Knowledge Questions for Unit Hsc 44
The account should focus on the actions of the candidate; it must include dates when activity took place. If responses to questionsare used then indicate this and attach the questionsWrite your account in here.
As a candidate, make sure you describe and explain your actions.Knowledge Questions for Unit HSC Who draws up the Code of Practice for Social Care? The General Social Care Council. Outline features of systems used in Lincolnshire in respect of confidential reporting of issues of concern. The council has its own policy which helps to inform on bad practice, difficulties between staff members and complaints ect.
This isthe ‘whistle blowing’ policy and it was designed in order to protect those wishing to make a complaint and to avoid such things as victimization. Although anonymous, complaints are still dealt with the same seriousness as named complaints although it is preferredthat applicants with complaints should not be anonymous. When the Children’s act 2004 was published it contained some major changes for the way in which services were to be delivered.
Take one and explain in your own words the advantages this brings for the wellbeing of children and their families. The Childrens Act 2004 brought about many changes and most significant was the Every Child Matters campaign that runs along side the 2004 act. For the Act itself the main change that helps in the work that I do is the implementation of the CAF.
This works in line with the need for inter-agency working. I think this is one on the most crucial changes of the Act, and as the Victoria Climbie inquiry showed many agencies were involved with the case and through lack of communication, information sharing and joint working Victoria Climbie died at the hands of her aunt. One of the many advantages is local authorities drive for inter-agency working. Through this many agencies are trying to change their way of working and with the help of the CAF more agencies are invited to the first meeting when a child has been shown to have additional needs. On the whole the process is proving to be more focussed on the child and family and this reduces any stigma for the families as in the past most cases where always referred to social workers. Families and children are now seen more often and social workers can now focus on the more complex and child protection cases. Through inter-agency working families and children are given the help that meets their needs and reduces the need for long term involvement. 8a Outline the features of the Dfes initiative “Building a Culture of Participation” This initiative is led by the government in their commitment to allow children to have a say in how policies affect them and to contribute to how a service is delivered.
By listening to children and young people it ensures that policies and services are designed around their needs. This leads to better outcomes for children, young people and families. It also allows for policies to be effectively evaluated and evolve as necessary. 9a Outline the Common Assessment Framework.
Explain why this Government initiative has been introduced and its purpose. The CAF was implemented in 2006 in order to have a universal assessment form that could be used by all agencies and professionals. This was in line with some of Lord Laming’s recommendations after the Victoria Climbie enquiry. As a universal document it reduces the need for repetitive assessments and focuses more on the child and family and multi agency working.
The CAF process can start at any time once it has been identified that a child has an additional need. Once agreed all information is shared between the agencies involved again reducing the chance of a child ‘falling through the system’. As the CAF is aimed at early intervention some one such as a school teacher can be the lead professional allowing more serious cases to be dealt with by social workers.
As children can often have what was once deemed as minor issues and not warrant the classification as a child in need, through the CAF they are classed as having additional needs which allows professionals to work with the child and family. Once a child that has been highlighted as a CAF they can move in and out of the system as identified issues arise. 9bc Summarise the targets of the combined health and education initiative “Healthy schools”. The national healthy schools programme promotes a whole school approach to health. The programme is a joint initiative between the department of health and the department for children, schools and families.
It aims to deliver benefits for children on improvement in health, raise pupil achievement, more social inclusion and a closer working between health promotion providers and education establishments. The public health white paper choosing health (2004) set a challenging target for 75% of schools to achieve healthy school status by 2009 and for all schools to work towards this target. Through a planned curriculum schools can promote learning and healthy lifestyle choices.
The four core themes within the programme are: Healthy eating Physical activity PSHE Emotional health and well-being. 12 How does the Joint Annual Review shape the way in which Children’s Services are delivered locally. You may wish to discuss Lincolnshire’s last JAR and comment on how the recent Service restructuring has been a result of this. The Children’s Act requires joint area reviews to be conducted in each children’s services authority area.
The multi-disciplinary team of inspectors review all services provided to children and young people aged 0 – 19. There are around 42 key judgements which relate directly to the five outcomes highlighted in the every child matters framework. Through the Lincolnshire JAR report published in March 2007 it was proved that there was a need for better facilities for all children aged 0 – 19.
There are now plans to develop a further 23 children’s centres by 2008. Through this service restructuring the aim is to shift the balance of services from interventionist to a preventative approach. The strengthening families will work with partner agencies to deliver the five outcomes for the every child matters. This is where children’s services as a targeted service interface as part of a universal service. 16e Identify the risks to effective working caused by stresses on the work force and recommend what action can be taken. When work becomes too stressful for an individual it can cause a knock on effect throughout the staff team and the cases in which the individual is working on.
The individual can start to have more days off sick which could cause other staff members to add to their workload in taking on those individuals cases. Stress can also cause the individual to lose direction and focus in the cases they work on and this can result in a reduced quality of service for those particular families. Stress in the work place can be identified early and then reduced by regular supervision.
Supervision gives the individual a chance to discuss their cases and anything that might be causing them to feel stressed. Supervisors are then able to help supervisee’s in managing there stress before it gets to the point where it affects all that they do. Staff meetings are another opportunity to get together on a regular basis with other team members as it’s a chance for everyone to discuss their working role as well as any difficult cases they may have.
This gives a chance for positive reinforcement by the manager on the work that is being done and also a chance to ‘brainstorm’ ideas that might help with the work. 17 Explain in a short paragraph how the Social Model of disability affects children and their families which you work. The social model of disability says that people are disabled not by their impairment, but by society that does not take account of their needs and prevents them from having full access to society due to physical, communication and social barriers. A large majority of the families that I work with fall into the category of being disabled by society.
Those families that are most disadvantaged are those living in poverty. Families face multiple stresses which can affect a child’s needs. If a parent struggles to provide an adequate environment for a child this will impact on the child’s developments and the parent’s capacity to care for the child. CHILD A CHILD B No dependence on social security benefits Household receives multiple enefits Two parent family Single adult household Three or fewer children Four or more children White Mixed ethnic origin Owner occupied home Council or privately rented home More room than people One or more persons per room 18a/b See 8a above. 18d Using Lincolnshire County Councils Competency framework, explain how you would assist a member of your team to develop skills in risk management with regards to child protection. You need to be specific to an individual competency. Using competency number 8 –Analysis and Judgement. I would be able to assist the member of staff in the above question. As part of the competency it requires the individual to look closely at the work they do and how it could be improved. Part of this is through having a broad range of information about an issue. In this particular instance it would be child protection. This could be done in-house through regular supervision. This can be through asking the individual to research up to date information and then having a question answer session on the information they have found.
This shows that the indivual has done what is requested and demonstrates that they have an understanding of the subject that they would then be able to take into their work practice. Another useful development skill would be to assign the individual to a child protection case that was held by a social worker. The indivual would gain insight into the process of how child protection is identified and then managed. This hands on approach would give valued knowledge and development without risk to the family involved. Finally a child protection training course would be beneficial to the individual to again further develop there knowledge of the subject. 19 What impact does placement disruption potentially have on the wellbeing of Children In Public Care.
You should relate your answer the recent Government paper ‘Care Matters’ Most children who end up in care experience multiple moves. It is standard that three or more moves constitutes as placement stability. Child development theories say that repeated movements jeopardize the opportunity for children to develop secure attachments with carers and trusting relationships with adults. Children with behaviour problems, prior instability and the age of the child at placement have all been found to be important factors in placement instability. 24 List 3 types of evidence that would be valid in court. Explain your rational behind each one. 1) Video Evidence- For children 14years and under. Also for children classed as a vulnerable witness.
Video evidence reduces the need for a child to be in court and to be face to face with the perpetrator. 2) Court reports – These are factual based evidence which follow a mandatory guideline for completing. 3) Records – Records are an essential source of evidence for investigations and inquiry’s, and may also be used in court proceedings. Therefore it is essential that any records on a child are clear and accurate and ensure that there is a documented account of an agency’s or professional’s involvement with a child and/or a family. 25 Provide three examples of recording information that might be deemed discriminatory and explain why, in at least one of these examples, the discrimination might pass without comment. 1) The child is ‘missing’ from the record – This doesn’t mean that the child hasn’t been mentioned at all, but that their wishes and feelings, their views and understanding of their situation, are not recorded. The absence of a child from the record suggests to the reader that no work has been done with the child, or that the child has not been involved in any work. 2) Facts and opinions are not differentiated – Failing to differentiate between fact and opinions can result in the significance of some information being overlooked, or opinions becoming accepted as facts and which could influence the management of the case.
If opinions and judgements are not substantiated in the record it can be difficult to explain how these were made to family members who access the records especially if the case holder who wrote them is no longer working within the agency. 3) The record is not written for sharing. This account must (except in the case of responses to questions) be authenticated by at least one of the following
