Explain The Laws And Codes Of Practice Affecting Work In Schools
The Children Act 1989
This act establishes that when deciding for a child, the priority must be the welfare of the child, so the decision making must ultimately be in order to find what is for the child’s best interest.]
The Childcare Act 2006.
It is the first act exclusively for Early Years; it highlights the strategic role of Local Authorities and state new or extended duties for them:
- Improve the Outcomes for the Every Child Matters paper to reduce inequalities by guarantying a Sure Start Children Centre for every community and ensuring the early childhood services are integrated to maximise access and benefits to families.
- Offering sufficient childcare so working parents received the support needed; to do this properly, Local …show more content…
Authorities must assess the local childcare market and work with education providers ensure it covers local needs (of the community and particular families).
- Extend the existing duty of parental information service to make sure parents and prospective parents have all the information needed until the child is 20 years old.
- Introduce Early Years Foundation Stage (a new integrated education and care quality framework for pre-school and Ofsted Childcare Register, merge of previous acts) to simplify the Early Years regulation and inspection arrangements from 0 to 5 years old; it reduces bureaucracy and focus on rising quality standards.
The Education Act 2002.
This Act states how schools work on all the countries of the United Kingdom. It explains the role and organisation of schools; teacher roles and other important information; financial issues; the National Curriculum; legal frameworks; policies of admission, attendance and exclusions; etc. It is, therefore, the base where school staff ought to build their job.
Overall, the Act gives the schools more independence and autonomy to implement new teaching methods, being the school last decision how to spend the budget assigned and which learning approach will be used to achieve the outcomes of the National Curriculum.
“The act also refers to Local education Authorities and it requires from them and the governing body of a maintained school to ‘make arrangements for ensuring that their functions are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The Section 157 places the same requirements on Academies and Independent Schools’. Schools are inspected on performance with regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in accordance with the guidance and legislation.”
[Introduction to Safeguarding Children –
Whole School Training – Delegate Workbook.]
Every Child Matters.
It establishes five outcomes for children: “be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being.” Every child and their families must have the support to achieve them; on this duty Social Services have a central role and there need to be partnership work among Government and local areas.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015).
It is a guide for all professional who work with children and their families (doctors, social workers, school staff, etc), which explains their roles and responsibilities on keeping children safe and gives support to know how to do it.
Safeguarding on this text covers protect “children and young people from maltreat, enable them to have the best outcomes, prevent impairment on their health or development and to ensure they receive safe and effective care.
The guide states legislative requirements and a clear framework for Local Safeguarding Children Boards to monitor the requirements are being met.”
[Working Together to Safeguard Children]
Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE, 2014)
It is a statutory guidance from the Department for Education which describe terms such as ‘safe’, ‘abuse’, ‘negligence’... and offers a wide range of types of abuse and signs to look out for in order to identify whether a child is at risk. Every school must have regard to this …show more content…
guidance.
What to Do If You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused (DfE, 2006)
Support guidance for practitioners to work together on an agreed plan of action for a child, in order to reinforce the Every Child Matters Green Paper and guarantee its five outcomes.
Human Rights Act 1998.
International law which lists the rights of every human being, including children since the moment they are born; right to be safe, protection, scholarship, free expression, health care, et cetera.
Children and Families Act 2004.
This act aims to improve safeguarding for all children in England and Wales by giving Local Authorities and other agencies which work with children and young people and their families more defined boundaries and support to develop a better coordination on official interventions. The act specifically includes disabled children.
This act states function and powers of the children commissioner and other children services (Children Trust Boards (CTBs), Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB), advisory support services for families, and other care services such as private fostering, childminding, etc.)
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB)
Every local authority area must have a Local Safeguarding Children Board which will develop safeguarding policies for the local area and will supervise agencies which work with children. LSCBs must ensure that the policies are complied with on every centre which works with children, young people and families. LSCBs have also the duty of doing Serious Cases Reviews when
appropriate.
Teacher’s Standards (2012)
The standards offer information about the minimum level of quality practice needed to be a Qualify Teacher and are also used to assess the work of teachers who are already working.
Standards can be used by an external party (employer, teacher...) but are also really useful for teachers to reflect on their own practice and identify skills and abilities which need to be developed.
“It states that teachers, including headteachers, should safeguard children’s wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties.”
[Keeping children safe in education]
Common Core of Skills and Knowledge of the Children’s Workforce framework.
It gives a framework to work with children and young people; both professionals and volunteers are expected to have good knowledge on six areas of expertise: sharing information; effective communication and engagement with children and young people, and families; child and young person’s development; safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child; supporting transitions; and multi-agency working.
The Common Core can be used as a guide to reflect on own knowledge, it also offers guidance to improve knowledge.
Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings (DCSF 2009).
This guidance offers information to professional who work with children and young people in order to avoid misconducts. It clarifies which behaviours are safe, which ones may have risks (and should be only used when is imperative) and which ones are illegal and must, therefore, been avoided.
Information Sharing Code of Practice.
This guidance helps professionals to share information following the laws of privacy and confidentiality, thus avoiding breaching the confidentiality and further consequences for the professional, the setting, and the people affected.
Information sharing Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (2015)
This advice guides professional on the decision making when they are unsure whether information should be shared and whom with.
On the school setting where I work
Staff must attend regular safeguarding meetings on which the several aspects of safeguarding are pointed out and discussed (awareness about abuse or negligence, good practices of passing information and filling up reports, follow the normative about privacy, confidentiality and information sharing.)
Everyone within the school setting (staff, volunteers...) are CRB checked and must read and understand the school Safeguarding policy and code of practice. Staff is also encouraged to keep confidentiality at all levels (for example, exclusively sharing school information with our school email accounts, never with our personal ones; as well as using email as main way of contacting volunteers – rather than by phone.)
Also the school principles and values are a way of promoting safeguarding, encouraging students to be resilient, to know their rights, to have good relationships and people they can trust if something bad happens.
This act establishes that when deciding for a child, the priority must be the welfare of the child, so the decision making must ultimately be in order to find what is for the child’s best interest.]
The Childcare Act 2006.
It is the first act exclusively for Early Years; it highlights the strategic role of Local Authorities and state new or extended duties for them:
- Improve the Outcomes for the Every Child Matters paper to reduce inequalities by guarantying a Sure Start Children Centre for every community and ensuring the early childhood services are integrated to maximise access and benefits to families.
- Offering sufficient childcare so working parents received the support needed; to do this properly, Local …show more content…
Authorities must assess the local childcare market and work with education providers ensure it covers local needs (of the community and particular families).
- Extend the existing duty of parental information service to make sure parents and prospective parents have all the information needed until the child is 20 years old.
- Introduce Early Years Foundation Stage (a new integrated education and care quality framework for pre-school and Ofsted Childcare Register, merge of previous acts) to simplify the Early Years regulation and inspection arrangements from 0 to 5 years old; it reduces bureaucracy and focus on rising quality standards.
The Education Act 2002.
This Act states how schools work on all the countries of the United Kingdom. It explains the role and organisation of schools; teacher roles and other important information; financial issues; the National Curriculum; legal frameworks; policies of admission, attendance and exclusions; etc. It is, therefore, the base where school staff ought to build their job.
Overall, the Act gives the schools more independence and autonomy to implement new teaching methods, being the school last decision how to spend the budget assigned and which learning approach will be used to achieve the outcomes of the National Curriculum.
“The act also refers to Local education Authorities and it requires from them and the governing body of a maintained school to ‘make arrangements for ensuring that their functions are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The Section 157 places the same requirements on Academies and Independent Schools’. Schools are inspected on performance with regard to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in accordance with the guidance and legislation.”
[Introduction to Safeguarding Children –
Whole School Training – Delegate Workbook.]
Every Child Matters.
It establishes five outcomes for children: “be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being.” Every child and their families must have the support to achieve them; on this duty Social Services have a central role and there need to be partnership work among Government and local areas.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015).
It is a guide for all professional who work with children and their families (doctors, social workers, school staff, etc), which explains their roles and responsibilities on keeping children safe and gives support to know how to do it.
Safeguarding on this text covers protect “children and young people from maltreat, enable them to have the best outcomes, prevent impairment on their health or development and to ensure they receive safe and effective care.
The guide states legislative requirements and a clear framework for Local Safeguarding Children Boards to monitor the requirements are being met.”
[Working Together to Safeguard Children]
Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE, 2014)
It is a statutory guidance from the Department for Education which describe terms such as ‘safe’, ‘abuse’, ‘negligence’... and offers a wide range of types of abuse and signs to look out for in order to identify whether a child is at risk. Every school must have regard to this …show more content…
guidance.
What to Do If You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused (DfE, 2006)
Support guidance for practitioners to work together on an agreed plan of action for a child, in order to reinforce the Every Child Matters Green Paper and guarantee its five outcomes.
Human Rights Act 1998.
International law which lists the rights of every human being, including children since the moment they are born; right to be safe, protection, scholarship, free expression, health care, et cetera.
Children and Families Act 2004.
This act aims to improve safeguarding for all children in England and Wales by giving Local Authorities and other agencies which work with children and young people and their families more defined boundaries and support to develop a better coordination on official interventions. The act specifically includes disabled children.
This act states function and powers of the children commissioner and other children services (Children Trust Boards (CTBs), Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB), advisory support services for families, and other care services such as private fostering, childminding, etc.)
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB)
Every local authority area must have a Local Safeguarding Children Board which will develop safeguarding policies for the local area and will supervise agencies which work with children. LSCBs must ensure that the policies are complied with on every centre which works with children, young people and families. LSCBs have also the duty of doing Serious Cases Reviews when
appropriate.
Teacher’s Standards (2012)
The standards offer information about the minimum level of quality practice needed to be a Qualify Teacher and are also used to assess the work of teachers who are already working.
Standards can be used by an external party (employer, teacher...) but are also really useful for teachers to reflect on their own practice and identify skills and abilities which need to be developed.
“It states that teachers, including headteachers, should safeguard children’s wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties.”
[Keeping children safe in education]
Common Core of Skills and Knowledge of the Children’s Workforce framework.
It gives a framework to work with children and young people; both professionals and volunteers are expected to have good knowledge on six areas of expertise: sharing information; effective communication and engagement with children and young people, and families; child and young person’s development; safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child; supporting transitions; and multi-agency working.
The Common Core can be used as a guide to reflect on own knowledge, it also offers guidance to improve knowledge.
Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings (DCSF 2009).
This guidance offers information to professional who work with children and young people in order to avoid misconducts. It clarifies which behaviours are safe, which ones may have risks (and should be only used when is imperative) and which ones are illegal and must, therefore, been avoided.
Information Sharing Code of Practice.
This guidance helps professionals to share information following the laws of privacy and confidentiality, thus avoiding breaching the confidentiality and further consequences for the professional, the setting, and the people affected.
Information sharing Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers (2015)
This advice guides professional on the decision making when they are unsure whether information should be shared and whom with.
On the school setting where I work
Staff must attend regular safeguarding meetings on which the several aspects of safeguarding are pointed out and discussed (awareness about abuse or negligence, good practices of passing information and filling up reports, follow the normative about privacy, confidentiality and information sharing.)
Everyone within the school setting (staff, volunteers...) are CRB checked and must read and understand the school Safeguarding policy and code of practice. Staff is also encouraged to keep confidentiality at all levels (for example, exclusively sharing school information with our school email accounts, never with our personal ones; as well as using email as main way of contacting volunteers – rather than by phone.)
Also the school principles and values are a way of promoting safeguarding, encouraging students to be resilient, to know their rights, to have good relationships and people they can trust if something bad happens.