Working Together To Safeguarding Children Essay

Safeguarding is a term which is broader than ‘child protection’ and relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Safeguarding is defined in Working together to safeguard children 2013 as:

protecting children from maltreatment

preventing impairment of children’s health and development

ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and

taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

1.1 Analyse legal requirements and guidance relating to the safeguarding of children

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015 “The legislative requirements and expectations on individual services to safeguard

and promote the welfare of children; and a clear framework for Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB’s) to monitor the effectiveness of local services. Effective safeguarding systems are child centred. Failings in safeguarding systems are too often the result of losing sight of the needs and views of the children within them, or placing the interests of adults ahead of the needs of children. Everyone who works with children - including teachers, GPs, nurses, midwives, health visitors, early years professionals, youth workers, police, Accident and Emergency staff, paediatricians, voluntary and community workers and social workers - has a responsibility for keeping them safe. No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.”

1.2 Evaluate the impact of legal requirements and guidance on own role

Early years providers have a duty under section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006 to comply with the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Early Years providers should ensure that all staff complete safeguarding training that enables them to recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect and have a practitioner who is designated to take the lead responsibility for safeguarding children within each early years setting and who should liaise with local statutory children’s services agencies as appropriate. The led person should also complete child protection training.
1.3 Explain children’s right to be safe, with reference to:- the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

This is an international agreement that protects the rights of children and provides a child-centred framework for the development of services to children. The UK Government ratified the UNCRC in 1991 and, by doing so, recognises children’s rights to expression and receiving information. 16.In addition to individual practitioners shaping support around the needs of individual children, local agencies need to have a clear understanding of the collective needs of children locally when commissioning effective services. As part of that process, the Director of Public Health should ensure that the needs of vulnerable children are a key part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment that is developed by the health and wellbeing board. Children have said that they need • Vigilance: to have adults notice when things are troubling them • Understanding and action: to understand what is happening; to be heard and understood; and to have that understanding acted upon • Stability: to be able to develop an on-going stable relationship of trust with those helping them • Respect: to be treated with the expectation that they are competent rather than not • Information and engagement: to be informed about and involved in procedures, decisions, concerns and plans • Explanation: to be informed of the outcome of assessments and decisions and reasons when their views have not met with a positive response • Support: to be provided with

support in their own right as well as a member of their family • Advocacy: to be provided with advocacy to assist them in put
- duty of care
Children Act 2004 places responsibility to safeguard all children and promote their welfare. The act encourages to share early concerns about the safety and welfare of children and to ensure preventative action before a crisis develops.
- safe recruitment
Ensure all staff employed have passed DBS checks
- Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years’ providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe.

It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through out life.

2 Be able to carry out own responsibilities in relation to safeguarding

2.1 Explain own responsibilities in relation to:- confidentiality of information

Where a practitioner has concerns that a child may be at risk of Significant Harm, it may be possible to justify sharing information without consent ,Practitioners should use their judgement when making decisions on what information to share and when and should follow their organisation procedures or consult with their manager if in doubt. The most important consideration is whether sharing information is likely to safeguard and protect a child (Information sharing March 2015).

- safeguarding

- promoting the welfare of

children
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.
- protection of self and others

2.2 Maintain accurate records relating to children’s overall welfare

2.3 Explain why it is important to ensure children are protected from harm within the work setting It’s important to ensure a child or young person understands their personal information will be treated respectfully and confidentially. This provides a safe space for them to be open and honest with the people caring for them. Establishing this form of trust is fundamental for the provision of safe and effective care. But when working with children and young people, it’s important to keep in mind two essential factors: • timely information sharing is key to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It enables intervention that crucially tackles problems at an early stage • if a child is at risk or suffering significant harm, the law supports you to share information without consent. Case reviews have shown us that a lack of appropriate and timely information sharing is a key issue. Sharing information will help other professionals who have contact with the family to better understand the risks faced by the child. You may, for example, have information about issues related to a parent or other adult which may be impacting negatively on the child’s wellbeing. This information will contribute to building a clear picture of the child’s life. The better the picture, the more quickly appropriate action can be taken to protect a child.

2.4 Listen actively to children and value their contributions, opinions and ideas

3 Understand types and indicators of child abuse
Children develop and mature at different rates. So what’s worrying for a younger child, might be normal behaviour for an older child. If a child looks or acts a lot older or younger than their age, this could be a cause for concern.
However, if a child develops more slowly than others of a similar age and there’s not a cause such as physical or learning disabilities, it could be a sign they’re being abused.

3.1 Explain the different types of abuse
There are five types of child abuse. They are defined in the UK Government guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) as follows:
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse / Psychological abuse
• Neglect and Bullying