Understand How To Safeguard The Wellbeing Of Children Essay

our – Understand how to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Children and Young People.

1) Give a brief outline of current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people.

There are many different types of legislation and guidelines affecting the safeguarding of children and young people.

The Children Act (1989) outlines that duties are assigned to local authorities, courts, parents and other agencies in the UK to ensure that children and young people are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted, involved in any decisions which may affect them and consulted about their wishes and feelings.

The Children Act (2004) is an amendment of the Children Act (1989) and outlines

the concept of integrated working, placing a duty on local authorities to work collaboratively to safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people.
The Childcare Act (2006) introduced the Early Years Foundation Stage and outlined plans to improve outcomes and reduce any inequalities from new born children up until the age of five.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006) introduced discretionary barring decisions in order to prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children.

The Equality Act (2010) is the basis of anti-discrimination legislation in the UK, promotion the welfare of children and young people by protecting their rights to fair treatment.

The Children and Families Act (2014) outlines requirements to promote the welfare of children and young people who have educational needs and disabilities and children in the care of the local authority.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) includes statements regarding equality for all children and young people, which promotes their welfare and protects their rights.

The Common Assessment Framework for children and young people (2009) aims to help the early identification of children and young people's additional needs, such as co-ordinated service provision and promoting information sharing.

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013) outlines the legal requirements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, the roles and requirements of professionals, and how organisations and individuals should work together to keep children safe from

harm.
The Munro Review of Child Protection: Moving Towards a Child-Centred System (2012) outlines a more child-focused system in safeguarding children's welfare, whilst exploring their rights, wishes and feelings to inform and shape the provision of services.
The Safeguarding and Welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2014) outlines the responsibilities of registered providers for children ages 0-5 years to safeguard children, promote good health and ensure the suitability of adults who have contact with children and maintain records, policies and procedures.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (2014) provides statutory guidance on policies and procedures relating to promoting the welfare of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (0-25 years).

2) Explain child protection within the wider field of safeguarding children and young people.

The wider concept of safeguarding encompasses a wide range of different factors such as the environment, poverty and family circumstances.
Family circumstances can include the physical and mental health of parents and carers as this can affect how the needs of their children are met in order to provide a safe home environment. Some children may be cared for by the local authority, which can produce a number of risk factors such as being separated from their family and home environment, a lack of consistent care, insecurity and institutional abuse.
The environment can also be a factor within the wider field of safeguarding children as some children and young people live in environments where they are exposed to risk and unsafe practices, which in turn can lead to young people being considerably more vulnerable to risks, accidents and involvement in dangerous behaviours. Children and young people who are refugees and asylum seekers can be particularly vulnerable to neglect and harm due to their stressful circumstances, which can include exposure to violence, social isolation and a lack of means to access support.
Poverty can also have devastating effects on the health and wellbeing of children and young people, such as being cold, going hungry and not being able to join activities and experiences with friends.
Cultural practices are also another factor within the wider field of safeguarding children as in some countries specific practices can be considered a form of exploitation and abuse, such as child labour, drug dealing and prostitution. These practices deprive children and young people of their childhood, ability to perform in school and can be dangerous in a variety of ways.

3) Provide an analysis of how national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding affect day-to-day work with children and young people.

National legislation and local guidelines influence the development of policies and procedures which affect everyday work with children and young people.
A policy is a collectively agreed statement which ensure that all settings comply with legal obligations and reflect the general ethos and way of working.
A procedure is a course of action to be followed in certain circumstances, they help to maintain standards of health, safety and care and to continually improve the quality of provision in the setting.
Safeguarding policies and procedures should be developed in line with guidance from Local Safeguarding Children Boards and promote effective multi-agency working in line with the Children Act (2004), the DfE document Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013) and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2014).
School environments and settings must have clear procedures and policies for safeguarding children and young people that affect all aspects of day-to-day work. Individual settings will all operate in their own way, but will usually include procedures and policies for admissions; health safety and security; intimate care; safeguarding and child protection; information sharing and confidentiality; and empowering children and young people. These policies and procedures can affect day-to-day work with children and young people in many ways, such as risk assessments, staff roles and responsibilities and communication with parents, carers and other professionals.

4) Explain when and why inquiries and serious case reviews are required and how the sharing of the findings informs practice.

A serious case review is an examination of all the evidence presented if a child dies as a result of suspected or actual abuse or neglect. A serious case review is conducted by the Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) and combines all organisations involved in the case, such as the police, health and education and the children's social care. Each organisation will conduct an independent enquiry into their management of the case and make recommendations for future improvements.

The LSCB must also conduct a serious case review considering all the possible reasons of a child's death or where abuse or neglect is known or suspected. For example, if a child sustains a potentially life threatening injury through abuse or neglect.

The purpose of a serious case review is to establish whether there are any lessons to be learnt from the cause about inter-agency working and identify clearly what these lessons are, how they will be acted upon and what is expected to change as a result. This in turn means that inter-agency working can be improved to safeguard and promote the welfare of

children,
The findings from a serious case review are then published in a final report, which is then used as part of the process for sharing lessons learnt from the situation. The final report should provide a comprehensive analysis of what has happened and what measures are to be put in place in order to prevent the situation from happening again.