Role of the Early Years Worker - Essay Example

Role of the Early Years Worker Introduction: One of the most burning issues we face and are trying to deal with even today, is that of “Child Abuse”, which is a shameful stigma, which a civilized society such as ours has to bear. It is therefore of prime importance that every person be they teachers, social workers, health workers, researchers, lawyers, police officers or even care takers or anyone who has the responsibility of handling or looking after children, should have a sound knowledge of what Child Abuse and Child Protection is all about. First of all there is a prime need to know exactly what Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation is all about. “Sexual Exploitation represents the involvement of the dependent, developmentally involved immature children and adolescents in sexual activities, they do not truly comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent or that violate social taboos of family roles”. (Kempe & Kempe, 1978) In recent years there has been an increase in the reporting of child abuse. (Susan Creighton, “Understanding Child Abuse”, page 7) If a child, is abused in any way, whether physically, emotionally or sexually, then it has a very great impact on the rest of the child’s life, as he moves into adolescence, and then later into adulthood. According to Helga Hanks and Peter Stratton, “they consider children as active and self conscious actors rather than passive recipients of abuse….” (Hanks, Stratton, Chap. 5, page 8) Those children who have become victims of it are affected not only physically but also mentally and psychologically. Neglect of Child Abuse is one of the main causes of death in young children in the UK, “with parents and relatives being responsible for three quarters of the deaths”. (Central Statistical Office, 1994) This results in these children being mentally scarred for life. The Government Role in “Child Abuse”: The Government plays a major role in dealing with Child Abuse by brining out new policies safe guarding both children and adolescents and making out new strategies helping them to cope with the problems facing them. The Government is determined to make the world a better and a safer place for children, especially those children who are vulnerable. The cabinet has come out with what is called “Green Paper” for the “Children at Risk”. (The Children Act Report, 2002) This Report has set out the agenda for making new arrangements for the prevention and treatment of Children at risk and improving their life chances and thereby creating an integrated and safe world. This Report is based on the latest research and findings, with information from statistical returns. It gives us a clear cut picture of the vitally important work done by the different sections, with regard to protecting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people. Prevention of Child Abuse: Role of the Parent: Abuse can take place anywhere and at any time and the family is no exception. Therefore great care has to be taken by the parents to see that they shower love on the child and at the same time keep the child safe from abusing predators. They should take the child into confidence so that the child would openly report if anything untoward happened to him. Role of the Teacher, Social Worker or Caregiver: The teacher has a major responsibility in looking after many kids in the school. Her prime duty is to learn each child and keep a close track on their progress. She could do this by creating a portfolio for each child of the work they had done. She should be extremely kind and courteous to the children and always maintain a safe, healthy and interesting environment through colorful display boards, story telling and using the Head Start Program. The teacher could also establish positive and productive relationships with families through Parent – teacher conferences and house visits. This would help the teacher to understand the child better. The teacher should also have clear cut goals to nurture children’s individuality and independence. At the same time she should advise, encourage and reassure children in a simple manner about their safety and ask them to come and report if any such thing happens to them. All teachers and care givers should be alert to see any tell tale signs or symptoms of abuse such as a child’s disheveled look, crying in pain etc. The social worker is called in from time to time to speak to the children, thereby bringing some awareness, so that children could try to safe guard themselves against such an occurrence. All teachers and care givers should be alert to see any tell tale signs or symptoms of abuse In this regard, Lumsden (1991) has stated that the role of the school in the prevention and intervention in abuse situations can take several forms such as identification and reporting of incidents and the collaboration of the school with social agencies within the community. Reporting a Case: In case such an incident of abuse is brought to light, the teacher should immediately seek the assistance of a social worker who would give her guidance on how to go about reporting the case of abuse. Meanwhile, the child’s parents are first notified about the incident and are called to help in the investigation. In many cases the parents of the victim need a lot of support from the social workers and other professionals. Once a case has been registered, an investigation is undertaken which is a tedious process, till they come to the bottom of it. The person responsible for the abuse is put in jail and slapped with a heavy fine. Working with other Professionals: The child is taken to a hospital and is given a thorough examination in order to be given the appropriate treatment. In many cases, the child is unable to handle the trauma and gets psychologically scarred for life. Health workers such as physicians, nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists are called in to render help to the victim. The child should be shown a lot of care and understanding from all quarters to help him to heal both physically as well as mentally. The social worker handling the case has to exhibit a lot of patience and concern not only to the victim but the whole family. They are advised by the social worker to join other self help groups consisting of people who have experienced abuse in their lives. Joining support groups is therapeutic and would help both victims and their families heal better. References: Wilson, L. and Adnau, J. (1995) The Child Protection Handbook. Balliere Tindall The Study Guide Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education By Debra Jean De Angelis [BOOK] The Child Protection Handbook - all 7 versions » K Wilson, AL James - 2001 - books.google.com ... the Experience ofChildren (John Wiley, 1999) and (with ... training for social workers, health care professionals ... local authority social services department in the ... Prevention of Child Abuse in an Educational Setting. www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700142.html Read More