Inter-professional working: Child safeguarding

Inter-professional working: Child safeguarding Within the United Kingdom at least one child dies each week resulting from adult cruelty. Statistics from 2003 highlighted that there were over 384,000 children in need in England, and over 69,000 of these children were known to be living in care or living with their families. (Department for Schools and Families, 2003). Children in need are defined under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, as those whose vulnerability is such that they are unlikely to reach or maintain satisfactory level of health or development may be significantly impaired without the provision of services. Practitioners within inter professional roles in local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the well being of children (Department for Schools and Families, 2010) and therefore need to be aware of their roles and responsibilities when implementing safeguarding (Lindon, 2008). The Victoria Climbie report was published in 2003 and highlighted the tragic consequences that led to her death. This eight year old girl was known to the police, social services and the National Health Service over a period of ten months. On twelve of these occasions the relevant statutory services involved had the opportunity to successfully intervene in the life of Victoria. This inquiry highlighted the gaps in incompetence of staff in the statutory services involved in this case by the problems in identifying serious child protection issues, plus the inadequate recording and management of information systems that were in place to safeguard children. These failings were seriously lacking in this case which ultimately contributed to the death of Victoria Climbe (Laming, 2003). From this inquiry the Department of health (2007) set out the standards in the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services that all agencies work to prevent children suffering harm and to promote their welfare, provide them with the services they require to address their identified needs and safeguard children who are being or who are likely to be harmed. The following is a quote taken from Laming inquiry: The single most important change in the future must be the drawing of a clear line of accountability, from top to bottom, without doubt or ambiguity about who is responsible at every level for the well-being of vulnerable children. Time and again it was dispiriting to listen to the buck passing from those who attempted to justify their positions. For the proper safeguarding of children this must end. (Laming, 2003 p.5). Lord Lamings inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie contributed to many significant changes across childrens services in England. The government responded by producing the Green Paper; Every Child Matters (Department for Schools and Families, 2003). Many of the proposals in the paper have now passed through parliament and have become legislation in the form of the Adoption and Children Act (2004). The key themes of the Act are supporting families and carers, early intervention and the prevention of children falling through the system, accountability, integrated services, development and training. Section 10 of the Act defines the Every Child Matters outcomes which are; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic wellbeing. The use of integrated approaches/processes for managing concerns about children and their families should result in improved outcomes for this service group. Effective plans for safeguarding and promoting childrens welfare should be based on a wide-ranging assessment of the needs of the child (Department for Schools and Families, 2010). Resulting from the Green Paper: Every Child Matters (Department for Schools and Families, 2003) the use of an assessment tool known as The Common Assessment Tool has been put into practice when working with children and families. The purpose of this tool enables professionals and other services to share information and help identify any additional needs of children which should enhance interagency working. This tool helps to reduce duplication of assessments across different agencies (Department for Schools and Families, 2009). However, the use of this Common Assessment Tool has been criticised over concerns of security issues regarding access to systems and consent for recording and storing information (Peckover Hall, 2009). Every professional or service group that work with children and families are expected to have appropriate core skills to guide their practice. Occupational Therapists are integrated within multi-disciplinary teams across children and families teams and more than often play a lead role in safeguarding this service group. Occupational Therapists have the core skills embedded in their clinical practice to treat all patients holistically. As part of their role is to identify any physical, psychological and any social needs that may be needed through their interventions, in this particular area, children and families, working closely with a child through play and purposeful activities can sometimes highlight any detection of child abuse. This can then be discussed with another member of the multi-disciplinary team and recorded in The Common Assessment Framework Tool (COT, 2006). However what is apparent is that child protection systems do not always work as efficiently as they should without the collaboration and cooperation of the other professionals within all multi-disciplinary teams (Lindon, 2008). Professionals and other services need to be fully equipped with the knowledge of how other roles in the multi-disciplinary teams work in safeguarding children and families to enable each of them to share information effectively, without these knowledge roles, a breakdown of communication between multi-disciplinary teams is a result. McNair (2005) states in his literature that professionals can feel threatened by others when encroaching on their territory which can relate to role blurring and crossing over the role of different boundaries. In conclusion, no amount of legislation and policy guidance absolutely guarantee that child protection services will be able to prevent children slipping through the net. Nonetheless, it is imperative that inter-agency teams working with children and families work collaboratively together to minimise the risks associated with this group of service users. The government has now placed safeguarding children and families at the forefront of their agenda and it is imperative that all professionals can all work together to ensure that this vulnerable group of people are protected.

Topic of Your Choice Essay

English 090 Writing Fundamentals Assignment 3: Topic of Your Choice Essay Professor T. Finch Christopher Casselman 08-29-2011 There are many challenges to online study; however, time management, course load and prioritizing are the three main areas that should be focused on. First, determining how much time to spend on a subject is very troublesome. Depending on the subjects, some people like to spend extra time on certain things like math. Finding the time to spend with the family is stressful as well. There will always be something to distract one from their work. Next, course load will determine a lot of things, such as how much time will be needed for each subject, when assignments are due and when to take tests or quizzes. All of the things aforementioned need to be completed in a certain order and in a timely manner. Following a strenuous schedule will keep one on track. Finally, prioritizing will streamline things tremendously. Prioritize by determining how many assignments are due weekly for each subject, and if there are any tests. As well as, the difficulty of the subjects, and what impact they have on our daily life. In addition, many times we will overload ourselves and will need a momentary break. Though breaks should be short, but long enough so one can grasp the reigns tightly again and continue with what one is doing. Staying focused on the work at hand is hard to do when there are other obligations demanding attention as well. Doing the best in each subject, and staying diligent is the single most important thing. In closing, all of these things should be considered before starting an online course. Regret and failure will be less if one can get a good understanding of what is expected from them and focus on time management, course load and prioritization.

Human resource management Essay

Many business owners prepare a business plan before starting their business. However, small business owners often do not include human resource planning as part of their over-all business plan. They may start out with only a few employees or none at all. Over time, it is important to properly forecast employment needs. Just as failing to address potential threats in the marketplace can jeopardize the viability of your business, failing to anticipate personnel needs can impact on overall business success. The success of a business is directly linked to the performance of those who work for that business. Underachievement can be a result of workplace failures. Because hiring the wrong people or failing to anticipate fluctuations in hiring needs can be costly, it is important that you put effort into human resource planning. Planning for HR needs will help to ensure your employees have the skills and competencies your business needs to succeed. An HR plan works hand in hand with your business plan to determine the resources you need to achieve the business’s goals. It will better prepare you for staff turnover, recruitment, and strategic hiring – and alleviate stress when you have emergency/last-minute hiring needs. Human Resource Planning Process Or Steps Of HR Planning Human resource planning is a process through which the company anticipates future business and environmental forces. Human resources planning assess the manpower requirement for future period of time. It attempts to provide sufficient manpower required to perform organizational activities. HR planning is a continuous process which starts with identification of HR objectives, move through analysis of manpower resources and ends at appraisal of HR planning. Following are the major steps involved in human resource planning: 1. Assessing Human Resources The assessment of HR begins with environmental analysis, under which the external (PEST) and internal (objectives, resources and structure) are analyzed to assess the currently available HR inventory level. After the analysis of external and internal forces of the organization, it will be easier for HR manager to find out the internal strengths as well as weakness of the organization in one hand and opportunities and threats on the other. Moreover, it includes an inventory of the workers and skills already available within the organization and a comprehensive job analysis. 2. Demand Forecasting HR forecasting is the process of estimating demand for and supply of HR in an organization. Demand forecasting is a process of determining future needs for HR in terms of quantity and quality. It is done to meet the future personnel requirements of the organization to achieve the desired level of output. Future human resource need can be estimated with the help of the organization’s current human resource situation and analysis of organizational plans an procedures. It will be necessary to perform a year-by-year analysis for every significant level and type. HR planning must be tied to the overall business plan. You can start the process by assessing the current conditions and future goals of your company. Perform these assessments regularly. Consider some of the following questions: What are the company’s goals and objectives? Do these goals call for expansion into new markets? Are new product lines planned? Are changes in technology necessary to stay competitive? Will new skills and/or training be required to meet the company’s goals and objectives? The following three-step method is designed to help you determine whether or not you are ready to hire: 1. Identify Business Strategy and Needs 2. Conduct a Job Analysis and Write a Job Description 3. Determine the Feasibility of Hiring Human Resource Planning Checklist Step 1: Identify Business Strategy and Needs Identify pressures and opportunities Clarify your business strategy and direction Identify aspects of the business that need help The following questions will help you determine how many people are required, and with what skills, to fulfill your business needs. What new positions are opening up? What special skills (e.g. computer applications) will be needed? What work experience (e.g. in a particular area) will be required? When will new staff be needed? When should hiring be scheduled to ensure a smooth transition? Does the hiring plan also provide for employee turnover and attrition? Step 2: Conduct a Job Analysis and Write a Job Description Review your current workforce- Describe the employees you now have in terms of their knowledge, skills, and experience and describe how they function together to get work done, At the same time, consider how the current work could be reorganized to make the best use of current and future employees. Identify any skills and knowledge gaps- Note any gaps between the skills and abilities your current employees have and the skills and abilities that your workforce needs to meet your business objectives in the future. Write a job description Set an appropriate salary- Start by adopting a general salary range to help you determine what you will need to budget – and whether potential candidates are within your budget. You may want to complete a job evaluation, whereby you rank jobs and their corresponding salaries. Weigh the importance of critical skills and knowledge for each position, compare positions, and rank the new position on the pay scale accordingly. You will need to do a comparison between the new and existing positions. Is the new position more junior/senior? Will the new position require more specialized skills and knowledge? Will the position have more complex tasks and different working relationships? Will the new position have more or less responsibility? Tips for Conducting a Job Analysis * Ask employees about each position within the business and how they are (or are not) connected * Ask employees if they think hiring a new employee or creating a new position would be a good idea * Observe employees at work and earnestly ask for their ideas about better ways to operate; be prepared to put good suggestions into action * Talk to customers about which employees are easiest to deal with or provide the best service * Find out and understand why past employees have left – be truthful with yourself * Talk to customers about their needs * Understand the needs of people the new employee will be working with * Differentiate between â€Å"nice to have† and â€Å"must have† skills and experiences * Look at employees who are performing at a superior level and try to assess the skills and behavior`s that distinguish them; look for evidence of these behavior`s during the interview * Look at similar positions in other companies and the requirements they have * Read books or articles about companies that may have found themselves in similar situations Step 3: Determine the Feasibility of Hiring Understand the costs of hiring- Labor costs, such as salary and benefits, Recruiting costs, which may include advertising in addition to time spent on recruiting activities, orientation and training. Understand the benefits of hiring- * Improved morale of other employees, if a departing employee was a problem or if the area has been Under staffed for some time * Improved morale of existing staff if the growth means new business and opportunities * Improved productivity if a departing employee was not productive or if employees believed that you have made the decision to hire as a result of their input * Increased revenues once a new employee is performing at an acceptable level * A new employee who is more qualified than current employees can help train the existing employees * Increased customer satisfaction and potentially saved business. Understand the risks of not hiring- * Loss of revenues because of an inability to keep up with demand * Loss of employees because they are unwilling to continue being overworked or to do the work of a departed employee * No new ideas or knowledge brought in through new employees If you decide that hiring a new employee is feasible, you are ready to begin the recruitment process. If not, you might need to revisit your strategic plan or business objectives. 3. Supply Forecasting Supply is another side of human resource assessment. It is concerned with the estimation of supply of manpower given the analysis of current resource and future availability of human resource in the organization. It estimates the future sources of HR that are likely to be available from within an outside the organization. Internal source includes promotion, transfer, job enlargement and enrichment, whereas external source includes recruitment of fresh candidates who are capable of performing well in the organization. 4. Matching Demand And Supply It is another step of human resource planning. It is concerned with bringing the forecast of future demand and supply of HR. The matching process refers to bring demand and supply in an equilibrium position so that shortages and over staffing position will be solved. In case of shortages an organization has to hire more required number of employees. Conversely, in the case of over staffing it has to reduce the level of existing employment. Hence, it is concluded that this matching process gives knowledge about requirements and sources of HR. 5. Action Plan It is the last phase of human resource planning which is concerned with surplus and shortages of human resource. Under it, the HR plan is executed through the designation of different HR activities. The major activities which are required to execute the HR plan are recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, socialization etc. Finally, this step is followed by control and evaluation of performance of HR to check whether the HR planning matches the HR objectives and policies. This action plan should be updated according to change in time and conditions.

Overview of the Holocaust During World War 2