Child Protection and Ethical Practices Working with Children - Essay Example

Child Protection and Ethical Practices Working with Children Name Institution Course Professor Date From the late 19th century, significant incursions by the state into the everyday life of a family unit were witnessed onwards until today. This period saw the introduction of earliest pieces of legislation concerning child protection. The growing sense of justice and morality and improved national wealth can be linked to the increased state interest in the life of a family (Powell & Uppal 2012, p. 09). Under principles of English law in time of colonialism, parents used ‘reasonable’ corporal punishment in disciplining their children. Seldom did the government interfere with the parents’ prerogative in disciplining children. The Government has since increased its interest in the family life due to various child abuse cases that have been reported. This essay reviews a case of child abuse by identifying factors that influence professional practice especially in the social services. It identifies various legislations that have been enacted in safeguarding and protecting children. Moreover, it highlights strategies that can be useful in safeguarding and protecting children in early years. For practitioners, children protection and safeguarding are core activities. Child protection refers to practices aimed at keeping children safe from maltreatment and child abuse (Furey 2012, p. 181). On the other hand, safeguarding means to be alert in a wider scope about the lives of children and ensure that children grow up in situations that maximizes their life chances. Safeguarding require a critical focus on the safety and well-being of children (Furey 2012, p. 181). In contrast, children protection entails being sure that a specific child is protected and does not suffer from maltreatment. The term safeguarding is often used by many professionals in practice when they are meaning child protection hence it is paramount to be acquainted with the distinction discussed above. In the 19th century and prior to it, it was common for parents to hit their children as a way of disciplining and instilling good moral values in them as it was an acceptable practice. In United Kingdom, physically chastising children by parents is still legally acceptable so long as it is carried out within ‘reasonable limits’ (Powell & Uppal 2012, p. 09). It was a relatively new phenomenon before the 19th century to have policies that relate to safeguarding and protecting children. Generally, the state lacked interest concerning the happenings in private homes and in that respect, children were considered not to be of much interest so long as they behaved themselves for their parents (Powell & Uppal 2012, p. 09). The western governments had less interest in legislating child protection agenda as there was generally minimal concern regarding children as a subject. Children abuse and mistreatment started many centuries ago. There is considerable documentation concerning historical child abuse. It ranges from Roman infanticide- a form of birth control, common abandonment of children in the Middle Ages, to child labour and Victorian baby farming (Powell & Uppal 2012, p. 10). No pieces of legislation were quickly enacted to correct these malpractices and children abuse. It was not until the start of the 19th century going forward, and, in particular, towards the end of it that increased awareness of children issues was realised. The safeguarding platform in both social and legislation policy started to emerge and was subsequently developed. For example, in 1889, Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act was enacted with similar Acts were enacted in the subsequent decades. A considerable progress had since been realised in the protection of children in the United Kingdom. For instance, in 1989, Children’s Act was passed; CRC was ratified in 1991 and in 1998, Human Rights Act was adopted (Goonesekere et al., 2008, p. 42). All these legislation are in furtherance of safeguarding and protecting children against abuses. In particular, the Children’s Act attempts to provide to the children a form of greater protection on the basis of a belief that family generally looks into the best interest of children. Moreover, the Act further recognises that consultation- which is subject to understanding and age, should be carried out with the children in making decisions concerning them. In general, the provisions provided in various legislations to protect children aimed to make the welfare of children a priority and promote partnership between local authorities, parents and children (Goonesekere et al., 2008, p. 42). It also aimed to ensure local authority is capable of providing to the children and families that are in need the kind of services required. A facet of good practice is child protection. In the early years, practitioners’ statutory responsibility is also an aspect of good practice. Under section 11 of the 2004 Children Act, this duty is set out and it requires local authorities to make arrangements that will safeguard and promote the welfare of the children (Furey 2012, p. 182). Additionally, educational providers are needed to comply with the similar requirements as specified out in the Educational Act of 2002, Section 175. Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) require early year providers to comply with their welfare requirements that stipulate early years’ providers to take the necessary steps in safeguarding and promoting children welfare (Flynn & Starns 2004, p. 15). Practitioners that are in early years settings should be clear on what their responsibilities entails in terms of child protection from neglect and abuse such as the case of Mohammed. They also ought to understand the limits that their role has. In Mohammed case, there exists evidence of neglect. This is contrary to the laws safeguarding and protecting children. The staff of the hospital and social services failed in their duties. They did not inform the police when Mohammed was admitted to hospital having sustained devastating injuries. It was contrary to the various provisions in the Child Protection laws that seek to promote children’s welfare. Indeed, the important aspects of work for all professionals that work with children are child protection and safeguarding (Woods et al., 2011, p. 360). Being professionals working in the social services and hospital sectors, they failed in delivering the kind of protection and safeguarding to the child, in this case, Mohammed. It is everyone responsibility to safeguard and promote children’s welfare from different forms of child abuse. Child abuse can take several forms. It ranges from physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Physical abuse involves burning, hitting, scalding, poisoning, throwing or shaking. These injuries may be caused by a parent, relative, caregiver or any other person such as Mohammed stepmother in this serious case review. The injuries that were suffered by Mohammed were of a physical nature and the school administration should have detected a form of child abuse. Neglect occurs when there is a persistent failure in meeting the basic physical and/or physiological needs of a child. Neglect as a form of child abuse is a failure of the child custodian such as a parent, guardian to effectively provide the child with the basic needs. It may be physical neglect, for example, no provision of necessary shelter or educational, such as failure to educate a child or give special educational needs (Berry 2007, p. 25). Sexual abuse involves activities such as rape, incest or indecent exposure by a caregiver or a parent to a child. It may be difficult for a teacher to identify sexual abuse, but it is not impossible. Emotional abuse is a behaviour pattern that hinders emotional development and sense of self-worth of a child (Goldman 2007, p. 371). In this case, emotional abuse includes constant threats, rejection, criticism, as well as withdrawal of support, guidance or love. It is often difficult for anyone to prove emotional abuse. In United Kingdom, each individual Nation State is responsible for protecting children. However, the child protection principles are widely the same across the country. For instance, in England and Wales, the responsibility of child protection lies with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (Wilson 2008, p. 80). The lessons learnt from child protection tragedies and child protection studies when it emerge that a child has been injured seriously or has died only highlights the importance of professionals to work together in safeguarding children. In this case review, lack of cooperation and systematic failures led to Mohammed to finding himself in the situation he is in. The school fails in its duty to identify child abuse and neglect as required. In particular, it did not observe the 2002 Education Act that stipulates that school governing bodies, further education institutions and local education authorities should make arrangements for purposes of safeguarding and promoting children welfare (Wilson 2008, p. 80). Systematic failures continued at Croydon University Hospital when they failed to inform police of the situation. This was contrary to the basic children protection principles. This is not the first case where lack of cooperation between different agencies and clear systematic failures had led to the life of children to be in danger. There have been significant milestones that had been achieved in UK concerning the protection and safeguarding children through the enactment of different Acts. Although this is the case, cases of child abuse and neglect continue to be reported. This is despite policies that have been adopted in protecting children by targeting individuals that are identified as potential danger to the children (Stafford, Parton, & Vincent 2012, p. 213). High profile cases that involved children deaths have been disclosed several times. These deaths happen despite attentions of both social workers and other professionals working with children. One such case is that of Maria Colwell who died on January 07, 1973 after she was beaten to death by her stepfather in January 1973 (Ferguson 2011, p. 33). She was aged seven and was in the care of her aunt before she was returned to live with her mother and stepfather. The local authority in East Sussex was to act on the supervision order. This case gained attention from the media and the government after an inquiry was conducted into the social services role. The case of Maria Colwell gave rise to a process that still continue until today where the media, frontline professional and academic began to have a lot of interest in child protection failures. The shocking public disclosures about child abuses shows that child protection systems have been failing and it is still failing in protecting children from serious abuse and death (McMahon & Percival 2014, p. 33). Concrete strategies for safeguarding and protecting children in early years are thus needed. In caring professions such as social work, health visiting and nursing involving practitioners working to safeguard and protect children, there is a consensus that strategies must be put in place in supporting them deal with emotional impact of their work (McMahon & Percival 2014, p. 181). Effective supervision can be the powerful strategy of ensuring that practitioners continue safeguarding children in an effective manner. It is also through this strategy that personal effectiveness can be achieved by practitioners working with children in early years. They are, therefore, able to improve the way they safeguard and protect children in their work. Regulatory reforms have been carried out in UK as a way of enhancing strategies that are in place in order to reliably protect and safeguard children. This is crucial in avoiding the occurrence of such situation such as those cases of Mohammed and Maria Colwell. The rationale for conducting regulatory reform lie deeply in the role that social workers acts as state agents (Humphrey 2007, p. 198). They are expected to act with a high degree of professionalism and competence in protecting the welfare of children in early years. Teachers should be professionally developed to make them able to identify cases of child abuse with ease and act appropriately to correct such abuses when they occur. Educators need to have the ability to equip children with the ability to recognize and responding to risks associated with abuse and neglect. In conclusion, child abuse takes several forms and detecting some of them may be difficult. Children spend most of their time at schools hence teachers are crucial contact people when child abuse cases arise. Some teachers may be deterred by the possibility of being sued when they report suspected case of child abuse; they are nevertheless required by law to do so. It becomes sometimes difficult for teachers to report these cases when they are not adequately educated in recognizing child abuse signs or for them to recognize their reporting responsibility. No matter the circumstances, teachers should take upon themselves to report any suspected child abuse for the benefit and protection of the child. Social services practitioners and local authorities should streamline their work in ensuring that they safeguard and protect the welfare of children. References Berry, J 2007, Teachers' legal rights and responsibilities: A guide for trainee teachers and those new to the profession, University of Hertfordshire Press, Hatfield. Ferguson, H 2011, Child protection practice, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. Flynn, H & Starns, B 2004, Protecting children: Working together to keep children safe, Heinemann, London. Furey, R 2012, ‘Child Protection and Safeguarding Issues’, In J Kay (ed), Good Practice in the Early Years, 3rd edn, Continuum, London. Goldman, J. D 2007, ‘Primary school student-teachers knowledge and understandings of child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting’, International Journal of Educational Research, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 368-381. Goonesekere, S, Sardar, A. S, García, M. E, Rios-Kohn, R & UNICEF 2008, Protecting the world's children: Impact of the convention on the rights of the child in diverse legal systems, Cambridge University Press, New York. Humphrey, C 2007, ‘Safeguarding children: exploring the interfaces between policy, pedagogy, psychology and practice’, Journal of Social Work, vol. 7, no. 2, pp.197-216. Kenny, M. C 2001, ‘Child abuse reporting: Teachers’ perceived deterrents’, Child abuse & neglect, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 81-92. McMahon, S & Percival, J 2014, ‘Supervision and Reflective Practice’, In J Reid & S Burton (eds), Safeguarding and Protecting Children in the Early Years, Routledge, New York, pp. 180-193. Powell, J & Uppal, E. L 2012 Safeguarding babies and young children, Open University Press, Maidenhead. Stafford, A, Parton, N, Vincent, S & Smith, C 2012, ‘Child protection systems in the United Kingdom: A comparative analysis, Jessica Kingsley, London. Wilson, A, ‘Safeguarding Children’, InnovAiT, vol. 1, no.1, pp. 79-85. Woods, K, Bond, C, Tyldesley, K, Farrell, P & Humphrey, N 2011, ‘The role of school psychologists in child protection and safeguarding’, School Psychology International, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 361-376. Read More