The Role of the Government in the Safeguarding of Children - Essay Example

THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN By Location The Protection of Children Introduction Protection of children and ensuring that they are safe is a fundamental requirement for everyone in the United Kingdom. Evidently, everyone must contribute to the promotion of safety for all children. It is impossible to outline a single profession or individual, who has the responsibility for ensuring that children are safe. Therefore, there is an emphasis on corporation in different roles to promote the safety of children. Families, governments, children, and practitioners all play critical roles in the protection of children. Worth noting is the fact that children form a very vulnerable group and are at a constant risk of harm or abuse. Many children are defenceless and need adults to come in and ensure that they are safe. There are existing legislations that give directions on policy development regarding the safety of children. As highlighted, the legislation only serves as guidelines and is not comprehensive in the protection of children. Everyone in the society has a mandate to play an active role in the protection of all children irrespective of their diversity. This paper will focus on describing the role of families, the government, practitioners, and the agencies in the safeguarding of children. The paper will adopt a critical approach in an effort to determine whether every individual is doing enough in the protection of children. As highlighted above, children are very vulnerable and require a high level of protection and safeguarding. According to the United Nations, children are more prone to the adverse effects of poverty, conflicts, and other humanitarian crises. Therefore, it is only rational to provide them with the required protection. The term safeguarding denotes child protection measures taken to promote the wellbeing of children, ensuring that they are safe from any harm. Safeguarding requires the participation of everyone in the society. The term includes actions taken to ensure that children are safe from maltreatment and that they have the best outcomes in life. In addition, safeguarding ensures that children’s health and development is not impaired in any way. The term safeguarding also covers the provision of a favourable environment in an effort to ensure that children grow up in a safe environment and have access to effective care. Worth noting is the fact that a child-centred approach presents the best outcomes in the safeguarding of children. The child-centred approach ensures that everyone understand the courses of action taken to protect children and also appreciates what children, the children Act of 1989 as well as the Equality Act of 2010 pace emphasis on the fact that all children deserve safeguarding (Barker 2010, p. 213). More precisely, there are other legislations such as the Children Act of 2004, which highlights that everyone has a responsibility for the protection of children. In addition to ensuring that effective measures are taken to promote the wellbeing of children, there are other critical measures involved in providing the relevant help to children exposed to different types of harms or abuse. The United Kingdom government has developed extensive guidelines that highlight all the legal requirements that individuals in different positions should take in the safeguarding of children. In accordance with the child-centred approach, the needs of all the children are identified and given a priority in the safeguarding systems. In the development, if the safeguarding policies, policy makers exhibit their commitment to ensuring that expert judgement applies to placing the needs of children at the core of the safeguarding systems. It is evident that the definition of safeguarding, as used in the protection of children, is highly diverse. Children can only be safe if they are not prone to any form of harm or abuse and when all their needs are taken care of by the safeguarding system. Unless all the professionals and the practitioners, the government and families play their unique roles in constantly safeguarding children, it is impossible for them to be safe (Davies & Ward 2011, p. 76). The Role of the Government in the Safeguarding of Children The United Kingdom government has taken measures in promoting the safety of children. The government has enacted legislations that promote the welfare of children and establish the safeguarding systems in accordance with the definition above. There is a child protection system in all the four nations making up the United Kingdom, namely England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Prior to the devolution of the United Kingdom, the four countries had similar child protection legislations that determined the frameworks of child protection. However, for a long time, each of the four nations has had unique laws that ensure the safety of children. The children Act of 2004 in sections 11 and 16 outlines the responsibilities of each individual or body as well as the role of local authorities in the protection of children. In addition, the Equality Act of 2010 provides guidelines that ensure that no child faces discrimination. All children have a right to access equal opportunities. In section 10 of the children Act of 2004, the law makes it clear that local authorities should initiate arrangements of corporation between different authorities and partners that are in direct contact with children in order to promote their safety. At the local level, there are Local Safeguarding Children Boards that implement the requirements of the legislation in different aspects (Harris 2009, p. 350). These boards ensure that all professionals and families understand the children, safeguarding systems and abide by them. In a previous Act of 1989, the responsibilities of the boards are clearly outlined. Members of the boards identify children in need and establish the causes of harm or abuse that children face. Other sections of the 1989 Act also highlight the role of the boards in providing care to children and accommodating them. According to the legislations mentioned, the United Kingdom relies on an assessment framework that determines the child’s developmental needs, family and environmental factors, as well as the parenting capacity while determining the children in need. In the case of a child’s developmental needs, the board gives consideration to health, education, family and social relationships, self-care skills, identify, and social presentation. Notably, the assessment seeks to have a holistic assessment of all the needs of a child. The assessment carried by the local authorities also considers family and environmental factors such as the family history and functioning, employment, housing, income, community resources, and the family’s social integration (Jack 2010, p. 91). The parenting capacity depends on the ability to provide basic care, emotional warmth, safety, stability, as well as guidance and boundaries. The United Kingdom government has also established the charity commission whose main responsibility for ensuring that children in need benefit from the available charities. The commission should promote equality, ensuring that children from diverse backgrounds have access to the relevant help they need. The commission ensures that all the charities that seek to provide services and resources for vulnerable children do so in accordance with the existing legislations. The charities should refrain from harming the children in any way in accordance with the Protection of Freedoms Act of 2012. All the charities should conform to the child protection policy, which highlights their commitment to safeguarding children without exposing them to any form of harm. The government also has child protection procedures and systems that play a critical role in ensuring that all the children are safe (Owen & Hughes 2009, p. 69). The Role of Families in the Protection of Children Families have the responsibility of providing children with basic care, safety, emotional warmth, stability, as well as meeting their different needs. Parents have the greatest responsibility for bringing up a child and protecting the child from any form of harm. Therefore, parents should not expose their children to any form of abuse within the family settings. The Children Act in place seeks to ensure that the family provides children with a favourable environment in which they can be safe. The Act ensures that there are systems of child protection as well as mandated authorities. The legislations in place also place emphasis on the need for families to be actively involved in the provision of safety for their children. Notably, families have a primary role defined by the children Acts in safeguarding children. Therefore, families should have a clear understanding of the legislation that supports the safeguarding systems (Parton, Vincent, & Stafford 2010, p. 90). The local boards established to implement the policies at the local level, train families on how to safeguard children. The boards also supervise the role played by families in promoting the safety of children. When families lack the capacity to promote the safety of children, the local safeguarding boards intervene and ensure that the needs of different children are met. In certain cases, families expose children to physical and emotional abuse while other parents neglect the needs of their children. Families that suffer from drug-related social problems or the overuse of alcohol do not provide a favourable environment for the development of children. Therefore, the local safeguarding boards carry out the necessary assessments to determine whether families are in a position to promote the safety of children (Pithouse 2011, p. 180). The Role of Practitioners in the Protection of Children According to the government, legislations that seek to protect children from any form of abuse or harm, all professionals meeting children in different settings have a responsibility in safeguarding them. Therefore, all the practitioners in different settings should recognize that it is their primary responsibility to act in accordance with the wishes of children while protecting them from any form of abuse. Different frameworks of promoting the safety of children exist that practitioners should abide. Practitioners in the education system, health system, social workers, the police, and other professionals have a mandate to protect children from any harm. The law has made provisions of taking action in an effort to prosecute or punish professionals who do not conform to the child protection policies (Pithousen 2011, p. 85). All professional receives training from different authorities in order to empower them to be more responsive and active in the safeguarding of children. Children Perspectives Regarding the Safeguarding Systems In accordance with the Children Act of 2004, the children’s commissioner for England has a responsibility of giving attention to different aspects that determine the well-being of children. The childrens commissioners abide by the United Nation’s Convention in an effort to promote the Rights of the Child. The vision of the Children’s commissioner is to integrate the perspectives of children into all the safeguarding systems. Therefore, the perspectives of children and young people are of critical importance in the determination of the appropriate services that children require so that they can be safe. Safeguarding systems should recognize that children have a voice that needs to be heard. Therefore, the systems should provide a framework that allows children to describe their experiences, as well as their perspectives so that the services provided conform to the outstanding needs (Stuart 2014, p. 10). Children exhibit a high level of diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and disability. Therefore, the views of each group of children should be given a priority in the assessment of needs carried out by local boards. In accordance with the United Nation’s Conventions on the rights of the child, the needs of safeguarding systems need to allow children to have a voice in the promotion of their safety. Therefore, the needs and rights of every child, including infants deserve a priority in the safeguarding systems. Proper training for different authorities, as well as the local safeguarding boards, should be offered on the importance of integrating the perspectives of children in promoting their safety. Children need to understand their rights and the purpose of seeking intervention when exposed to any form of abuse or harm. In addition, children need empowerment so that they can participate in the prevention of abuse within the family and societal settings (Stuart 2014, p. 6). Conclusion Evidently, adults play a critical role in the protection of children from different types of abuse. The United Kingdom legislation concerning the protection of children highlights that each individual, body or agency has a role to play in the protection of children. The United Kingdom government has established different safeguarding systems that promote the safety of children. The safeguarding systems involve all the members of the society, including government agencies, charity organizations, different professionals, and families in the protection of children. Families need to ensure that children have access to basic care, proper parenting, emotional support, and safety within the home. The United Kingdom government has developed different policies and frameworks that oversee the working together of different parties in safeguarding children. The importance of children’s perspectives on their protection requires to be given a priority. 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