected or confirmed, referring to current legislation and policies (D2)

The causes of harm to children and young people are numerous. These can have a detrimental effect on a child or young person's physical or emotional health, development and wellbeing.

1.1- Outline the current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people-

In addition adults which working with children have an big impact on keeping children and young people safe within the setting, policies and procedures are very important an all staff that are working with children should have been informed and learned this is important because the workers must know what they have to do, what’s expected when they are working with children. Furthermore the policies in the setting will state what is expected as well as approved of the workers; they explain what the organisation does and how it should be carried out so that the child or young adult can be safe from abuse.

* Analysing the child’s and families need’s and the level of risk or harm the child may be suffering

* Describe the actions to take in response to evidence or concerns that a child or young person had been abused, harmed (including self-harm) or bullied, or may be at risk from

As can be seen there are many different organisations involved when there is any suspicion that a child may have been abused or actually harmed.

There has been certain legislation in the United Kingdom along with home policies and procedures that affect the safeguarding of children and young people. Policies and procedures for safeguarding and child protection in England and Wales are the result of the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004 brought more changes that affected the way the child protection system works here in the United Kingdom and so affecting the safeguarding of children and young people. Through the protection policies and procedures for safeguarding children and young people, settings which work with children and young people have an important role in the

It is the educator’s role to report any suspicions of child maltreatment. There are times when CPS may

There are many procedures, policies, legislations and statutory guidance to support the safety and welfare of children and young people. They have been developed over many years to recognise the rights of children and young people, protect vulnerable children and young people and after independent inquiries of fatal abuse cases, to recognise the failures of multi agencies and support services.