Duty Of Care

Duty of Care
In a work setting where we are working with children our duty of care is of utmost importance, we need to ensure that we do everything within our power to ensure that children and young people that use our setting get the best care possible and that no harm comes to them. When working with children and young people we not only have a duty of care to the children but also to their parents and carers who will be trusting and expecting us to provide the best care for their children. A duty of care is the legal obligation that we have, as practitioners, to keep children safe from injury, other people who may harm or abuse them and any extreme danger that may face them. This duty of care does not only apply within the setting but also
extends to home life if you have and concerns about child, for example if you fear that a child is being abused in any way then it is within your duty of care to report that concern and to try and get the best support and care for the child in that situation.

Duty of care in the safeguarding and protecting of individuals.
When it comes to our duty of care with regards to safeguarding and protection there are many aspects that need to be considered that effect upon different parts of our duty of care.
Suitability to work with children
Any person that is going to be working your setting needs to have an up to date CRB check to ensure that they have no previous criminal convictions that could potentially pose a risk to the children and young people in your setting. Not only this but any person employed to work in your setting should have some sort of relevant qualification to be working with children and young people or at least be in training towards a qualification as parents and carers expect the best care for their children and this will only come from qualified professionals.
Suitable Premises
A suitable premises consists of many things from using a safe building, that is not falling down or surrounded by busy roads, to ensuring that your setting is accessible to all parents and carers. This is important as the state of a premises will have a direct impact on the safety of a child and thus it will be within your duty of care to ensure that your premises is suitable and not going to cause any risks to the children, young people, parents and carers that use your
setting.
Suitable environment.
A suitable environment is extremely important in protecting children as many things can be hazardous to children, particularly younger children in a nursery setting.
It is important that any equipment in the room is in good condition and is correct height for the children for example tables and chairs will need to be lower in a nursery as the children using the nursery will be smaller and would find it difficult to use large tables and chairs. When looking at protecting children by providing a safe environment it is important to consider the doors in the nursery, any external doors need to be locked so that children cannot just wander out of the nursery, and any internal doors need to be light enough for children to open and may need liners in the hinges of the door to protect children from trapping their fingers, it is also a good idea for internal doors to have a high handle for a staff member to use whilst the children can have a lower handle to
use.
Suitable equipment and resources.
All equipment in the setting needs to be age appropriate for the different age groups within the setting as children may be unsafe using toys that are too old for them and older children may become agitated using equipment that is too young for them as there will be no challenge in it. It is extremely important that all toys are clean as many children will put the toys in their mouths or they will put their hands in their mouths after playing with the toys which is how illness can spread and it is within our duty of care to protect the children from illness.
Behaviour of staff and children
All staff need to be behaving appropriately as they need to be setting a good example to the children and if they display any type of bad behaviour, such as swearing or fighting, the children are likely to copy them. Staff need to be supervising children at all children so that no accidents go unnoticed and can be avoided where possible.
Illness
If any child or member of staff is taken ill then appropriate action needs to be taken, whether that be taking them somewhere to lie down or giving them medication, with permission from parents and carers, if the illness consists of diarrhoea or sickness then the affected person needs to be sent home and needs to stay away from the setting for forty eight hours to prevent the spread of the illness. If a child has any other type of illness and isn’t sent home then it is still important to inform parents of what has happened it is also important to inform parents and carers of every child in your setting if there appears to be an illness going around.
Suspicion of neglect or abuse.
If you have any suspicion that a child is being neglected or abused it is important that you tell someone and seek the appropriate help. If a child tells you that they are being neglected or abused in some way you must listen to them and believe what they are telling you, you must not ask questions and must let them tell you what has been happening, however you cannot promise to keep what they are telling you a secret and you must inform the child that you will be telling someone else because if you promise not to tell anyone and then you do it is likely to deeply affect that Childs concept of trust for the rest of their life.