Candidate performance record Unit
F-rosily the Children’s Act 1989 is a piece Of legislation that is in place to ensure that the best interest of the child is also a priority as well as making sure that they are safeguarded. An example of this is whenever there is an allegation or suspicion of that a young person is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm then a section 47 (of Children’s act 1 989) investigation would have to take place. Feel that this is a good piece of legislation in regards to safeguarding because a young person should be secure in the fact that if they are at risk of significant harm then there is a policy and procedure to try and keep them safe.
In regards to how it would affect the day to day work that myself and my colleagues do I think that having that in place also reassures staff that if they were suspicions of a young person in the home been at risk of significant harm, instead of just maybe speaking about it to me and the social worker to highlight any concerns, the fact that this piece of legislation is in place will ensure that an investigation into the suspicions is carried out. Another area where national and local guidelines as well as policies and procedures affect my day to day work is the children missing from care policy.
In the borough where the home manage is they have their own policies and procedures in regards to when we have to report a young person missing. We have to ensure that the local authority and all other relevant agencies are informed within a timeshare. We also have our own policy in the home that states that if a young person has not returned to the home by 1 1 pm and we cannot make contact with them then we have to report them as missing from care.
The police also have their own guidelines which are the CAPO guidance on the management, recording and investigating of missing persons (2013) which along with our own policy and the policy of the local authority works to ensure the best possible way for various agencies to work together to make sure that a young person who does go missing from care returns safely. As well as it been policy for the police to come and do a De-brief with the young person when they return, the social worker and I will also conduct a return to home interview.
This allows us to find out where possible if the young person came to any harm whilst missing and also could help me to find ways in the day to day work we do to try and prevent the young person from going missing at all. There are many other policies and procedures at the home in regards to safeguarding that I use in the home. Each young person has a risk assessment which is updated regularly which just highlights any risks to the young person or others.
We also have behavior management plans which talks about behaviors that may be challenging, what the triggers are and hat are the best actions to take to avoid an escalating situation which keeps the young person and others around them safe. As well as the policies and procedures there are different processes that we use to ensure that we comply with legislation in regards to data protection as well as information handling and sharing. I am aware of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 which controls how your personal information is used.
I must make sure that any sensitive personal data that I have on staff is collected and processed fairly and I also eave a data protection policy at the home. I also have a whistle blowing policy in place which enables staff to be able to disclose any sensitive information in confidence. At our home under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 the staff are legally protected whenever raising genuine concerns relating to various situations, egg the health and safety of a child or another employee is endangered. As the manager I would ensure that the employee disclosing the information would be protected from dismissal and or visitation.
My aim is to encourage staff to create an open culture where encores can be raised and dealt with internally at an early stage. Also give them the option and make available contact details for our independent consultant, unison, Offset and Public concern at work hotlist. In regards to inquiries and serious case reviews feel they are necessary as not only a way to investigate why things went wrong and how it could have been prevented but also good for all professional agencies to use as a learning tool to try and avoid any similar negative outcomes. Serious case reviews take place if abuse or neglect is known or suspected.
The Local upgrading children’s board have to follow statutory guidelines to conducting a serious case review and Offset and a national panel of independent experts must be notified and decision for there to be a case review must be within 1 month of notification of incident. There have been many serious case reviews in the past which has served as very useful learning tools. Some of the most high profile cases involved Baby p and Victoria Climb and from the findings, legislations and policies where put in place to try and ensure that these failings would not be repeated.
