Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 2
Legislation relating to the safeguarding of children
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 2
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
A wide range of legislation, statutory guidance, policies and procedures support the safety and welfare of children and young people. This includes policies relating to the health and wellbeing, safety and security, personal care and individual rights.
These legislations were developed in response to recognition of childrenâ€TMs rights as individuals, increased focus on the need to protect vulnerable children, independent inquiries into the tragic death of children and failure of multi agency teams to work together, share information and provide support services to the children and their families.
Some of the main legislation and guidelines affecting the safeguarding of children and young people are as follows:
The UN convention on the Rights
…show more content…
This Act was mainly to protect the children and promote their wellbeing.
Every child matters has five bottom-line outcomes for children and young people • Be healthy • Be safe • Enjoy and achieve • Make a positive contribution • Achieve economic wellbeing
The schools are expected to aim for the five outcomes of Every Child matters plan.
The Childcare Act 2006 required local authorities to take more responsibility by
Improving the wellbeing of children and reduce inequalities.
Ensure there is adequate childcare for all parents who need to go to work.
Provide the information about childcare.
Ensure the childcare providers are properly trained
Introduction of the EYFS system for all under -5 age group.
Reform the childcare system by introducing two new Ofsted run registers of childcare providers. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
This Act introduced discretionary barring decisions, which prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children. Any person found guilty of working with vulnerable individuals even after being barred is imprisoned or fined or both depending on the
…show more content…
This has given a lot of children the opportunity to join the mainstream education and flourish with relatively fewer difficulties. It also provides guidance on policies and procedures to promote the welfare of children with SEN.
These legislations vary slightly in each of the home nations.
Safeguarding children in Scotland
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 is similar to England and Wales in principle but they also have their own guidance in protecting children, guidance on inter-agency co-operation (Scottish Office 1998) and creation of a Childrenâ€TMs Commissioner for Scotland to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children.
Safeguarding children in Northern Ireland
The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 has similar principles to that of England and Wales abut also has its own guidance.
Co-operating to safeguard children (DHSSPS 2003)- It promotes childrenâ€TMs wellbeing. Any form of abuse or crime committed against a child must be reported to the relevant authorities.
The Safeguarding Board (Northern Ireland) Act 2011 was passed in
If the local authority establishes that the child is a child in need or at risk of harm, it has a duty under section 47 of the Children Act (1989) to make a care plan or child protection plan to provide support which involves adequate supervision and checks to ensure that the child is no longer at risk. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) promotes empowerment for children as they can exercise their right to express their views and be heard and their best interest would be at the centre of the intervention and social workers need to ensure that decisions made are not affected by the influence from family or professionals they work with (Lee & Hudson,
Wilson, K. and Adrian J. L. (2007) The Child Protection Handbook: The Practitioner's Guide to Safeguarding Children. Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall
Legislations are laws derived from current government policies and outlines rules and principles that everybody must follow. (Peteiro et al, 2017) There are multiple, current, legalisation that have been created in regards to the safeguarding of children and adults. The Data Protection Act of 1998, for instance, was created as a way to control how organisations use personal information. In a health and social care setting, the Data protection act ensures that personal information about individuals will be kept confidential and not misused. The act gives service users the right to determine how their personal data is used and who it is used by to prevent the risk of the information not being private and being put at risk for abuse. (Peteiro et al, 2017) This includes things such as date of birth, national insurance number and medical history. If certain personal information is not protected, then it puts the individual at risk of harm, or abuse. The Data Protection Act safeguards individuals against this. Similarly, The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 safeguards against children and adults by ensuring that only appropriate persons are allowed to work with certain groups. This act created the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) who deal with criminal record checks and overlooks the Barred Children’s and Barred Adult’s Lists of unsuitable
“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.”
A positive care environment is reinforced by legislation and national care standards implemented by the Scottish Government. Legislation such as, Data Protection Act 1998, Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, GIRFEC (Getting it right for every child) and the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 put safeguards in place to give the service user legal rights.
C. Cobley & N. Lowe, ‘The stautory “threshold” under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 – time to take stock’ (2011) Law Quarterly Review 396
Some of the national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding that affect the day-to-day work with children and young people
All children and young people should have support regardless of who they are and the environments they come from. Children and young people should be supported to be healthy, enjoy life, have a good standard of living and be successful in everything they do. These are the five key principles to help get children and young people the best start in life. Children and young people have the right to voice their opinions and share any issues that are of importance to them. In the past this was often disregarded. Protection of the children’s act 1999 is so that any people who are considered unsuitable to work with children and young people are put on a list also known as (POCA). This list is to prevent the unsuitable people from gaining access to children. Unsuitable persons will not be allowed to work with any children weather its paid work or voluntary work. All childcare organisations must refer to this list through the criminal records bureau to check off names against the list and any persons found to be on it must not under any circumstances be employed. The UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the rights of a child) The UNCRC is an international agreement that
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
Explain the legal status and principles of the relevant early years frameworks and how national and local guidance materials are used in settings
Parton, N., Thorpe, D. and Wattam, C. (1997) Child Protection Risk and Moral Order, London: Macmillan
An outline of current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation (England), affecting the safeguarding of children and young people.
This included the definition of the child as under eighteen and focused on protection and welfare of children and that the state was responsible for this, however the act excluded any
LSCB, (2013), SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND VULNERABLE ADULTS POLICY, (www.safechildren-cios.co.uk), [Assessed 1 November 2013].
Commission for Social Care Inspection (2005) Making Every Child Matter, Commission for Social Care Inspection