Practice for Children and Young People
Discuss the ideology underpinning policy and practice for children and young people and demonstrate an awareness of constructs of childhood and adolescence from either an educational or care perspective.
“The idea of belonging and membership, being part of a community, is a basic human need. It’s one of the principles of our democratic society. We all have the same needs, we want to be loved, we want to have friends, we want to feel that we are making a contribution in our families, in our communities….We learn about understanding what someone’s interests and point of view are by interacting with them. To include everyone is to open up those possibilities for learning and appreciating our humanity.” Gookin, J (2012). Every Child Matters 2004, (ECM) is a Government initiative for England and Wales which was launched in 2002 following the death of Victoria Climbie. It has been the title of three Government papers, leading to the Children Act 2004. In the past it has been argued that children and families have received poorer services because of the failure of professionals to understand each other's roles or to work together effectively in a multi-disciplinary manner. ECM was brought in to influence changes to this, stressing that it is important that all professionals working with children are aware of the contribution that could be made by their own and each other's service and to plan and deliver their work with children and young people accordingly. This paper will discuss ideas behind ECM and demonstrate awareness of constructs of childhood in an educational setting.
A look into the history of childhood shows, however, that childhood is constructed differently in different times and places. Class, religion, labor, gender, race, politics, and education shape the way in which children experience life.
Phillipe Aries (1960) is a French Historian who argued that in the Middle Ages, the idea of childhood