Legislation Affecting Schools

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is there for the rights of children should allow children priority

The rights of all children & young people are stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

This legislation states the rights the child has and what the Government must do to protect their rights. For example every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to develop their physical, mental and social needs and the Government must provide extra money for families in need if their standard of living is below par.

Education Act 2002/2006 - Schools which have innovative ideas to improve education, but are prevented by an existing law from implementing them, will be able to apply for exemption from that law. Schools which demonstrate a high standard of teaching will be given exemption national controls such as the national curriculum, agreements on teachers' pay and conditions and the way the scheduling of the school day and terms. The act imposes various minimum standards for independent schools in areas such as health and safety and space requirements

But children are a special case they cannot always stand up for themselves. They therefore need a special set of rights which take in to consideration their vulnerability and which ensures the adults that surround them take responsibly for their welfare, protection and development.

Practitioners have a legal duty of confidence with regards to person information that they hold about children young people and their families. Any information you receive about young people and their families. In my work setting information should only be shared with professionals, all information child protection records should be kept securely. These are kept behind the manager’s desk on a tall shelf so that children can’t access them. Personal information should only be disclosed to third parties such as social services after obtaining the consent to who the information relates to in some child protection matters but it may not be possible to obtain consent. The data protection act 1998 allow allegation without consent in some circumstances for example to detect and prevent crime, to apprehend prosecute and offender.

Confidentiality applies to the children act in many ways it protects children and young peoples information from being put into the wrong hands although the children act does state that the person can obtain the information being held themselves as because of data protection you have the right to access your own files.

| Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 requires local education authorities and governing bodies of maintained schools and FE colleges to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are carried out with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.All children deserve the opportunity to achieve their full potential.  The five outcomes that are key to children’s and young people’s wellbeing are: * Stay safe * Be healthy * Enjoy and achieve * Make a positive contribution * Achieve economic wellbeing The school should give effect to their duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils (students under the age of 18 years of age) under the Education Act 2002 and , where appropriate, under the Children Act 1989 by: * Creating and maintaining a safe learning environment for children and young people. * Identifying where there are child welfare concerns and taking action to address them in partnership with other

All these laws influence the rights of individuals. Every early years, childcare and educational organisation needs to have policies and practices that put these laws into action:

The convention on the rights of the child 1989- The Convention's objective is to protect children from discrimination, neglect and abuse. It is the principal children's treaty, covering a full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It grants rights for children in peacetime as well as during armed conflict, and provides for the implementation of those rights. It can promote anti-discriminatory practice by giving children protection and rights. It can also make sure that children will be given somewhere safe to be; not near any war zones and hazardous areas which could cause ill- health.

The children act 1989 has influenced some settings by bringing together several sets of guidance and provided the foundation for many of the standards practitioners sustain and maintain when working with children. The act requires that settings work together in the best interests of the child and form partnerships with parents or carers. It requires settings to have appropriate adult to child ratios and policies and procedures on child protection. This act has had an influence in all areas of practice from planning a curriculum and record keeping. The every child matters framework has

The United Nations convention on the rights of the child is to promote all aspects for the care, development and education of children, non discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion, disability, language, ethnic/social origin, civil and political rights, economic, social, cultural and protective rights.

The idea behind the Act is to promote (co-ordination between multiple official entities to improve the overall well-being of children. The 2004 Act also specifically provided for including and affecting disabled children. The Act places a duty on local authorities and their partners (including the police, health service providers and the youth justice system) to co-operate in promoting the wellbeing of children and young people and to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Key question raised in the court in regards to this appeal is the United Nations convention on the treatment of children which the country is in agreement with but such was not incorporated in the legal system as regards to detention and deportation of children. It has gone to exposes the lapses and eventually reinforce the need for children to be treated

After the formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations realized that children needed the additional protection of The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) because of the special barriers and