Children And Young People Are Best Cared For By Their Own Families

This legislation states the rights the child has and what the Government must do to protect their rights. For example every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to develop their physical, mental and social needs and the Government must provide extra money for families in need if their standard of living is below par.

Children Act 2006 – Is an Act that defines the new duties imposed on the Local Authorities in respect to improving the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children. The Act also defines new rules in relation to childcare for working parents as well as parental information services. It is aimed at improving the well-being of young children. It emphasises the importance of safeguarding children and young people within an educational setting. If a child discloses neglect or abuse; an establishment should have instructions to help the child. This could be referral to an outside organisation or internally.

Section 17 – States that services should be put into place to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of children within the (local authority) area who are in need’.

But children are a special case they cannot always stand up for themselves. They therefore need a special set of rights which take in to consideration their vulnerability and which ensures the adults that surround them take responsibly for their welfare, protection and development.

Children Act 1989 – Protecting children’s welfare and to provide services according to the specific needs of children.

The integral part of this act is to maintain the child is at the forefront of decisions; the best option in relation to the child’s welfare will be taken into account when deciding the best course of action for the child/young person’s upbringing – creating a partnership between parents and multi-agencies.

Children and young people should feel happy, safe, respected and included in the school or early years setting environment and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive behavior in the classroom, playground and the wider community. Policies and practice which make sure the safety and wellbeing of children should already be in place and it is this legislation develop through many years and experiences, and mistakes, that underpin the working practices that are used today.

The children act 1989 has influenced some settings by bringing together several sets of guidance and provided the foundation for many of the standards practitioners sustain and maintain when working with children. The act requires that settings work together in the best interests of the child and form partnerships with parents or carers. It requires settings to have appropriate adult to child ratios and policies and procedures on child protection. This act has had an influence in all areas of practice from planning a curriculum and record keeping. The every child matters framework has

It is very important that anyone working with children should be able to recognise if a child is at risk of harm of in need because of their vulnerability. The earlier this is recognised, the better outcome for the child involved.

M1- Discuss how policies and procedures help children, young people and their families whilst the child is being looked after.

Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need and to promote the upbringing of children by their families, so far as this is consistent with their welfare duty to the child, by providing an appropriate range and level of services. A child in need is one who is disabled, or unlikely either to achieve a reasonable standard of health or whose health or development will suffer unless services are provided.

This Act, which regulates the childcare in England, formalise the important strategic role of local authorities play through a set of duties. These duties require

* To decide if the child is in need ( Section 17(1) of the Children Act 1989 states that it shall be the

Again, the court’s role remains to advocate for the best interest of the child. The following areas may be considered in determining dependency:

There is no standard definition of ‘best interest of the child’, this term generally refers to the deliberation that courts undertake when deciding what services, actions, and orders will best suit the child as well as who will best suit the child’s best interest. These interests are generally made by a number of factors related to the child’s circumstances as well as the parent/ caregiver’s circumstances and competency to look after the child.