Benefit of children and young people Essay

1.1 Multi-agency working is about different services working together to give each child the best possible support. It is an essential way of supporting children and families with additional needs and helping to secure real improvements in their life outcomes. Multi-agency working aims to support children and young people earlier to ensure they meet the five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes. The five outcomes of ECM state that we need to be working together to achieve the best possible outcomes for children in our setting. These outcomes are:†¢ Be healthy†¢ Stay safe†¢ Enjoy and achieve†¢ Make a positive contribution †¢ Achieve economic well beingMulti-agency working brings together professionals from different sectors to provide an integrated way of working to support children, young people and families. It is a way of working that ensures children and young people who need additional support have exactly the right professionals needed to support them. 1.2 It is vital that outcomes for any child are shared on a need to know basis and all professionals understand the importance of confidentiality. Integrated working is where everyone involved in supporting children, young and families work together to improve the lives of children. It is achieved by planning and delivering services. Information sharing Information sharing is essential if we want different sectors and services to work well together to support children and young people. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the Children Index both help with information sharing between practitioners but it is part of everyday work for most of us. Common Assessment Framework (CAF) The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a shared assessment and planning tool which is used across all local areas in England. It uses a consistent approach to assessing the needs and strengths of a child or young person, planning the support they need and coordinating that support if more than one organisation is involved. Team Around the Child The Team Around the Child is one way of describing a group of people working together to help an individual child or young person to achieve better outcomes. The Team Around the Child approach helps to emphasise the importance of regular cooperation and joint working. It is also about valuing the individual needs of each child and young person so they receive a tailored package of support from their team. Lead Professional If more than one service or team is working to support a child or young person, one practitioner should act as the ‘Lead Professional’. It is the role of the Lead Professional to co-ordinate different types of support and usually to be the key point of contact for the child and their family. Every multi-agency plan (such as a plan made through using the Common Assessment Framework) and every Team Around the Child should have a Lead Professional. Integrated working practices and multi-agency working provides benefits for children, young people and families because they receive the best support in the most effective way. The benefits of this include: Early identification and intervention Easier or quicker access to services or expertise Improved achievement in education and better engagement in education Better support for parents Children, young people and family’s needs addressed more appropriately Better quality services Reduced need for more specialist services. 1.3 Below is a list of some of these agencies and a description of their roles. Behavioural Support Service (BEST) – A behaviour support service is part of the LA and works in partnership with schools, within a framework of inclusion, to help them promote positive behaviour, and to provide effective support to pupils, parents and schools where behaviour may be a concern. Health care professionals, speech and language therapists and health visitors – They will be employed by the local primary health care trust and will support individual children and their families. The referral may have been made by a GP or awareness raised in the setting. They will work closely with the setting and family. Educational Psychologists – They will be employed by the LA and support children who may have specific learning or psychological needs. They may be referred by the setting. Advisers – There may be advisers for all aspects of early years ranging from parenting to local childcare options. They may work for agencies like job centre plus. Social workers – Employed by social services they may be attached to children’s centre or work independently. They may support children and their families to improve their quality of life, from housing needs to bereavements. Play specialists – May support children in hospitals or work with social services supporting children in difficult family situations. Representatives from voluntary organisations – These could be organisations such as NSPCC which will help when dealing with children who are threatening positions such as domestic violence. Physiotherapist – are employed by the local primary care trust and will support children with a specific physical need. A referral is required either from a health professional or a setting. OFSTED – Inspect provision of care in the setting. They ensure all of our staff are up to date on training, we are providing a healthy and safe environment for children and following the EYFS. Ofsted provide support and advice for staff and the setting itself. Police – In case of emergency the police will provide help and support. They will be contacted if a problem arose such as child missing, breaking an entry, suspicious persons and they may also be a point of contact if there is a suspected case of abuse or violence. 1.4 Unfortunately there will always be cases were we come across barriers when working with multi- agency working. A lot of the time there will be cases were not everyone will agree on the same things no matter how little or small the issue. Different sectors work in different ways, this does not make it the wrong way, just different. People may have been trained in a different role to which they may find it difficult to be managed by a person with different skills. Some people may not be used to sharing their knowledge with others. Its important that each profession respect one another and that they value there knowledge and expertise by doing this it will make better multi-agencies working together. Language barriers can also occur so if this is to happen we must always make sure we are all on the same path and fully understand each other. Even if it means getting a translator involved as it is so important we are sharing the correct information.Make sure they have clear aims, roles and responsibilities and timetables that have been agreed between the different agencies also that good communication and information sharing is carried out. 1.5 Within my setting it may become necessary to refer a child to another professional for additional support. For example if it has been noticed that a child is having issues which speech that they cant say many words and the ones that are said are not clear then the child would benefit from support from speech and language therapist then a referral is needed. The setting would follow the steps below to make the referral. First of speak with the parent about the issue and gain consent to make the referral. Next you would need to identify the service/agency who you want to refer to. Then you would need to contact the agency and discuss the situation before making the referral. We do this to make sure the agency can offer the most suitable service/support that is needed. Next follow the agency’s referral procedure completing all necessary paperwork and return by referral deadline if required. Always keep a copy of the referral. Follow up the referral and find out the decision. 1.6 When children move between local areas or services their assessments be transferred and used without the information having to be gathered again by the new area or service. When practitioners move their skills in using the CAF should also be transferable. There is currently no single national agency which is best placed to develop a framework which must have relevance across the full range of health, education, social care and other children’s services. The DFES proposes to take responsibility for leading work to develop the CAF. Common Assessment Framework In the Children Act 2004 and Every Child Matters it is outlined that the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a way ensuring early intervention for a child before they reach a crisis point. CAF is a shared assessment and planning framework in all areas of England and Northern Ireland to be used by all practitioners working in children’s services. The main aim of CAF is to make sure that a child’s additional need is identified early and to ensure that agencies work together to meet the additional needs of the child. Most children will not need a CAF. CAF is for children and young people with additional needs. These are children and young people who, according to the judgement of practitioners, require extra support to help them achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes: Being healthy Staying safe Enjoying and achieving Making a positive contribution Achieving economic well-being The CAF consist of four main parts A pre-assessment check-list to help decide who would benefit from a common assessment. A process to enable practitioners in the children and young people’s workforce to undertake a common assessment and then act on the result. A standard form to record the assessment. A delivery plan and review form. 2.1 There are different communication methods for different situations such as: Verbal communication Verbal communication uses words to present ideas, thoughts and feelings. Good verbal communication is the ability to both explain and present your ideas clearly through the spoken word, and to listen carefully to other people. This will involve using a variety of approaches and styles appropriate to the audience you are addressing like: †¢ Paraphrasing means repeating back something a person has just said in a different way to make sure you have understood the message. †¢ Closed questions are questions that can be answered with either a single word or short phrase, for example, ‘Do you like sprouts?’ could be answered, ‘No’ or, ‘No, I can’t stand them.’ Closed questions give facts, are easy and quick to answer and keep control of the conversation. †¢ Open questions are questions that give a longer answer, for example, ‘Why don’t you like sprouts?’ might be answered by, ‘I haven’t liked the taste or smell of them since I was made to eat them all the time when I was a child†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Open questions hand control of the conversation to the person you are speaking to. They ask the person to think and reflect, give opinions and feelings. †¢ Clarification means to make something clear and understandable. Summarising means to sum up what has been said in a short, clear way. Non-verbal communication This refers to the messages we send out to express ideas and opinions without talking. This might be through the use of body language, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, touch or contact, signs, symbols, pictures, objects and other visual aids. It is very important to be able to recognise what a person’s body language is saying, especially when as a health or social care worker you are dealing with someone who is in pain, worried or upset. You must also be able to understand the messages you send with your own body when working with other people. Written communication This is central to the work of any person providing a service in child care environment when keeping records and in writing reports. Different types of communication need different styles of writing but all require literacy skills. A more formal style of writing is needed when recording information about a patient. Practitioners need to be able to communicate well with the written word. This could be by writing something themselves, such as a letter to refer a service user to a different service, a record of a person’s condition and treatment or entitlement to a benefit, or a prescription. This means they need to be able to use different ways of presenting information, such as letters, memos, emails, reports or forms. They need to make their meaning absolutely clear and structure the information well and in an appropriate manner so that mistakes don’t happen. It is also necessary to use grammar, spelling and punctuation correctly and writing should also be legible so th at the person the information is intended for can actually read it. Sign language Sign language is a language which instead of using sounds uses visual signs. These are made up of the shapes, positions and movement of the hands, arms or body and facial expressions to express a speaker’s thoughts. Sign language is commonly used in communities which include the friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. Makaton Makaton is a method of communication using signs and symbols and is often used as a communication process for those with learning difficulties. It was first developed in the UK in the 1970s and is now used in over 40 countries around the world. Unlike BSL, Makaton uses speech as well as actions and symbols. It uses picture cards and ties in facial expressions with the word to make the word more easily recognised by those with learning difficulties. 2.2 Within my setting I make sure that I always have appropriate communication which is set for that specific situation. The use of appropriate communication methods depends on the person and what relation to the person. For example, if we communicate with children we should use a verbal method based on listening, and ask open questions. It is important to pay attention to our body language in all the circumstances. In the case of parents and colleagues we would use a more formal method. When we need to share information about a child it is best to do it face to face. We can use email, letter or telephone to inform about meetings or the child situation if it cannot be discussed face to face. We also use written communication when keeping a child’s record of development. This can all change when we communicate with children with special needs or disabilities. If we communicate with people who are deaf we need to use sign language or ask help to Signers, people who can communicate using a sign language, or interpreters, people who communicate a conversation, whether it be spoken or signed, to someone in a different language they will understand. This is not easy because they not only have to interpret the words or signs but also have to find a way of expressing the meaning of the words clearly. Or if we need to communicate with people witch English is their second language we may need translators, people who change recorded information, such as the written word, into another language. 2.3 Please find accident form attached at the back of this unit. 3.1 Within my setting I give my own contribution to the development and implementation of processes and procedures for recording, storing and sharing information. This can be using our accident and incident books/forms to helping complete a learning journey and planning with the children. I always make sure this information no matter how important that it be kept safe and locked in a secure room. 3.2 Within my setting I give my own contribution to the development and implementation of processes and procedures for recording, storing and sharing information. This can be using our accident and incident books/forms to helping complete a learning journey and planning with the children. I always make sure this information no matter how important that it be kept safe and locked in a secure room. 3.3 Where abuse of a child or young person is suspectedAll settings have a designated person to deal with all kinds of child protection issues. As a practitioner it is our duty to spot potential signs of abuse. If anyone has concerns that a child is being abused it is our job to disclose this information to the designated member of staff. If you feel that by doing this you feel that it may put the child at risk then you must confide and report this to a manager.By discussing this with the designated colleague it can give you a clearer picture by gaining advice on what to do next. We should never ignore possible signs of child abuse no matter how great or small. Our role is to make sure the children are safeguarded in and outside of the setting. Parents will have had a copy of the child protection policy which states that information regarding every child will be disclosed if it is deemed that any child is in significant harm or danger. This gives us the right to report any kind of abuse to the safeguarding board without the parents permission. It is important to follow the right steps whilst reporting a case of abuse or a suspected case, we need to gather the correct information. When it is suspected that a crime has been/may be committed. If you suspect or if a child approaches you and tells you that that their parent is possibly committing a crime or is committing a crime, depending on the crime that is being committed, depends on how we as practitioners would handle it.Crime can cover a wide range of things such as taking drugs, DVD piracy, benefit fraud, theft burglary, robbery or violence (GBH). It depends on how serious the crime is as to whether we break the trust between parent’s. Trust is essential between us because you need trust within a relationship with parents. Without the trust the child and their family is not going to be willing to share information. If a child is being hurt then it would be obvious that you have to break confidentiality to ensure that the child that you are looking after is not in any harm and is safe. If the crime that is suspected or being committed is DVD piracy then it is not going to be of significant harm to th e child in your care. Therefore there is no need to break the trust within the relationship. It is our job to make sure that the child is not in any significant harm and if they are not then we should stick to our confidentiality policy and procedure.If a child is committing a crime then it most certainly becomes a child protection issue. The crime can be shop lifting, theft, drugs or violence but one small crime can lead to another which can then lead to bigger crime being committed and a possibility of the child person being involved in a group or gang. This can introduce the child person to dangerous people. If the child’s parents are not aware of this then it is also possible the child maybe neglected.