Understanding How to Safeguard Children and Young People Essay

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

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-

Children and young people are vulnerable in nature. As their journey of life is in initial stages of development. They lack experience to understand and handle certain situations. Their lives can be severely affected by the risk, danger and fear from unknown or from people who are considered closest. If they are not taken care during their childhood, they may suffer from difficult young age and adulthood.

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.

Ensuring children and young people’s safety and welfare in the work setting is an essential part of safeguarding. While children are at school, practitioners act in ‘loco parentis’ while their parents are away. As part of their legal and professional obligations, practitioners hold positions of trust and a duty of care to the children in their school, and therefore should always act in their best interests and ensure their safety – the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). The Children Act 2004 came in with the Every Child Matters (ECM) guidelines and greatly impacted the way schools look at the care and welfare of pupils. Children and young people should be helped to learn and thrive and be given the opportunity to

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

Safeguarding is for everyone and every organisation responsibility to protect children from any harm and promote their welfare (Children Act, 2004). However, the Department of Children, School

Any individual who comes into contact with children in their daily work has a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of children. Safeguarding means protecting and promoting the childs welfare and putting measures in place to prevent abuse. Child protection is protecting a child when there is reason to believe that the child has suffered or is likely to suffer from abuse or neglect. In order to ensure this happens within a school setting, there are many laws that protect the welfare and safeguarding of children:-

Today we use the term safeguarding instead of child protection because it covers a much broader range. These changes were influenced by the first Joint Chief Inspectors’ safeguarding report 2002 and formalised in the Every Child Matters legislation outlined in the Children Act 2004. By safeguarding a child or young person we ensure they get the very best of the opportunities available to them for them to achieve the best of their potential while keeping them safe from bullying, crime, accidents, neglect and abuse.

National and local guidelines, policies, and procedures determine the nature of relationship and interaction with children and young people. The policies decide on the rights and privileges of children and young people in the society thus outlining how this group should relate to the entire community. National and local guidelines, policies, and procedures for safeguarding determine practice, planning, and organization of all activities in relation to children and young people. The policies ensure that the procedures for protection of children and young people are clear to all in the daily interactions. The policies enlighten the entire society on how to spot child abuse, violence, and exploitation. The policies also have the essence of creating positive and safe environment for the development of children and young people. Policies also

The UK Government has defined the term ‘safeguarding children’ as: ‘The process of protecting children from abuse or neglect, preventing impairment of their health and development, and ensuring they are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care that enables children to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.’

1 Understand the Policies, Procedures and Practices for safe working with children and young adults

Working Together to safeguard children 2015 is a statutory guidance and says ‘’specific duties in relation to children’s need and children suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.’’ (Gov.uk)

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.”

The following is an outline of current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation for safeguarding children