LEGISLATION
There are many different policies and legislation out there regarding safeguarding children, as it is such a fundamental aspect of education and childcare.
Childrens Act (1989)
The essentials of this piece of legislation are –
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To allow children to be healthy.
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Allowing children to remain safe in their environments.
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Helping children to enjoy life.
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Assist children in their quest to succeed.
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Help contribute – a positive contribution – to the lives of children.
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Help achieve economic stability for our children’s futures.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)
The Working Together to Safeguard Children document defines abuse as: “A form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children”.
Typically abuse can be either one of, or a combination of these four categories:
– Physical
– Sexual
– Emotional
– Neglect
The Children and Social Work Act (2017)
This Act intends to improve support for looked after children and care leavers, as well as promoting the welfare and safeguarding of children. It sets out corporate parenting principles for the local authority to be the ‘best parent it can be’ to children who are in its care.
Local authorities are, under this Act, obliged to publish their support offer to care leavers and promote any educational attainment of children who have been adopted or placed in long-term care arrangements.
Equality Act (2010)
The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect people or groups of people who have one or more ‘protected characteristics’. These protected characteristics are features of people’s lives upon which discrimination, in the UK is now illegal.
The protected characteristics listed in the Act are:
1. Age.
2. Disability.
3. Sexual orientation.
4. Sex.
5. Gender reassignment.
6. Marriage and civil partnership.
7. Pregnancy and maternity.
8. Race.
9. Religion and belief.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1992)
The UNCRC is presently the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. It is the only international human rights treaty to include civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It sets out in detail what every child needs to have a safe, happy and fulfilled childhood regardless of their sex, religion, social origin, and where and to whom they were born.
The Convention gives children and young people more than 40 substantive rights, including the right to:
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special protection measures and assistance
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access to services such as education and healthcare
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develop their personalities, abilities and talents to the fullest potential
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grow up in an environment of happiness, love and understanding
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be informed about and participate in achieving their rights in an accessible and active manner.
Human Rights act (1998)
The Human Rights Act gives effect to the human rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. These rights are called Convention rights.
Examples of Convention or human rights include:
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The right to life
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The right to respect for private and family life
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The right to freedom of religion and belief.
The Human Rights Act means you can take action in the UK courts if your human rights have been breached.
The Children and Families Act (2014)
The Children and Families Act 2014 obtained royal assent and became law on 13 March 2014. This is a landmark and wide-ranging act designed to fully reform services for vulnerable children, by giving them greater protection, paying special attention to those with additional needs, and also helping parents and the family as a whole.
There are nine important parts to the Act, each of which makes substantial changes and new provisions to various areas of child welfare and family law.
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Adoption
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Family justice
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Young people with (SEN) and disabilities
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Childcare
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Child Welfare
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The Children's Commissioner
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Working rights to leave and pay
Every Child Matters
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Be healthy.
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Stay safe
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Enjoy and achieve.
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Make a positive contribution.
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Achieve economic well-being.
The 5 ECMs
Being Healthy so that they are physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually healthy, have healthy lifestyles and choose not to take illegal drugs.
Staying Safe from maltreatment, neglect, violence, sexual exploitation, accidental injury and death, bullying and discrimination, crime and anti-social behaviour in and out of school, have security and stability and are cared for.
Enjoying and Achieving so that they are ready for school, attend and enjoy school, achieve stretching national educational standards at primary and secondary school, achieve personal and social development and enjoy recreation.
Making a Positive Contribution so that they engage in decision-making, support their community and environment, engage in law-abiding and positive behaviour in and out of school, develop positive relationships, choose not to bully and discriminate, develop self confidence, successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges and develop enterprising behaviour.
Achieving Economic Well-being so that they engage in further education, employment or training on leaving school, are ready for employment, live in decent homes and sustainable communities, have access to transport and material goods, live in households free from low income.
DOLS ORDERS
The deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is the procedure prescribed in law when it is necessary to deprive of their liberty a resident or patient who lacks capacity to consent to their care and treatment in order to keep them safe from harm.
Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, mental capacity means being able to understand, weigh up and retain information in relation to a specific decision at the time it needs to be made, and the ability to communicate that decision. You must be assessed as lacking mental capacity before a decision can be made on your behalf. You can only be deprived of your liberty where it is shown to be in your “best interest”.
In our service this would mean that we would have the authority to restrain a young person if necessary alongside locking the house after a specific time and often it may be the case that these young people are on a higher support package such as a 2-1 basis of staff per young person
