Managing Quality in an Early Education and Childcare Setting
1.
Two pieces of legislation that ensure quality provision are The Children’s (Scot) Act 1995 and The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 links parts of child care, family and adoption law, that affect children’s quality of life. The Act puts children first and brings together three key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; non-discrimination; the child’s welfare is the first thought; and that children's views should be listened to. It incorporated these principles into Scottish legislation and practice. By following this act, settings can work towards a high quality
…show more content…
The SSSC standardises the training and education required. It creates an equal footing for all workers doing the same job therefore showing the same level of competence which in turn increases public awareness and confidence in the role of providing a quality setting. It provides assurance that the people registered have integrity and are committed to their role whether they have the qualification or are working towards it. By committing to taking responsibility for their own learning to develop knowledge and values as well as assessing and updating regularly, practitioners are safeguard their continuing suitability for registration. Registered childminders however are not required to be registered with the SSSC, as they are firstly registered with the Care Inspectorate, but find it is good practice to follow the SSSC code of practice and undertaking training.
In 2010 the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act’s objective was to streamline a number of government agencies. The work of the Care Commission and the Social Work Inspection Agency was consolidated into a new body: the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Agency (SCSWIS). The Social Work Inspection Agency had previously regulated local authority social work services. In 2011, SCSWIS had a name change: becoming the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate ensure quality care is promoted by registering and inspecting, individuals
Every Child Matters Framework which is currently in the process to be changed is part of the Children Act 2004; it is a piece of legislation which has and influences planning and provisions of learning opportunities. The Every Child Matters ensures that settings provide quality of children’s and young people’s play and learning.This supports children from birth to 19 years. When practitioners plan, they should relate their work to the five outcomes for children; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve though learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic
There are many legislations and guidelines affecting safeguarding of children and young people. The Children Act 1989, assigns duties to local authorities, courts, parents and other agencies to ensure children are safeguarded, their welfare promoted and for children to be consulted in decisions affecting them. The Children's Act 2004 made amendments to the act of 1989 after the failings regarding Victoria Climbe. It places duty on local authorities to work together and share information introducing local Safeguarding Boards to work collaboratively to safeguard children and young people. This includes the five outcomes of Every Child Matters 2003. The Childcare Act 0f 2006 introduced plans for children aged 0-5 to
Children Act 2006 – Is an Act that defines the new duties imposed on the Local Authorities in respect to improving the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children. The Act also defines new rules in relation to childcare for working parents as well as parental information services. It is aimed at improving the well-being of young children. It emphasises the importance of safeguarding children and young people within an educational setting. If a child discloses neglect or abuse; an establishment should have instructions to help the child. This could be referral to an outside organisation or internally.
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-
Being relatively still new to social care I need to ensure that I find out more about legislation and the essential care standards set down by the CQC (Care Quality Commission) and as Registered Manager the requirements for reporting and providing person centred care.
Children Act 1989 – Protecting children’s welfare and to provide services according to the specific needs of children.
1.1 outline current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK home nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people.
Child Act 1989- “the Children Act 1989 aimed to ensure that the welfare of the child was paramount, working in partnership with parents to protect the child from harm” http://www.careandthelaw.org.uk/eng/b_section2 appendix 3
It is everybody’s responsibility to safeguard children – This means every single staff member within a setting; irrelevant of what role they may have there. This also includes non-staff members, such as volunteers, student’s third-party companies (visitors, service providers etc). Each setting should therefore adopt their own safeguarding policy, of which has to be kept up to date and followed at all times.
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 ‘Children’s Act 2004’ was continuously updated and developed into the ‘Children’s Act 2006’. This act states that all settings have to follow the Early Years Framework Stages (which were renewed in 2012). The Early Years Framework Stages (EYFS) is aimed to fulfil the five aims of ‘every child matters’ and the previous children’s act of 2004. The intentions are to achieve these aims by setting standards, promote equal opportunities and through a framework of partnerships, improve quality and consistency and lay secure foundation for all learning and development, present and future. By improving the quality the service and experiences are improved for all children and families. Safeguarding children is a vital part of improving all childcare services/settings.
All aspects of my job role are regulated by policies and current legislation. The mandatory training that we attend has been designed to cover all aspects of legislation such as the Children's Act, which provides a Code of Practice to enable us provide the best possible care and support for children and young people. We also have inspections from OFSTED who ensure we are meeting, not only care standards, but also those relating to behaviour and
The following is an outline of current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation for safeguarding children
Growing up in Scotland is an ongoing provision to policies, practitioners, parents and voluntary sectors. They give vital information from longitudinal research studies on thousands of children’s lives and families living in Scotland. What they do is look at the Government plans and study the impact on vital outcomes such as health, income and the wellbeing of children. The research information is then given back to the government who can address these issues and update polices to suit the needs of all children and families in Scotland. One of the areas they studied was the benefits to strong parenting because their research concluded the lack of parenting contributed greatly to behavioral problems and poor general health. The NHS, Education