The Safeguarding Of Children Social Work Essay

Harmonizing to the Government the term ‘safeguarding kids ‘ is defined as:

‘The procedure of protecting kids from maltreatment or disregard, forestalling damage of their wellness and development, and guaranting they are turning up in fortunes consistent with the proviso of safe and effectual attention that enables kids to hold optimal life opportunities and enter maturity successfully. ‘ ( Beginning: Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006 ) .

It is indispensable that kids are safeguarded from ill-treatment and damage of their wellness and development non merely to forestall the awful day-today enduring some kids are subjected to, but besides to guarantee that kids are safe from these maltreatments to protect their long-run wellbeing ( Combrink-Graham, 2006: 480 ) .

Deliberate and sustained ill-treatment, which includes physical, emotional and sexual maltreatment of kids, is non confined to any peculiar group or civilization ; it pervades all groups, categories and civilizations.

So as practicians it is our professional responsibility of attention to guarantee that every kid has the same sum of safeguarding as the following.

It is besides critical that as Early Old ages professionals we understand the functions and processs of the services available for kids and households so that we may offer the best advice possible. There are two countries of counsel statutory and non-statutory.

LOC1- analyse the function of statutory, voluntary and independent service in relation to kids and households.

A service which is defined as statutory is one that lawfully must be supplied by the Local Authority ( LA ) concerned. All Local Governments are obliged by legislative act to supply some services, for illustration, societal services, NHS infirmary, wellness professionals, the constabulary and probation service, youth piquing squads, secure preparation Centres, childminders and schools.

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They all have a responsibility under the Children Act 2004 to guarantee that their actions are clear with respect to the demand to safeguard and advance the public assistance of kids. ( Beginning: Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006 ) .

Safeguarding and advancing the public assistance of kids is the duty of the local authorization ( LA ) , working in partnership with other public administrations, the voluntary sector, kids and immature people, parents and carers, and the wider community. ( Beginning: Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006 ) .

The function of statutory services in relation to kids and households is to employ professionals who are committed to the cause of assisting kids to remain safe. The services need to use staff that understands their duties and responsibilities in these hard state of affairss, so any administration that trades with safeguarding kids needs to do certain that all members of staff are safe to work with kids and immature people by supplying a thorough individuality cheque. Besides the administration that provides this service needs to be equipped to cover with any allegations including 1s made against staff by holding clear processs in topographic point. All staff have to hold regular up to day of the month preparation and apprehension of the topic while working in this environment and they besides need to understand the correct procedures if working with spouse administrations.

The voluntary sector is undertaken by administrations that are non for net income and non-governmental such as charities like Childline, the NSPCC and churches. This sector plays an of import portion in supplying information and resources to the general populace who may be unable or afraid to reach other sectors about the public assistance of some kids. They may besides specialize in a peculiar country of maltreatment and may hold greater and better apprehension of the topic as their members of staff have experienced more in-depth preparation. Like the populace sector their staff paid or voluntaries need to travel through the same procedure as the staff from the populace sector that is stated in paragraph 2.8 in Working together to Safeguard Children 2006.

Like the voluntary sector, the independent sector besides has to stay by the ordinances that come with working towards safeguarding kids. The Independent sector is non financed through the revenue enhancement system by local or national authorities, and is alternatively funded by private beginnings. Such independent services are private schools, get oning schools, private counselors and private charities such as UNICEF. A non statutory service is one which may or may non be supplied, at the discretion of the authorization concerned.

LOC2- Evaluate the statute law model and processs for kid protection at national and local degree.

There are several legislative frameworks/laws and processs for kid protection at national and local degree which are continually being amended, updated and revoked. One of the important pieces of statute law is The Children Act 2004 which led to a considerable alteration in the manner services are straight concerned with functioning kids and households. As a consequence of audience with kids and households following Lord Laming ‘s question into the awful and tragic decease of Victoria Climbi & A ; eacute ; , the authorities announced its programs to reconstitute kids ‘s services to assist accomplish five results for wellbeing. The authorities outlined these results in its Every Child Matters ( ECM ) docket, saying that to accomplish wellbeing in childhood and in ulterior life kids and immature people want to:

be healthy ;

be safe ;

enjoy and achieve ;

do a positive part ; and

achieve economic wellbeing ( DfES, 2004b ) .

These five results for wellbeing are now the ends for Every Child Matters and all services that are concerned in the instruction and public assistance of kids and immature people are bound to guarantee these results are achieved.

The Every Child Matters Outcomes Framework ( DCSF, 2008b ) for enabling kids and households to be safe requires that Early Old ages scenes and primary schools must show that they are enabling kids to be safe from ill-treatment, disregard, force and sexual development, and from inadvertent hurt and decease, and that kids and immature people have security, stableness, are cared for and are safe from strong-arming and favoritism. This is a really complex country for those who work with kids, or intend to work with kids, in portion because of the sum of statute law that is attached to these issues.

The Education Act 2002 places a responsibility on Early Year scenes and schools to safeguard and advance the public assistance of all kids, including guaranting they provide a safe environment themselves and take stairss, through their policies, pattern and preparation, to place ‘child public assistance concerns and take action to turn to them, in partnership with other administrations where appropriate ‘ ( HM Government, 2006:13 ) . The Education Act 2002 besides places this responsibility on childminders and any administration that provides twenty-four hours attention for kids – of whatever age.

Locally the group of people responsible for co-ordinating what is done by administrations in Essex to safeguard and advance the public assistance of kids and to guarantee the effectivity of this activity is the Essex Safeguarding Children Board ( ESCB ) .

But despite all the statute law and policies, the authorities ever seems to alter these policies when something awful happens such as Victoria Climbi & A ; eacute ; and Baby P, why do… … … … … ..Help! ! ! ca n’t believe what to compose! !

LOC3- Debate theories of maltreatment such as medical, feminist, societal and psychological theoretical accounts.

While all the statute law is in topographic point to protect against injury to kids and households and it is besides in topographic point to protect the professional working with them. The general populace ‘s usual sentiment of an maltreater is that they are unnatural, ill or condemnable. The grounds for maltreatment may be deep and complex. The actions of an maltreater are decidedly incorrect but why did they take them? There are tonss of different theories as to why maltreaters abuse. Some of the more widely held theories are:

The societal theoretical account definition is where a kid copies the behavior of them grownups that surround them. Albert Bandura ( 1977 ) related to the societal learning theories of other of import professional in kid development such as Vygotsky and Lave. This theory includes facets of behavioral and cognitive acquisition. He believed that behavioral larning assumes that people ‘s environment cause people to act in certain ways. Besides he believed in cognitive acquisition which is when person experiences or acquires cognition, he presumed that psychological factors are of import for act uponing how people behave.

Another theory is the medical theoretical account. John Bowlby ( 1969-80 ) , is recognized as one of the most outstanding theoreticians in researching societal effects on kid development, in peculiar he is celebrated for his ‘attachment theory ‘ ( Flanagan, 1999 ) . When Bowlby foremost began discoursing this theory his work focused on the importance of the fond regard a kid has with its female parent. The present recognized theory is that kids can organize a figure of fond regards with grownups other than their biological female parent, what is of import is that kids need caring and fostering relationships in order to boom, and non merely the basic demands of nutrient and shelter ( Foley et al. , 2001 ; 211 ) .

Bowlby believed that there was a critical period of adhering in the first twelvemonth of life. Much research has been done that suggests a strong correlativity between female parents who have non formed a strong fond regard to their kids and kid maltreatment and disregard. If non treated conditions such as postpartum depression ( or post-natal depression as it is more normally known ) could take to the female parent holding a negative fond regard with the kid.

A farther influential theoretician in the country of kid development is Erikson ( 1902-1994 ) who in the sixtiess devised a theoretical account of human societal development that focuses more on the impact of background and environment on development, instead than familial clinchers. This is known as a psychosocial theoretical account ( Miller, 2003 ) . The importance of this theory is that it explores how the beliefs, attitudes and values we grow up to keep are shaped by our familial sensitivity towards incentive Acts of the Apostless and how the environment we grow up in impacts on those natural features. Therefore, Erikson maintains, we are clearly shaped by our formative experiences. If this is so, so the experiences a kid will hold while they are immature will impact on their life as an grownup, including on their attitudes, beliefs and values.

A different sentiment to why maltreaters abuse is the psychological theoretical account. Psychological theories focus on the natural and psychological qualities of those who abuse. It is abnormalcies within the single maltreater that are responsible for maltreatment, for illustration, opprobrious parents may themselves hold been abused in childhood ( Corby, 2000 ) . Although the defect is that psychologists have failed to set up a consistent personality profile for a kid maltreater when compared to another signifier of maltreater.

Feminists believe that the Feminist theoretical account may be the reply to the actions of an maltreater. The feminist theoretical account suggests that kid abuse like domestic force is a consequence of unequal power in the household. Cossins ( 2000 ) believes that maltreatment is done by adult male to adult females and is about male maleness and power. But this does non take into history female maltreaters. Professor Lynne Segal suggests that the thoughts of maleness accents control and power. This assumes that all work forces have power and adult females and kids do non hold power ( Bell, 1993 ) . This theory besides needs to include non merely gender and power issues but to see race, category and civilization every bit good ( Reavey and Warner, 2003 ) .

The Cycle of force is another theoretical account, it is based on the position that kids who live with domestic force will larn that maltreatment is acceptable and will go either an maltreater or a victim. While sing or witnessing domestic force can hold a serious impact on kids and immature people, they will react in assorted ways depending on their age, race, sex, civilization, phase of development, and single personality. By no agencies do all kids who have lived with domestic force grow up to go either victims or maltreaters. Many kids exposed to domestic force realise that it is incorrect, and actively reject force of all sorts. There is non much grounds to back up this theoretical account.

Although all these theoretical accounts give some penetration into why an maltreater would mistreat there is no 1 type of maltreater, so there can be no one theoretical account. What we would see a kid maltreater in this state is non the same criterions as other states. Not one of these theoretical accounts can entirely explicate the actions of a kid maltreater. Finkelhor ( 1986 ) understood that and was a critic of individual factor theoretical accounts. He believed that adult females were merely every bit capable to mistreat as work forces are.

LOC4- Describe the classs of maltreatment and the possible effects on the kid, household and workers.

What composes maltreatment has been unfastened to broad argument, because some research workers will province that what one group in society deems to be abuse, another will claim is a ‘normal ‘ portion of kid rise uping pattern. For illustration, the thwacking argument. Is it acceptable to thwack a kid? There is a legal credence that where a slap does n’t go forth a permanent grade it is non abuse, but if it is continuously done and escalates so this would be classed as maltreatment. The point at which any pattern becomes abusive is the point at which it becomes ill-treatment, likely to impair wellness or physical, emotional, societal or behavioral development ( DfES, 2006 ) .

The classs of kid maltreatment are physical, emotional, sexual maltreatment and disregard. Most frequently if a kid is enduring from one of the classs like physical or sexual abuse they are likely to be enduring from emotional maltreatment as good, as the classs link into one another.

As Early Old ages practitioners we need to maintain an oculus out for any marks of physical maltreatment, which are normally seeable to the oculus, on the organic structure of the victim such as unexplained hurts, contusions or Burnss. Other marks of physical maltreatment are if the victim refuses to discourse hurts, gives unlikely accounts for hurts, has untreated hurts or lingering hurts which are non treated. If the parents administrating of penalty appears inordinate, if the kid psychiatrists from physical contact, or they have a fright of returning place or of the parents being contacted, or a fright of undressing, or a fright of medical aid these could besides be a mark of physical maltreatment. Physical maltreatment can take to the kid going aggressive towards other kids and intimidation. An abused kid may expose over compliant behavior or a ‘watchful attitude ‘ , have important alterations in behavior without account, their work may deteriorate and they may hold unexplained forms of absences which might function to conceal contusions or other physical hurts. In some instances the kid may even seek to run off.

Another signifier of maltreatment is emotional maltreatment ; this is one of the harder abuses to recognize as there are frequently no seeable marks. Emotional maltreatment is about messages, verbal or non-verbal, given by a attention giver to a kid. Almost all kids are subjected to emotional maltreatment to some grade. Even the most lovingness of parents will at some clip give kids rather negative messages, this is why it is difficult to observe emotional maltreatment.

Examples of emotional maltreatment are intentionally mortifying a kid, doing a kid feel ashamed for non being able to make or understand something which she is, in fact, developmentally incapable of. Other marks of maltreatment are anticipating a kid to set the demands of other household members before their ain. Persistently verbally mistreating a kid or invariably endangering to go forth a kid on their ain as a penalty is opprobrious whether or non the menace is carried out. Making menaces of other cruel and inordinate penalties and/or transporting them out, stating a kid that he was non wanted, was a error, or was the incorrect gender, insulating a kid, forestalling them from socializing with their equals and continually seting a kid under unjust moral/emotional force per unit area is abuse. Some grownups may besides non gain that exposing a kid to age-inappropriate activities such as telecasting, movies and computing machine games is besides classed as emotional maltreatment.

The DfES ( 2006 ) What to Make if You Are Worried a Child Is Being Abused papers defines sexual maltreatment as:

Sexual maltreatment involves coercing or luring a kid or immature individual to take portion in sexual activities, including harlotry, whether or non the kid is cognizant of what is go oning. The activities may affect physical contact, including acute or non-penetrative Acts of the Apostless. They may include non-contact activities, such as affecting kids in looking at, or in the production of, sexual online images, watching sexual activities, or promoting kids to act in sexually inappropriate ways. ( DfES, 2006: 9 ) .

The definition of disregard is ‘the relentless failure to run into a kid ‘s physical and/ psychological demands, probably to ensue in the serious damage of the kid ‘s wellness or development ‘ ( DfES, 2006: 9 ) .

Some illustrations of disregard are failure to feed a kid adequately, or non supplying appropriate apparels or bedclothes, or giving unequal basic physical attention, the kid holding no boundaries or consistence, the kid non being safe, or non go toing to medical demands and failure to run into or acknowledge a kid ‘s emotional demands.

The definition of disregard sunglassess into the definition of emotional maltreatment. While both these definitions make sense, they are slightly blurred around the borders. When we talk about ‘severe ‘ actions it can be hard to make up one’s mind whether, and at what degree, to step in.

There have been surveies that show grounds that disregard, physical maltreatment and sexual maltreatment are all associated with decreased intelligence in kids ( Carrey, 1996 ) . While this survey shows an illustration of the consequence maltreatment can hold sometimes a kid can turn up with a positive attitude and have a successful life. But this is non to state that all subsisters are successful in life and evidently some people suffer awful ongoing issues related to their experience of maltreatment. Such as being able to swear anyone or in the instance of sexual maltreatment ne’er being able to allow anyone touch them and the harm is lasting. Maltreatment can besides impact the household by interrupting it apart and dividing the maltreater from the abused.

LOC5- Evaluate ways of enabling kids to protect themselves, and ways of back uping kids who have been abused.

We ca n’t anticipate kids and immature babes to protect themselves. So the authorities and schools try to pass on a cosmopolitan message to kids to seek to protect them. Such as intimidation is incorrect, to be nice to one another, to eat good and look after each other and to advance a positive environment.

There are four methods that are used with kids in demand and their households, each of which needs to be carried out efficaciously in order to accomplish betterments in the lives of kids in demand. They are assessment, planning, intercession and reviewing ( DfES, 2006 ) .

As an Early Old ages professional you should be cognizant of the local processs to be followed for describing concerns about a peculiar kid, if you have any concerns about a kid, they must be reported to the school ‘s designated senior member of staff or a senior member that is appointed child protection supervisor. This may be where your engagement may stop or you may necessitate to be involved farther. The practician will discourse with a director and/or other senior co-workers what they think the appropriate action should be, so if there are still concerns a referral to the Local Authority kids ‘s societal attention squad will be made, followed up in composing within 48 hours. The societal worker and director so acknowledge reception of referral and make up one’s mind on the following class of action within one working twenty-four hours. An initial appraisal is required to make up one’s mind if there is any concern for the kid ‘s immediate safety.

The initial appraisal should go on in conformity with the appraisal model which is a chart that states what the demands of a kid are. If there is sensible cause to surmise the kid is enduring, or is likely to endure important injury, kids ‘s societal attention should set up a scheme treatment. The intent of the scheme treatment is to hold whether to originate subdivision 47 of the Children Act 1989. It is besides to place the appropriate undertakings and timescales for each involved professional and bureau, and hold what farther aid or support may be necessary. If the kid is likely to be harmed so the constabulary and other relevant bureaus are called.

Next there would be a kid protection conference and the consequences from that would find whether a nucleus appraisal is made which is where the household and other professionals agree a program for guaranting the kid ‘s future safety and public assistance. If the consequences are that the kid is in sufficient injury so the kid becomes the topic of a kid protection program, which is where the troubles of the kid will be made known to spouse bureaus. This will be followed by giving the kid a cardinal worker and a kid protection reappraisal conference, the intents of the kid protection reappraisal is to reexamine the safety of the kid.

Normally, the determination to maintain a kid ‘s name on the protection registry is reviewed every six months, depending on the fortunes. A kid protection reappraisal conference can make up one’s mind that a kid ‘s name should be removed from the registry. This determination will merely be made when the kid protection reappraisal conference is satisfied that the kid is no longer at hazard of important injury. A immature individual will besides be removed from the registry one time he or she turns 18. Obviously the worst instance scenario is when a kid dies due to mistreat and nil was done to assist them. As Early Year professionals it is highly of import that state of affairss like this ne’er go on and that is why these processs are put into topographic point.

Professionals can step in by working with kids and households to assist protect them. There are support systems in topographic point for kids and their households provided by local authorities and sometime connected to the school. Certain start is one such system. Certain start is a authorities programme which provides services for kids and their households. It works to convey together early instruction, child care, wellness and household support. Servicess provided include advice on wellness attention and kid development, drama strategies, rearing categories, household outreach support and grownup instruction and advice. If there is a instance of suspected maltreatment but there is no demand to take the kid or the parent because there is no farther hazard to the identified following the households assessment Certain start can be recommended to the household as a topographic point for household development.

In this state there are 11 million kids, 4 million have been identified as vulnerable ( handicapped ) , 400,000 have been identified as ‘children in demand ‘ , 32,000 are on the kid protection registry and 63,000 are ‘looked after ‘ ( in foster attention ) . These statistics have gone up since the awful tragic decease of Peter Connelly ( Baby P ) in 2007. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp? id=348 ) .

We live in a extremely complex and diverse society and as professionals it is portion of our duty to guarantee we are non confounding what we think is the instance, or what we would wish, with what is truly the instance. As Early Old ages practitioners we need to near single kids and households with an unfastened head. While we believe we know what, a perfect universe is, we besides know that households come in all forms and sizes, and that all households are likely to necessitate support to assist them.

To do certain that all kids get the correct and full treatment/service needed to do certain that they are safeguarded against abuse all practitioners/professionals should work together and pass on to accomplish this end.