How policies and procedures help children Essay

Discuss how policies and procedures help children and young people and their families whilst the child is being looked after. In this essay I am going to discuss 6 policies and their procedures whist a child is being looked after. I am going to expand on why this is important for the child parent or legal guardian and also why they are put in place. Firstly I am going to discuss the Safeguarding Policy. Safeguarding Policy Safeguarding is the policy that describes the function of protecting adults and children from abuse or neglect. It is an important shared priority of many public services, and a key responsibility of local authorities.Safeguarding relates to the need to protect certain people who may be in vulnerable circumstances. These are people who may be at risk of abuse or neglect, due to the actions (or lack of action) of another person usually their parent or carer. In these cases, it is critical that services work together to identify people at risk, and put in place interventions to help prevent abuse or neglect, and to protect Safe guarding helps make sure the people whom are protecting the children are correctly checked for example a CRB is mandatory when looking after a vulnerable child. What is a DBS check and why is it needed? Since March 2002, the Criminal Records Bureau has enabled employers to check the criminal records of employees and potential employees, in order to ascertain whether or not they are suitable to work with vulnerable adults and children. For individuals working in certain positions, a valid DBS disclosure is a legislative requirement. The Disclosure and Barring Service also manage lists of individuals who are barred from working with children and adults. New safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 place an obligation on employers, social services and professional regulators to notify the DBS of relevant information. This obligation ensures that individuals who pose a threat to vulnerable groups can be barred from working with them. It also makes it a criminal offence for these individuals to apply to work with these groups and for employers to knowingly employ them. This makes sure the child is safe whilst being cared for by a  professional or a carer whom isn’t their parent or legal guardian. It is also important so the parents or carers know the child is in safe hands whilst being cared for out of their control. Recording and Handling Information Policy Recording and handling data is important when looking after children for example whilst a child is in school all their documents must be kept confidential in case any of the other children or irrelevant staff members read or disclose any confidential information. The only time data or information about child should be revealed is if the child is at risk or in danger. Then the relevant person can inform the carer or relevant person to make sure the child is kept safe. Keeping children’s medical records safe is also important in case they ever need reviewed or used in case of emergency. Health and Safety Policy This policy promotes making sure the child is kept safe and in a safe environment for example there are a few policies put in place to make sure this is possible. They are RIDDOR  (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) This is an assessment that must be put in place and a report filed upon if a child is injured in school or any other official place of work. For parents or carers this makes sure it is dealt with and supported correctly it also keeps children safe. COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) This is similar to the RIDDOR policy I have expanded on above. All people taking care of the child must make sure all harmful substances are kept away from the child to prevent serious or injury or death. Risk Assessments. Risk assessments are carried out everywhere a child is looked after to make sure the environment and building is safe for the child to live or be taught in. This is a mandatory legal document especially in a school or care environment. This could put a parent or carers mind at risk knowing there child is safe. Health Policy It is a legal requirement that all children must get free healthcare throughout their childhood and adolescent life if needed for example medical care, dentistry care and mental support if needed. This helps support the child so they can stay healthy and get the right support they need. It also helps the parent so they don’t need to worry about the financial side as all this support is free. Education Policy Education is mandatory until you are 18 as of 2012. This is so children don’t fall out of education at 16. You can go down many routes when leaving school for example college, sixth form, training or apprentiships. There is also a legal standard of education in the United Kingdom that must be followed, there are 224 policies within 1 policy itself for education ranging from Reducing violent and gun crime to Reforming qualifications and the curriculum to better prepare pupils for life after school. Having policies in place makes sure that children get the right standard of education and that parents and carers can go out to work whilst their children are at school to make sure they can give their children the best standard of life. It also sets the child up for a good standard of life with good qualifications and life skills. Play Policy When children are in education especially primary school it is a legal requirement that they get break time and toys and equipment to use during this time. The best way for a child to learn is using exploratory learning and learning by trial and error. This is how a child learns life and social skills from a young age. When a child starts school this also gets them well adjusted to letting go from spending all their time with there parent or carer. Every Child Matters 1 Be Healthy 2 Stay Safe 3 Enjoy and Achieve 4 Make a Positive Contribution 5 Achieve Economic Wellbeing I believe that all they above policies shape a child’s life and with the right guidance from parents, carers and education you can shape a decent outcome and setup for a child’s life and development. Refrences. http://www.every-child-matters.org.uk/Framework_5_key_outcomes http://www.theguardian.com/politics/education http://www.playengland.org.uk/resources/national-play-policy.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-advice-for-school https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview