This assignment gives a general insight to my job role and responsibilities including achievements and targets that I have gained in my post so far regarding child safeguarding and continues working towards within the pre-school that I am currently employed by and represent.
Showing awareness and understanding of working together with other outside organisations, services and sources that can connect daily to the children and pre-school environment. Demonstrate my knowledge and the importance of safeguarding following government definitions and guidelines that all professionals working with children, young people and families adhere to so that child safety is the priority achieved.
As a pre-school worker my role is to nurture, teach and care for children aged 3-5 years in a pre-school setting either individually or in a group. My job description is to ensure children are safe and well cared for so they develop and are stimulated by age-appropriate activities in a safe suitable environment. Although childcare workers are not teachers we may encourage and teach basic skills to children such as social and interaction skills such as taking turns and sharing toys and hygiene procedures like flushing the toilet and then washing hands.
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In the pre-school we are organised to work on the whole as a team with each team member having a designated role for example one named person for first aid, or health and safety, or child safeguarding. Although all staff are required to have Criminal Record Bureau checks, qualifications and regular updated training in all of these areas of child care to produce good quality daily knowledgeable practice in the pre-school setting.
Pre-school introduces children into learning for preparation starting school, many outside agencies integrates with/along side pre-school environments such as army welfare services, health services, local police officers, local primary schools, ofsted, speech therapists this is just a few.
To achieve the best out of my role as pre-school worker it is important that I am managed well and feel supported individually and within my team, and resources are available to attend regular training and courses. Enabling me to keep up to date with policies, procedures and qualifications relevant and required to work with children. Training such as safeguarding children gains and reinforces the necessary skills and knowledge to identify, respond to signs and symptoms of children experiencing abuse at the same time being alert and reacting correctly and efficiently to all possible concerns and dangers.
1
In a talk by T G during a safeguarding children training course it was stated that the government provides definitions to guide all professionals working with children young people and their families to identify when there are serious causes for concerns about children these are:
Different Brief Definition One Example of
Abuse Categories Indicator
Physical causing harm also includes unexplained or
Fabricating symptoms of or inconsistent
Deliberately induces illness in a child explanation of
Injuries or
Burns
Emotional constant emotional maltreatment low self-esteem
Of child such as to cause severe and
Persistent adverse effects on emotional
Development
Neglect persistent failure to meet a child’s basic lack of care –
Needs physically and/or psychologically inadequate
Clothing,
Heating, light
Or food
Sexual forcing, enticing, involving a child to unusual
Participate in sexual activities including difficulty
Viewing imagery also encouraging in walking
Inappropriate sexual behaviour from a or sitting
Child
Wiltshire Local Safeguarding Children Board
Updated May 2008 TG
“The government guidelines, working together to safeguard children (1999),
Divide child abuse into four neat categories – sexual, physical, and emotional
And neglectful- but in reality many of this overlap. With any form of abuse
There will be emotional abuse too, although this may occur on its own.”
As cited The Guardian 7 October 2008
2
“Sharing information is for the purpose of safeguarding and
Promoting the welfare of children, sharing information amongst
Practitioners working with children and families are essential. In
Many cases it is only when information from a range of sources
Is put together that a child can be seen to be in need or at risk
Of harm. A failure to pass on information that might prevent a
Tragedy could expose you to criticism.”
As cited The Guardian 13 November 2008
Effective practice uses awareness and fully understands the importance of sharing concerns and information. We cannot afford to ignore signs at a risk of appearing foolish or alarmist, daily my role can identify families with needs that effect a child’s well being, armed forces children are the majority at the pre-school, the issues that arise from parent/carer who can be isolated from family and friends by military postings, soldier spouses are often absent due to active duties or training. So a parent/carer could be experiencing difficulties such as financial worries, lack of support, worried about the well being of spouse on active duty for instance in Afghanistan, these issues interconnects amongst the whole family unit. So having the knowledge you are better equipped to listen hard and observe carefully the behaviours between child and parent/carer and alert to recognise signs and symptoms an example could range from inadequate parenting to inappropriate clothing for season of the year, could show problems and a need for help, there are services that can offer support and assist the parents ability to care better for children before a situation gets out of hand but a lot of parent/carers feel ashamed, embarrassed, inhibited or simply just don’t know how to access this help.
“Instead of intervening early and effectively, struggling local authorities
Wait until children are in crisis, then act reluctantly, half-heartedly
And ineffectively, it’s not their fault. The funding systems are designed
In such away.”
As cited The Guardian 4 September 2009
In a talk on safeguarding children 6 November 2009 it was explained and stated
“If any support agencies were contacted directly by the family or referred by
Their family GP at the request of the family for support, the agencies
Assess the needs of the child by means of a Common Assessment
Framework (CAF) and this ensures that everyone involved such as
Pre-school worker, health visitor, police officer, social workers use
This framework to work together and support the child and that child
Receives the right support at an early stage before their needs increases.”
3
Daily I can work closely with individual children, so there is opportunity and time to develop a relationship of trust giving a child an opening to talk, some children may not tell you, you might guess even been led by them to read between the lines. This is where knowledge and procedures are of key importance, so that you listen to the child and avoid any leading questions, being careful not to offend, intimidate the child or the situation as this could be the first and last attempt for a child needing to trust someone to disclose what may be happening to them in the hope of help, I would then
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Reassure the child the best I could and then explain as simply as I can so the child understands that the things said would need to be passed on to pre-schools supervisor as they will know best what to do. If a disclosure was made, I would then need to follow the pre-school settings policies and procedures we have in place
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