Child Health and Well Being

Through this Act some key provisions introduced; Children’s Trusts were created, Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCB) were set up and all agencies had a duty to safeguard and promote child

Children Act 2006 – Is an Act that defines the new duties imposed on the Local Authorities in respect to improving the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children. The Act also defines new rules in relation to childcare for working parents as well as parental information services. It is aimed at improving the well-being of young children. It emphasises the importance of safeguarding children and young people within an educational setting. If a child discloses neglect or abuse; an establishment should have instructions to help the child. This could be referral to an outside organisation or internally.

Children Act 1989 – Determines the duty of early year’s practitioners to identify and meet the separate and distinctive needs of children and to keep them safe. It initiated the belief that the child ought to be at the centre of planning and that a child’s well-being and safety are vital when judgements are made concerning them. This act also recognises the accountabilities of parents in keeping their offspring safe. In this act there are two particular segments that relate to the duty of local authority with concern to child protection, these are-

1.1 Legislation is a set of laws that have been created by the government to make sure all childcare settings are run correctly. To promote positive behaviour, legislation’s such as the Children Act 1989, Human Rights Act 1998, Every Child Matters 2004, Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 are followed by the setting. These Act’s include rules and regulations that a setting is required to follow in order to promote positive behaviour.

Children Act 1989 – Protecting children’s welfare and to provide services according to the specific needs of children.

Child Act 1989- “the Children Act 1989 aimed to ensure that the welfare of the child was paramount, working in partnership with parents to protect the child from harm” http://www.careandthelaw.org.uk/eng/b_section2 appendix 3

Children’s Act 1989: Identifies the responsibilities of parents and professionals who must work to ensure the safety and welfare of the child/young person. Two important sections included in the act are:

The children act 1989- the children act is a legislation that ensures the welfare of children. This would promote anti-discriminatory practice by protecting children and treating them all equally. This could be by stopping abuse and giving children a safe and secure

The children act 1989 has influenced some settings by bringing together several sets of guidance and provided the foundation for many of the standards practitioners sustain and maintain when working with children. The act requires that settings work together in the best interests of the child and form partnerships with parents or carers. It requires settings to have appropriate adult to child ratios and policies and procedures on child protection. This act has had an influence in all areas of practice from planning a curriculum and record keeping. The every child matters framework has

Any childcare setting should have clear policies and procedures that cover all aspects of safeguarding. This should include policies and procedures for:

This Children and Young Persons Act (2008) increases quality of care for children and young people up to the age of 18years old, ensuring every child’s voice is heard.

The ‘Children’s Act 2004’ was continuously updated and developed into the ‘Children’s Act 2006’. This act states that all settings have to follow the Early Years Framework Stages (which were renewed in 2012). The Early Years Framework Stages (EYFS) is aimed to fulfil the five aims of ‘every child matters’ and the previous children’s act of 2004. The intentions are to achieve these aims by setting standards, promote equal opportunities and through a framework of partnerships, improve quality and consistency and lay secure foundation for all learning and development, present and future. By improving the quality the service and experiences are improved for all children and families. Safeguarding children is a vital part of improving all childcare services/settings.

This Act, which regulates the childcare in England, formalise the important strategic role of local authorities play through a set of duties. These duties require

Risk assessments should be carried out regularly to make sure that there are no safe guard threats towards the children in the setting. Childcare settings need risk assessing for example is there entrances and exits to the building that an unauthorised person could use? Could a child leave the setting without anyone noticing? Could a child get seriously hurt due to a broken piece of equipment?

1.1- Outline the current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures within own UK Home Nation affecting the safeguarding of children and young people-