Explain The Role Of Equality, Diversity And Inclusion In Work With Children And Young People

Every Child Matters Framework which is currently in the process to be changed is part of the Children Act 2004; it is a piece of legislation which has and influences planning and provisions of learning opportunities. The Every Child Matters ensures that settings provide quality of children’s and young people’s play and learning.This supports children from birth to 19 years. When practitioners plan, they should relate their work to the five outcomes for children; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve though learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic

Anyone providing services for children with special needs – health, education or social service departments, as well as voluntary organisations – must act within the legal framework. Legislation can change at any time and all health, education and social care practitioners, also Early Years workers, should be alert to new Acts and Regulations. There have been many changes to legislation in the UK over recent years which have affected this and a gradual increase in entitlements for these pupils.

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.

Child Act 1989- “the Children Act 1989 aimed to ensure that the welfare of the child was paramount, working in partnership with parents to protect the child from harm” http://www.careandthelaw.org.uk/eng/b_section2 appendix 3

All these laws influence the rights of individuals. Every early years, childcare and educational organisation needs to have policies and practices that put these laws into action:

Children’s Act 1989: Identifies the responsibilities of parents and professionals who must work to ensure the safety and welfare of the child/young person. Two important sections included in the act are:

The children act 1989- the children act is a legislation that ensures the welfare of children. This would promote anti-discriminatory practice by protecting children and treating them all equally. This could be by stopping abuse and giving children a safe and secure

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

This Children and Young Persons Act (2008) increases quality of care for children and young people up to the age of 18years old, ensuring every child’s voice is heard.

Coordinated admissions aim to ensure that as far as is practical, every child in a local authority area who has applied in the admissions round receives a place. And with the exception of grammar schools, who do not have to take pupils who are not up to scratch academically, schools must take all comers. Even those with challenging behaviour. Youngsters with special educational needs who don’t have a statement are treated in the same way as everyone else although this may sometimes require reasonable adjustments for them in the school or particular support for any special educational needs, as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

page 5 - 1.2 - Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equal rights.

1.1 – Outline the legal requirements of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs.

The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools. Their aim is to work together to ensure good practice to promote effective approaches to enhance the students learning with Special educational needs.

responsibilities of the staff team are also in place & readily available for staff. All the organisations Policies are written, developed, reviewed & updated in response to up to date Legislation. By having these systems & processes in place, not only does it ensure we are meeting the standards set out in the Care Act 2014, it also ensures that any discrimination is dealt with in the correct, fair & equal way. I believe that the policies which promote Equality, Diversity & Inclusion give out a very positive & encouraging message which sets out an atmosphere of mutual respect & opportunity. When applicants apply for jobs within the service organisation, they are requested to complete an EQUALITY & to promote & enhance opportunities to individuals

The government are committed to developing an education service that provides equality of opportunity and high achievement for all children (Gov.uk, 2018). The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (SEN) plays a vital role promoting this commitment. This code of practice now endorses a uniformity approach to meeting children’s special educational needs and places the rights of children with special educational needs at the heart of the process, allowing them to be heard and to take part in decisions about their education (Gov.uk, 2018). The old SEN Code of Practice is for any children that come under the needs for extra help while in a school setting and have been assessed, any children that are assessed now will come under the new SEND Code of Practice 2018 (Gov.uk, 2018). A child or young person has a special educational need or disability (SEND) if he or she has a learning difficulty, which calls for special provision to be made for him or her.