Individuality, Difference and Diversity in the Work with Parents - Report Example

Explain and Justify the Ways in Which Individuality, Difference and Diversity Can Be Respected and Celebrated In Work with Parents. Analyse Ways in Which Equality of Opportunity, Inclusion, A Non-judgemental Approach and Anti-discriminatory Practice Can Be Supported In Work with Parents Table of Contents Explain and Justify the Ways in Which Individuality, Difference and Diversity Can Be Respected and Celebrated In Work with Parents. Analyse Ways in Which Equality of Opportunity, Inclusion, A Non-judgemental Approach and Anti-discriminatory Practice Can Be Supported In Work with Parents 1 Introduction 3 Individuality, Difference and Diversity Can Be Respected and Celebrated in Work with Parents 4 A Brief Analysis of Various Aspects That Can Be Supported In Work with Parents 6 Equality of Opportunity 6 Inclusion 7 Non-judgemental Approach 8 Anti-discriminatory Practice 9 Conclusion 10 References 12 Introduction The perception of working with parents is observed to be a fundamental value-based aspect which involves respect, diversity and individuality that ensures an emotional experience. The factor of working with parents generally helps to nurture as well as provide boundaries which ultimately lead towards the development of relationships (CSSP, 2010). It is usually described as the services which intend to facilitate the parents with regard to enhancing their parenting abilities. Moreover, it is regarded as a form of work which assists parental relationship, increases the confidence level of the parents and enhances the interactions between the child and parents (Crown, 2012). It has been apparently observed that social inequalities tend to exist in every community in different forms which deeply influences the lives as well as attitudes of the people by a considerable level. A community is found to be generally composed of different individuals who possess a broad assortment of values, opinions and beliefs which can be observed to be a significant reason behind the existence of social inequalities. It can be stated that there are different ways by which the aspects of individuality, diversity as well as difference can be distinguished as well as valued in the course of working with parents. In this similar context, the facet of parents’ engagement can be considered to be one of the significant ways by which individuality, difference and diversity can be valued and distinguished (CSSP, 2010). In this discussion, the ways in which difference, diversity as well as individuality can be celebrated and respected related to working with parents will be taken into concern. Moreover, the legislative policies or the acts including Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 98, Equality Act 2010 and Special Educational Needs & Disability Act 2001 will also be discussed. Besides, the ways in which various aspects such as inclusion, equal opportunity, anti-discriminatory practices and non-judgemental approach can support working with parents will also be highlighted in the discussion. Individuality, Difference and Diversity Can Be Respected and Celebrated in Work with Parents The chief principles relating to working with parents include the rights as well as requirements of the children, building partnership with the parents and adopting strength-based approach. It has been viewed that a major proportion of the parents desire to perform significant activities in order to offer a better life to their children along with developing their learning practices. The parents as well as the practitioners both work together towards delivering long-term benefits which ultimately poses an optimistic impact upon the development of the children. It is quite necessary to build an effective partnership with parents for the purpose of working together in delivering best interests with regard to the children. There are supposed to be several ways through which the parents can support the learning development of their children. The parents can develop the learning competencies of their children by generating an optimistic home learning setting, facilitating adult-child interrelations, developing literacy and being extremely child-focused (Daycare Trust, 2012). The facet of parent engagement can be regarded as a significant way by which the important aspects i.e. diversity, difference and individuality can be respected and celebrated by a certain degree. In this regard, the notion of parent engagement is principally described as a deliberate approach or principle which engages particularly the families for making any sort of valuable decisions for the communities as well as the children. The different activities of parent engagement related to working with parents include forming as well as maintaining direct interrelationship with the different service providers, making effective decisions and performing advisory along with leadership roles in different communities. The effectual strategies of parent engagement provide active support to the parents for the purpose of building as well as honing new skills, knowledge and abilities by which they can strengthen the position of their families along with the communities at large. In relation to the way of parent engagement, it has been observed that difference; individuality as well as diversity can be celebrated and respected with regard to the work of the parents by getting engaged with various community partners and agencies for supporting their families and children. The community partners and the agencies deliver effective guidance to the parents in making efficient program planning along with policy development. Apart from the guidance provided by the community partners and the agencies, the parents periodically engage themselves towards making any sort of valuable decisions regarding their children and the communities. The different strategies associated with parent engagement ultimately increases the shared understanding concerning the communities by involving the parents through which the different aspects such as difference, diversity and individuality can be valued as well as distinguished by a significant level (CSSP, 2010). A Brief Analysis of Various Aspects That Can Be Supported In Work with Parents Equality of Opportunity There lies the presence of various ways in the form of legislative policies or laws which include the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), Equality Act 2010, Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001 through which several important aspects can be supported in work with parents. The different aspects include inclusion, equal opportunity, non-judgemental approach and anti-discriminatory practice. In this similar context, it can be stated that DDA generally tends to prohibit any sort of discrimination particularly against any disabled individual in the field of employment and education. According to the Act, every disabled individual or children possesses the right to avail education as well as opportunity to preserve acceptable learning levels. Under the legislative policy of DDA, it is considered illegal for the employers to discriminate in opposition to the disabled people concerning their respective disabilities or weaknesses. In terms of providing equal opportunity, the Act is known to encompass different aspects which include job offers, interview structures, application forms, employment terms and training or promotion of opportunities (Rieser et. al., 2002). It is considered to be quite important to work with the parents of the disabled children for the purpose of minimising their struggle for seeking human rights and inclusion. Moreover, working with the parents can also lead towards the development of the disabled children by a considerable level. The Act emphasises upon several important factors which include promoting equal rights as well as opportunities for the disabled people, accessing different actions performed by the disabled people and most importantly developing their living standards. In order to provide equal opportunity, the parents can play an imperative part in an educational setting by empowering their disabled children to develop self-esteem and also by establishing strong peer relationships with them (Rieser et. al., 2002). Inclusion The conception of inclusion is fundamentally described as a procedure in which every individual would be treated with equal significance and worth irrespective of gender, religion, caste or disability. In this regard it needs to be mentioned that the Equality Act 2010 focuses upon prohibiting unfair treatments and offering equal opportunities to every individual in their respective places of work as well as in the community. The Act emphasises upon different areas in order to protect every individual against unfair treatments. The various areas include disability, religion, gender reassignment, age and caste among others. The primary aim of this Act is to ensure equal as well as fair treatment to every individual belonging to the society in terms of making necessary adjustments in their respective workplaces. In relation to disability, this particular Act tends to support the disabled people by mitigating the barriers witnessed by them while working (Home Office, n.d.). In order to develop inclusion, working with parents in an educational setting can play a vital role. This is due to the reason that the parents can support the inclusion of their children by developing learning strategies, providing deliberate inclusion trainings and most importantly developing professional practices. In relation to the aspect of inclusion, working with parents can broadly aid their children in learning and self development (Rieser & et. al., 2002). Learning as well as the self-development of children is believed to be possible by the parents with the help of establishing a loving, responsive and a warm interrelation between the adults and the children along with listening and responding to their various actions. Moreover, learning of the children can be developed through parents by actively involving the children in shared thinking processes by making it a normal part of life, generating prospects for the children to have friends for play and most importantly strongly following the interests of the children and encouraging their ideas. With regard to the educational settings, it has been apparently observed that working with parents play an imperative part in developing the education of the children. This is due to the reason that the parents are considered to possess unique knowledge, information as well as experiences about their children which ultimately facilitates them to attain their potential. Every parent of a child must be treated as partners in order to identify as well as to fulfil their duties as parents and must play an active role in delivering proper as well as quality education to them (Rieser et. al., 2002). Non-judgemental Approach The non-judgemental approach can be supported in work with parents by considering the fact that parents possesses unique knowledge, experiences as well as learning about the different activities performed by their children and majority of the parents desire to develop learning strategies for the improvement of their children. In this condition, working with parents must be non-judgemental and should be encouraged for empowering as well as valuing the existing knowledge, experiences and learning of the parents. It has been learnt that working with young people or children can be enhanced by a considerable level if the workers are able to involve themselves with their parents. The work with parents greatly depends upon non-judgmental approach with the purpose of supporting the workers by addressing several difficulties which they encounter in their normal lives. By establishing a non-judgmental approach, the parents can easily identify the various requirements as well as hopes of their children, provide a secured learning environment, enhance the confidence level of the parents and most significantly support the children possessing learning disabilities. Moreover, the non-judgemental approach aims to empower particularly the parents in order to develop their competencies, abilities and confidence which ultimately lead towards the development of learning with regard to the children in educational settings. The chief outcomes of implementing or following a non-judgemental approach include enhanced parenting abilities as well as confidence, improved social skills, positive family relationships, enhanced learning, increased family support and decreased risk levels (Daycare Trust, 2012). Anti-discriminatory Practice The idea of anti-discriminatory practices typically engages the practitioners along with their own individual thoughts, beliefs, values and expectations making it definite that they would enthusiastically provide every child along with their parents and the young people with equal opportunity. In order to work in an anti-discriminatory manner, the practitioners need to possess the knowledge of applicable legislative policies related to anti-discriminatory practices. In this similar regard, the practitioners must possess the knowledge of the legislative policy, i.e. Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 which ensures non-discriminatory practices on grounds of disability in schools and various other educational institutions. This particular Act makes it unlawful to perform discriminatory practices against the individuals who are disabled in terms of their admissions and the services provided by the college or universities to them (Daycare Trust, 2012). The essential features of the law state that the disabled individuals must possess equal right to education as well as various other additional services and such individuals cannot be excluded from any of the teaching courses for the reason of their disability. Moreover, the law also states that the practitioners should make necessary adjustments in order to make sure that the disabled individuals are treated with equality as well as fairness without any discriminatory practices. The various student services which are encompassed under this Act include short courses, field trips, libraries, examinations as well as assessments and work placements. In practice, the law states that it would be illegal for the practitioners or the responsible bodies to treat a disabled individual less favourably in comparison to any non-disabled individual (Becta & JISC TechDis Service, 2003). As the rights as well as the requirements of a child or an individual whether disabled or non-disabled seems to be the starting point for parenting support, it can be stated that the anti-discriminatory practices can be supported in work with parents by a certain degree (Daycare Trust, 2012). Conclusion After acquiring a brief idea about the perception of work with parents, it can be stated that the concept plays an imperative part in supporting the development of children. The major objectives of building partnership or working with the parents involve defending the rights of the children and facilitating the parents to comply with the requirements of their children. It has been observed that the parents possess unique experiences, learning as well as knowledge about their children which ultimately supports them to manage behaviour, improve the interactions between the parents and the child and most importantly contribute in terms of child development. The various significant aspects which entail inclusion, non-judgemental approach, anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunity can support in working or building partnership with the parents by a considerable level. The practitioners or the regulatory bodies must possess knowledge about the legislative policies such as the Equality Act 2010, DDA, Special Educational Needs and Disability act 2001 for the purpose of assisting the parents towards successfully ensuring the development of their children. The decisive part played by the parents and the advantages derived from establishing partnerships with the parents is expected to eventually pose a positive impact upon the long-term development of the children by a greater extent. References Becta & JISC TechDis Service, 2003. An Introduction to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) (SENDA). Pages. [Online] Available at: http://archive.excellencegateway.org.uk/media/ferl_and_aclearn/ferl/pages/keydocs_current/current%20issues/disab_leg/Theme1.2.pdf [Accessed October 01, 2012]. CSSP, 2010. Background. Publications. [Online] Available at: http://www.cssp.org/publications/growingandsustainingparentengagementtoolkit.pdf [Accessed October 01, 2012]. Crown, 2012. Qualifications And Development - Work With Parents. Families. [Online] Available at: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/b00203619/work-parents [Accessed October 01, 2012]. Daycare Trust, 2012. Key Principles In Work With Parents. Pages. [Online] Available at: http://www.daycaretrust.org.uk/pages/key-principles-in-work-with-parents.html [Accessed October 01, 2012]. Home Office, 2010. Equality Act 2010. Equalities. [Online] Available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/equality-act/ [Accessed October 01, 2012]. Reiser, R. et. al., 2002. Disability Equality in Education. Early. [Online] Available at: http://www.worldofinclusion.com/res/early/Early_Years_coursebook.pdf [Accessed October 01, 2012]. Read More