2.1 Explain The Roles And Responsibilities Of The Early Years Practitioner In Research
22 2.1 – The roles and responsibilities of the early years practitioner
There are various safeguarding systems in place which practitioners must follow in order to ensure that safeguarding, protection and also the welfare of the children is met accordingly. Such systems include the common Assessment Framework – or CAF – which requires different teams who work with the child, such as nursery/childminder, health visitor, social services (as well as other agencies such as housing etc), to work together and follow the same 'plan' to ensure that the child or young person's needs are best met.In order to ensure that the relevant agencies are co-operating, there is a structure in place to follow. There are requirements of the CAF, which involve the early years practitioner. These include the shared assessment and the Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting.
The shared assessment involves different …show more content…
teams/individuals who are involved with the child. An example may be that of a 2 year old child who the health visitor may deem fine in terms of development, but may have some concerns around the child's health or well-being. The early years practitioner may have some concerns regarding the child and as the child's key person may feel it is necessary to arrange a TAC meeting with the health visitor and parents, in order to discuss these concerns and assess that the child is safe from harm, healthy, developing and learning well, making appropriate positive relationships, socialising well and isn't significantly impaired by the effects of poverty. The early years practitioner must gain the consent of the child's parents before this meeting goes ahead, as this is a voluntary and cannot be done without informed parental consent – as is the CAF. The meeting may bring about explanations as to why the child may be displaying certain sighns/symptoms/behaviours and by piecing together the information from all parties, an assessment of needs can be made in the areas of development of the child, parents, carers and the home/family environment.
The assessment and outcomes of the assessment, including any action plans which have been developed as a result of the assessment, will be recorded on a CAF form (or eCAF if recorded electronically). Depending on the plan of action as a result of this, the CAF form may then be used to gain further referrals to relevant agencies, such as childrens centres or housing (depending on the needs of the child and their family). The parent will be asked to nominate someone to coordinate the plan and having the CAF in place will ensure that they do not need to keep repeating themselves with those involved. It is important that the support is put into place for the child and their family, as without it, there could be a detrimental impact on the child's health or development.
It is important to remember that in a setting, those working with children should be able to identify the signs and symptoms of abuse and know who to contact/what to do in the even abuse is suspected or alleged.
There is no actual law in place to report suspicions of abuse in England. However, it is good practice to and putting the safety and needs of the child first. This is made clear throughout legislation and guidelines (including the Children Act 2004). All professionals must work together to ensure that child's interests come first. This may present as a personal challenge if, for example, a child had been hurt by one of their parents, leaving a mark. The early years practitioner may feel that the incident is a one off and that it would cause tension between themselves and the parents if they were to report it. However, in the best interests of the child, it is important that it is taken seriously and not just 'swept under the carpet'. It is important the practitioner follows the settings procedures on what to do in the event of something like this
happening.
Other policies within the setting regarding safeguarding should include use of mobile phone policy. In settings, practitioners should not have their personal phones, cameras or any equipment which has the capabilities of taking photos or videos, with them or around the children. In settings where the practitioner, such as a childminder works alone – this may not be possible. However the childminder should have policies and procedures in place with regards to usage of this equipment and also visitors, students etc should not have theirs in the setting around the children.
There are various safeguarding systems in place which practitioners must follow in order to ensure that safeguarding, protection and also the welfare of the children is met accordingly. Such systems include the common Assessment Framework – or CAF – which requires different teams who work with the child, such as nursery/childminder, health visitor, social services (as well as other agencies such as housing etc), to work together and follow the same 'plan' to ensure that the child or young person's needs are best met.In order to ensure that the relevant agencies are co-operating, there is a structure in place to follow. There are requirements of the CAF, which involve the early years practitioner. These include the shared assessment and the Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting.
The shared assessment involves different …show more content…
teams/individuals who are involved with the child. An example may be that of a 2 year old child who the health visitor may deem fine in terms of development, but may have some concerns around the child's health or well-being. The early years practitioner may have some concerns regarding the child and as the child's key person may feel it is necessary to arrange a TAC meeting with the health visitor and parents, in order to discuss these concerns and assess that the child is safe from harm, healthy, developing and learning well, making appropriate positive relationships, socialising well and isn't significantly impaired by the effects of poverty. The early years practitioner must gain the consent of the child's parents before this meeting goes ahead, as this is a voluntary and cannot be done without informed parental consent – as is the CAF. The meeting may bring about explanations as to why the child may be displaying certain sighns/symptoms/behaviours and by piecing together the information from all parties, an assessment of needs can be made in the areas of development of the child, parents, carers and the home/family environment.
The assessment and outcomes of the assessment, including any action plans which have been developed as a result of the assessment, will be recorded on a CAF form (or eCAF if recorded electronically). Depending on the plan of action as a result of this, the CAF form may then be used to gain further referrals to relevant agencies, such as childrens centres or housing (depending on the needs of the child and their family). The parent will be asked to nominate someone to coordinate the plan and having the CAF in place will ensure that they do not need to keep repeating themselves with those involved. It is important that the support is put into place for the child and their family, as without it, there could be a detrimental impact on the child's health or development.
It is important to remember that in a setting, those working with children should be able to identify the signs and symptoms of abuse and know who to contact/what to do in the even abuse is suspected or alleged.
There is no actual law in place to report suspicions of abuse in England. However, it is good practice to and putting the safety and needs of the child first. This is made clear throughout legislation and guidelines (including the Children Act 2004). All professionals must work together to ensure that child's interests come first. This may present as a personal challenge if, for example, a child had been hurt by one of their parents, leaving a mark. The early years practitioner may feel that the incident is a one off and that it would cause tension between themselves and the parents if they were to report it. However, in the best interests of the child, it is important that it is taken seriously and not just 'swept under the carpet'. It is important the practitioner follows the settings procedures on what to do in the event of something like this
happening.
Other policies within the setting regarding safeguarding should include use of mobile phone policy. In settings, practitioners should not have their personal phones, cameras or any equipment which has the capabilities of taking photos or videos, with them or around the children. In settings where the practitioner, such as a childminder works alone – this may not be possible. However the childminder should have policies and procedures in place with regards to usage of this equipment and also visitors, students etc should not have theirs in the setting around the children.