Explain Child Protection Within the Wider Concept of Safeguarding Children and Young People
All those working with children have a professional responsibility to safeguard and protect children. Child Protection is a highly emotive subject, evoking strong feelings in most people. In order to provide the most effective support and help for vulnerable children and their families, all staff managing services and involved in working directly with children need to be able to acknowledge their feelings and examine their different values and beliefs. Every child can be hurt, put at risk of harm or abused, regardless of their age, gender, religion or ethnicity.
Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
Child protection is a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. This serves to protect specific children who are suffering or are at risk of suffering significant harm. Safeguarding the welfare is clearly important and involves quite a lot including promoting their interests, keeping them safe and protecting their interests.
The ‘Staying Safe’ action plan published by the government in 2008 highlighted a number of key points which include:
- Road safety and safety on the streets
- Bullying
- Safety while using the internet and other technology
- Young runaways and missing children
- Substance misuse by young people
- Guidance for safeguarding disabled children
It is very important that everyone that works with children and young people be aware of the safeguarding procedures and know how to respond to any concerns about the children’s welfare and safety.
All children and young people have the right to grow up in safety and adults have a duty to protect them from being harmed or abused in any way. Where parents fail to ensure a child’s safety and are unable to protect their children, the local authorities see it fit to step in and provide protection for the child on the basis of the Children Act 1989. This act forms the legal framework for child protection and is the key legislative document for children and families.
