Policies, Integrated Working, and Improved Outcome for Children - Case Study Example

POLICIES, INTEGRATED WORKING AND IMPROVED OUTCOME FOR CHILDREN POLICIES, INTEGRATED WORKING AND IMPROVED OUTCOME FOR CHILDREN Definition Integrated working refers to the coming of various stakeholders together to support children initiatives. Practitioners from different areas of specialization come up together in an effort safeguard the interest of children in the society. They work in unison to ensure they attain the objectives that have set (City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, 2015). Introduction The concept of integrated working involves practitioners coming together to protect the welfare of children. Despite the numerous proposals that exist, all the ideas that have been put forward converge. Integrated working refers to an initiative carried out with all stakeholders to promote activities of children. Conversely, all the interested parties come together to support the effort. They collaborate to ensure that the needs of the child are provided. Also, they work to ensure the lives of the infants are (Bradford, 2015). The stakeholders who are with the welfare of children are from diverse professional background. Additionally, some of them work on a part-time basis, full-time basis or volunteers. Some of the professional who are with integrated working includes medical practitioners, tutors, sports personalities, social workers and state officers among other professionals (Mc Innes, 2007). Integrated working seeks to improve the lives of many homeless children who come from a different stratum in the society. In integrated working; the concepts of inter-agency and multi-agency are very familiar. Interagency and multi-agency is a strategy that brings professionals from different background to share their skills, knowledge and expertise in providing children with solutions to their needs and wants. It is an approach that requires proper coordination of activities from all stakeholders so that it can be effective. The principal components that make-up and integrated working system includes, collaborative working, strategic partnership. It also includes, shared working, cooperative working and multi-agency working (Maslin-Prothero, and Bennion, 2010). Historical view of collaboration In the US, collaboration between families and teachers started many years ago. The involvement of parents in a child’s education was taken to be a very serious matter. In addition, many parents have been offering their support to teachers on school matters. There were benefits of involving parents in a child’s education. For instance, teachers were able to communicate their needs to parents. Consequently, learners were given ample time to concentrate on their studies (Virginia Department of Education, 2002). Aims of policies The objectives of policies that have been enacted on matters relating to children are immense. They seek to ensure that the lives of child are protected .Children are faced with unique challenges that if left them they might not be in a position to handle. They require assistance of adults who they can share with them their problems. Therefore, policies have been developed to ensure that those who handle issues relating to children do it within the law backed by the legal framework of the country. Additional, the aim of the policies is to ensure that they also have access to basic services such as education, medical care and counselling (Waller, 2009). Social problems Children are with unique problems especially during their tender age. Some of the problem end up affecting them psychologically and spill to their adulthood. It is imperative to identify the problems earlier and mitigate them since if unattended; they end up developing negative attitudes and behaviour later on in life. One of the most common problems that face quite an enormous number of children is family related issues. Conflicts between parents usually traumatize children. A majority of children are very affectionate with their fathers. Once they see their parents fighting it becomes unbearable to them, and they start developing negative attitudes and behavioural changes. In the long-run, such children are vulnerable to mental problems (Siraj- Blatchford et al., 2007). Ecological theory According to the Brofenbrenner Ecological theory, the development of mankind is affected by environment factors. He proposed the theory so as to help people understand that the reasons why people behave differently in different circumstances. The behaviour of people may not be the same in two separate situations. A good number of studies have established social positioning affects the lives of children. According to an online article published by the Guardian, parents who had lucrative jobs made significant contributions to their children performance in school. There is a positive correlation between a child’s social status and his performance at school. In another research that was carried among 11,000 young children, the findings of the investigation were evaluated. Children who came from an affluent had a higher probability of succeeding in school compared to those who came from humble backgrounds (Wilkes, 2014). The researchers of the study took into consideration a number of variables such as the ethnicity, family size among other factors. The study unearthed an interesting fact. Parent’s social status played a significant role in the performance of a child and also their reading habits. Those children who came from well-to-do families had access to numerous reading materials before they went to bed. Consequently, they developed frequent reading habits. Children from poor families struggled to obtain reading materials and other educational services; hence, their reading habits were poor. The hypothesis was particularly acceptable for children who were aged between five to seven years (Deakin and Kelly, 2006). Additionally, excluding children from other groups, activities and other functions contributed them to develop negative behaviours. Children who are from the rest have a high chance of becoming introverts. As a result, they are unable to develop certain skills that are essential in their lives. They develop poor communication skills that make it for them difficult to express themselves in interviews, crowds and other social places (Walker et al., 2010). The need for integrated service Integrated service provision seeks to solve some of the problems that face a majority of innocent children. Professionals from different backgrounds are brought to share their skills, knowledge and expertise to improve the life of a child. It is imperative to bring the practitioners from different working environment since they understand how to resolve issues affecting children. The professionals can provide effective intervention measures that can be used to address the plight of children. In addition, children require guidance from professional whom they consider to be their role models so that they can change their behaviour (Pavey and Farress, 2009). The Children Act was enacted in the United Kingdom in the year 1989.Lawmakers considered children to be valuable people in a family unit. Consequently, laws had to be developed to protect them from any form of mistreatment, abuse or mishandling. Given the fact that minors were in a vulnerable position in the society, they risk being short-changed in grave issues that concerned them. In addition, it sorts to safeguard the interest of children while they stood for trial in a court of law. A number of considerations were made concerning their plight. Issues such as emotions, social status, gender and access to education were given a lot of foci. Subsequent reforms in the law also sort to protect their interests (Oliver et al., 2010). Significant steps have been made in collaborations that have been made between professionals such as statutory organizations and; voluntary and independent sectors on matters relating to the welfare of children. Unlike the previous years, the integrated working has proved to be an effective strategy towards addressing children issues in the United Kingdom. The number of collaboration made between the public sector and private sector has improved (HM Government, 2003). Recent policy reforms Policy changes have been made to support improved collaboration. The system have brought significant in protecting the rights of children globally. In addition, a good number of non-governmental organizations have come out strongly to support initiatives designed to protect the welfare of children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children is one the non-governmental organizations that has always advocated child protection rights. In the year 1989 the UNCRC formally recognised the rights of the child. Among other the rights that were covered in the documentation were the right for children to be protected. The implementation of the proposed rights was completed in the year 2008. Similarly, another policy that has been consistent in advocating children rights is the “Every Child Matters” ideology. The idea was introduced in 2003 through a government support famously known as the Government Green Paper. The aim of the Act was to enhance accountability to all stakeholders at the grassroots level. The government pledged to address basic needs of children so that it could enable them provide an ample environment for children. The areas that the government promised to include the medical related issues, educational matters, safety among other individual needs and wants of children. The UNCRC and the Every Child Matters policies all advocated similar objectives in trying to address the plight of children in the society (Gasper, 2009). Elements of integrated working The primary components of an integrated operation include early intervention, assessment, and recording, sharing information, Team around the Child and lead professional. Early intervention to the needs of the child helps practitioners to come with strategies that can be used to cater comfortably for their requirements. Intervention should be done at an earlier age so that their needs before they become uncontrollable. Another element that is important in integrated working is having a common assessment approach (Baldock, 2011). A standard assessment program will give practitioners an opportunity to carry out an evaluation of children at an earlier stage. The background information of a child is also another important component. Professionals need to have knowledge of children so that they can understand the needs of the child through a sharing process. Sharing of the information is a component that allows all the professionals to be aware of the problems encountered by children. The Team around the Child that is responsible for working with the families then makes an evaluation of the needs prior to making appropriate recommendations. Finally, the lead professional works in collaboration with the parents to ensure that all the recommendations have been fully implemented (Frost, 2005). The leadership roles in children services according to DCSF (2008), is to encourage leadership in enhancing children’s outcomes. In addition, the Local Safeguarding Children Trusts partners with stakeholders to improve children’s outcomes through carrying out joint ventures with all partners. The collaboration is meant to come up with strategies that can be used to improve the lives of children. In addition, the Children Trust ensures consistent provision of the services (Davis, 2008). The Team around the Child and family makes significant contributions to the families. A Special Educational Need Coordinator collaborates with parents of children who require specialized attention in school. They also partner to ensure that they have ample working environment (Edmond and Price, 2012). Common Assessment Framework (CAF) The framework aims to make it easy to recognize the essentials children require. Additionally, it supplies process that can be applied to work in harmony towards providing the needs of the child across all levels. The underlying structure was developed to promote a consistent approach to assessing the needs of children with prior permission obtained from the family members (Anning et al., 2010). Model of integrated working Source: Slide Share Impacts of integrated working on professionals A majority of practitioners support integrated working. Numerous studies have been carried to investigate the benefits practitioner derive from working in a multi-agency group. According to an investigation that was carried out recently, it was established that a high number of employees were satisfied working with professional derived from other fields in supporting the welfare of children. Additionally, it integrated working reduced their stress levels. Furthermore, the collaboration was effective in enhancing their career development since they acquired skills from other practitioners. Moreover, it results in efficient sharing of information amongst professionals in different fields and also improves communication (Munro, 2008). Evidence of theory and practice The effectiveness of integrated working can be by analysing data from school records. Variables such as school attendance and performance are. Prior to the introduction of the integrated working and children policies, the performance of many students was dismal. However, data from the NFER indicates that after the introduction of the system student’s performance was enhanced (Oliver and Statham, 2010). Collaborative ways of working A number of risks are a major hindrance to integrated working. Some of the barriers that may arise include failure to obtain consent from parents, lack of professionalism, communication barriers due to the use of jargon among practitioners of an individual field, lack of sufficient time, conflict in ideologies and organizational culture (Munro, 2008). Recommendations to overcome barriers Effective leadership has to be to the team. Leadership has to be so that professionals from different backgrounds can work in harmony and avoid unnecessary conflicts. Additionally, finance is another common barrier to integrated working. There are no clear structures on how the funding should be provided to support the integrated working. Financial reforms have to be so that accountability for resources can be to a serious matter. Finally, organizations should have flexible cultures that can be into other agencies. Parents need to be on the importance of giving children an opportunity to lead a comfortable life (Wilkes, 2014). Conclusion Unlike adults, children require particular attention. Consequently, their rights have to be safeguarded at all costs. In the United Kingdom, the government and other non-governmental agencies have been at the forefront in fighting for the rights of children. A law was passed to defend children from any form of mistreatment. In addition, it gave them privileges that were a necessity to them. Subsequently, significant reforms have been made in the domain that seeks to provide them with equal opportunities irrespective of their family background or affiliation. Given the fact that children behaviour is affected by environmental changes, and the integration working strategy has been incepted to deal with the issues that face them. The approach has proved to be effective despite facing a number of barriers. All in all, children have to be protected at whatever costs (Davis, 2008). Reference List Anning, A .Cottrell, D, Frost, N Green, J and Robinson, M. (2010) Developing Multiprofessional Teamwork for Integrated Children’s Services, England: O.U Baldock, P. (2011). Developing Early Childhood Services: Past, Present, and Future. Maidenhead: Open University Press. British Journal of Social Work, Child protection and Safeguarding in England: Changing and competing conceptions of Risk and their Implications for Social work. 41 (1) pp3-4. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, (2015).Integrated Working. [20 /3/2015]. Davis, H. (2008). All Together Now, Working with Early Years Children and Families, DCSF. Deakin, G. and Kelly, G. (2006). Children’s Workforce Research. RR 716. London: DfES DCSF (2007). Effective Integrated Working: Findings of Concept of Operations Study. London: DCSF. Edmond, N. and Price, M (2012). Integrated working with Children and Young people, London: Sage. Frost, N. (2005). Professionalism, Partnership and Joined-up Thinking: A Research Review of Front-line Working with Children and Families. Dartington: Research in Practice Gasper, M (2009). Multiagency working in the Early years. Challenges and Opportunities, London: Sage. HM Government, (2003). Every Child Matters. London: The Stationery Office. Siraj- Blatchford, I. Clarke, K and Needham, M (2007). The Team around the Child Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books. Slide Share, (2014).EV681/2 PGCE Safeguarding and Wellbeing. [20.3.2015]. http://www.slideshare.net/MikeHayler/safeguarding-and-wellbeing-23-10-14 Maslin-Prothero, S. E., and Bennion, A. E. (2010). Integrated team working: a literature review. International Journal of Integrated Care, 10. Mc Innes, (2007). A practitioner’s guide to interagency working in children’s centres: A review of the literature, Barnado’s Policy and Research Unit. Munro, E. (2008). Effective Child Protection, London: Sage. Oliver, C., Mooney, A., and Statham, J. (2010).Integrated Working: A Review of the Evidence. University of London. Pavey, F.and Farress, H. (2009).What are the Important Components of Successful leadership teams within Children Centres? CWDC. Virginia Department of Education, (2002).Collaborative Family-School Relationships for Children’s Learning. Walker, R` in Reed. M, Canning, N, (2010). Working Together In a Children’s Centre” in “Reflective Practice in the Early Years. London. Sage Waller, T. (2009). An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies 2nd Ed. London: Sage. Wilkes, L. (2014).Break on Through: Overcoming Barriers to Integrated. NLGN. Read More