Parents With Children In Need example essay topic

The Children Act 1989 The children Act 1989 was designed to promote the interests of all children and to represent the most fundamental reform that Century, of legislation affecting children. It reflects the way society wants to see children brought up and protected. It draws together public and private laws and simplifies existing legislation relating to children, producing a more practical and consistent code. What are the main principles of the Act? The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in most court proceedings; . Wherever possible, children should be brought up and cared for within their own families; .

Children should be safe and be protected by effective intervention if they are in danger but this should be open to challenge by parents in the courts; . When dealing with children, courts should ensure that delay is avoided, and may only make an order if to do so is better for the child than making no order at all; . Children should be kept informed about what happens to them, and should participate when decisions are made about their future if they are of an age and understanding to do so; . Parents continue to have parental responsibility for their children, even when their children are no longer living with them. They should be kept informed about their children and participate when decisions are made about the children's future; .

Parents with children in need should be helped by local authorities to bring up their children themselves; . This help should be provided as a service to the child and his / her family and should: - Be provided in partnership with the parents; - Meet each child's identified needs; - Be open to effective independent representations and complaints procedures; and - Draw upon effective partnership between the local authority and other agencies, including voluntary agencies; . Local authorities are required to take a child's racial origin, culture, linguistic Head teacher's and classroom teachers are asked to: . Contribute to the local Area Child Protection Committee's review of its procedures; . Identify a professional in senior management as the co-ordinator of all aspects of child protection work within their district. This will include the provision of advice to social services departments (SSDs); .

Appoint a named person to co-ordinate child protection work; . Ensure that copies of The Children Act are distributed to all teachers and that they are made available to all other staff that need them, especially school nurses and newly appointed staff; . Collaborate with SSDs in providing services to support children in need and their families and help with their investigation concerning children at risk of abuse; These aspects listed above of The Children Act relate to the organisation I have decided to investigate. The Children Act states that head teacher's including classroom based teacher's are required to follow the principles written above in order to ensure that the children attending the school's welfare is at its maximum.

The teacher's are asked to follow many guidelines to ensure the children are safe, including for example appointing various members of staff to co-ordinate different child protection works. Teachers are even asked to keep in touch with the parents of their pupils who are considered to be 'in need' to provide support and to minimise the risk of abuse occurring within some families. When I visited the school during my work placement I discovered that each BAY (within which 3 classrooms are situated) had its own copy of The Children Act, this suggests to me that the school has ensured that every member of staff has had the opportunity to read the Act follow the guidelines and co-operate with what is written within it. Regular school letters are sent home via the children on a 2-4 weekly basis, which could indicate also that the school is in some way proving both child and parent support. In addition, at the school reception there are various pamphlets and sheets of information available for parents on request regarding The Children Act, which I feel is encouraging evidence that the school has enforced a diverse range of practices to ensure they are abiding by what the Act says.