The development of Every Child Matters in 2003 had the very best of intentions in strengthening the protection of children in the United Kingdom. In spite of the policy being successful in that area, the possibility of the aims expanding to various problems is high and this may result in children’s lives being at jeopardy.
In relation to the 5 aims of Every Child Matters, it is well known that their intents were good, however, the methodology has its hitches. The first remark on the aims of Every Child Matters is that it is too out of reach as the objectives are practically unachievable for any of the services that have a relation to child protection. From this, it can be identified that the policy-makers have overlooked that social services and parents can only do so much. Taking the position of being Head Teacher, for instance, having a fulltime job to make sure that the educational average is continually progressing while also having to uphold a nonviolent surrounding within the school compound and attempting to certify the gratification of the students is already a challenging task one could uptake.
This leads to the second problem of the tactic, which is impracticable. Using the same example, it is need to be reminded that teachers are not psychologists or other social services as they are only trained to do “schooling” tasks. Ever since the application of Every Child Matters it had a massive influence on everyone who was employed under education particularly schools, as they had to make sure that students were all looked after (TES, n.d.). This is also equivalently true for other occupations such as policemen, social workers, medics et cetera. For example, the importance of integrated frontline services from the growth o...
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...ould know more about the struggles as they are the ones who are going through these challenges and stated that more say should be given to them in how children’s services are designed to give the government a little bit more understanding on their view (Carvel, 2008).
To conclude, although Lord Laming is still certain that Every Child Matters did make a difference to most children’s lives in the UK and stated that there is assurance that the history of Victoria Climbie or Baby Peter will not repeat itself. Repeating what is said earlier, the aims of Every Child Matters are essential however the approach is treacherous. I still believe that capitalizing on the progress of frontline services is key to improving this application. The concern here is that Every Child Matters will again disappoint to save another child’s life due to failure in realising the limitations.
During the court case the judge said that lead social worker Gunn Wahlstrom was “naïve beyond belief”. This report brought over 68 recommendations to make sure cases like this did not happen again. The recommendations included putting the child first and the parent’s second. “Jasmines’ fate illustrates all too clearly the disastrous consequences of the misguides attitude of the social workers having treated Morris Beckford and Beverley Lorrington as the clients first and foremost” (London Borough of Brent, 1985,p295). The social workers in Jasmine’s c...
...l now be given the power to interfere in cases where parents have failed in their duties towards the child. This is extremely important as it allows the State to intervene in cases where there has been a failure, which was difficult to do in the past. This new role of protecting children's rights is favourable as it will, hopefully, prevent any failure by the State to children in unacceptable circumstances/situation.
In this essay, the researcher will explore what a ‘looked after child’ is and the current system for LAC in the UK. This includes legislation, Policy and, statistics on LAC in the UK. As well as, this essay will include why children looked after by the local authority, why do they end up with the local authority, the impact of child abuse and neglect on children, young people and their families, and lastly other issues/perceptions surrounded around children and young people who are ‘looked after’.
Throughout this essay, the health, safety and welfare policy and practise that came about after the Victoria Climbie case will be reviewed and evaluated. After arriving in England in November 1991 from the Ivory Coast, eight-year old Victoria Climbie suffered abuse from her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and her great-aunts partner. The anguish and eventual murder of Victoria in 2000 from hypothermia, caused by malnourishment and damp conditions, provoked ‘the most extensive investigation into the child protection system in British history’ as described by Batty (Macleod-Brudenell, 2004). The high media profiled incident exposed a clear lack of precision and communication between all professionals and agencies involved. This is shown by the fact that the mistreatment Victoria was suffering had gone unnoticed by the social services, police and NHS staff, who failed to make each other aware of the clear danger signs. Within the Lord Laming Inquiry into Victoria Climbie’s death (2003), it can be seen that some features recur time after time in child abuse cases; inadequate resources to meet demands, inexperience and lack of skill of individual social workers. In addition, it can also be seen that crucial procedures were evidently not being followed. The procedure that was established after this case included the recommendations made by Lord Laming such as the Green Paper of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and the Children Act (DfES, 2004). These ensure that all children have the fundamental right to be protected from harm and abuse. In addition to this, it also certifies all adults who come into contact with children and families have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The review assumes that it is trying to make people aware of the health condition of children in England, how children and young people are being starved by their parent. It also makes us believe that multi-agency working are not doing a good job in keeping children safe from harm and that health services need to be more aware and take their responsibility seriously. As if they were more aware then these incident would not have
For the purpose of this paper the social worker interviewed is Ronnita Waters, MSW, RCSWi; she is currently an operations manager at the Center for Family and Child Enrichment (CFCE). The issue or area where her advocacy skills are practiced is within child welfare. Mrs. Waters mentions to the interviewee “I always wanted to work with children, then eventually for children.” when asked what developed her interest in this area of social work. Furthermore, before she became an operations manager, the social worker was an adoptions supervisor, overseeing adoption case managers and ensuring the proper implementation of policies such as the sibling placement policy and adoption policy. In addition, before achieving the role of supervisor, she was
Children’s Social Care work with parents and other agencies to assess the stages of child protection procedures, record information and make decisions on taking further action. The police work closely with this agency to act on decisions made such as removing a child or the person responsible for the abuse while gathering evidence and carrying out investigations regarding the matter. Health professionals have a duty to report suspected non-accidental injuries to Children’s Social Care and examine children to give evidence of abuse. The Children Act 2004 requires every local area to have a Local Safeguarding Children Board to oversee the work of agencies involved in child protection, place policies and procedures for people who work with children and conduct serious case reviews when children die as a result of abuse. The NSPCC is the only charitable organisation that has the statutory power to take action when children are at risk of abuse. They provide services to support families and children and two helplines for children in danger and adults who are concerned for a child’s safety. They also raise awareness of abuse, share their expertise with other professionals and work to influence the law and social policy protect children more efficiently. There are also acts in place to protect children such as the Children Act 1989, the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child 1989, the Education Act 2002 and the Children Act 2004. Legal framework from such acts are provided for Every Child Matters which requires early years practitioners to demonstrate that they provide activities that help children protect themselves. This may be through books and group talks known as “Stranger
Some of the national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding that affect the day-to-day work with children and young people
Child welfare system was originated with the goals that social workers would try and alleviate poverty and its impact; however as the years have passed, the child welfare system turned into a child protection system directed toward investigating abuse and neglect, and removing children from families and placing them in foster care, and is no longer prepared to assist in resolving the problems of child poverty (Lindsey, 2004). Child welfare system has been developed around the residual approach which demands that aid should be given only after the family is in crisis or other support groups have failed to meet a child’s minimal needs. However, over the years, there have been different focuses for the child welfare system, whether it involved
C. Cobley & N. Lowe, ‘The stautory “threshold” under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 – time to take stock’ (2011) Law Quarterly Review 396
Working Together to Safeguard Children, March 2015: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
LSCB, (2013), SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND VULNERABLE ADULTS POLICY, (www.safechildren-cios.co.uk), [Assessed 1 November 2013].
Department of Children and Youth Affairs. (1999). Children First-National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children. Available:http://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/Children_First_A4.pdf. Last accessed 23/01/14.
Wells, Karen C.. "Policy and practice." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 28-31. Print.
Give a brief outline of current legislation, guidelines, policies, and procedures within own UK Home Nation affecting safeguarding of children and young people.