In every type of work setting, there will always be different opinions on certain things that will lead to conflicts or dilemmas. Work setting where there are children involves is no different. Conflicts happen almost everywhere. In a school setting there could be conflicts or dilemmas between the children, the children’s family, staff members and teachers. The most important thing is to do the right decision in favour of protecting and safeguarding the concerned child.
There are various ways to deal with risks associate conflicts and dilemmas. Diligent exercise of duty of care must be balanced with children’s rights and parents’ responsibilities. The duty of care could conflict with children’s rights to have experiences which facilitate their development and learning. Challenging and risk taking activities and in children’s play is essential. This helps them to learn to predict and avoid dangerous situations. When a practitioner seeks to ‘wrap the children in cotton wool’ that is not letting them discover and taking risks with a limit, then the practitioner is carrying her duty of care too far. Allowing children to explore with the practitioners’ guidance is vital in a child’s development.
Sometimes rights may take precedence over duty of care. Practitioners should discharge their duty of care in ways that support children’s rights acquire life skills through learning how to cope with risky situations. Making children and young people aware of potential hazards and dangers is very important to help children choose between right and wrong.
In other situations, duty of care may prevail over rights. A practitioner’s duty of care to protect children from abuse must be balanced with families’ rights to have their private information treated confidentially. A practitioner must avoid intruding into their lives in a way that infringe their