Rights of the Child

UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was brought into effect to recognise that Children needed their own set of specific human rights that should be protected and that these were a universal right not a privilege. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was drawn up and accepted by the UN in 1989. The UK government agreed to abide by the principles in 1991 and it was fully implemented in 1992.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most universally recognised set of standards for protecting the rights of children and numerous countries have agreed to abide by it. The Convention forms a set of articles that highlight the minimum entitlements of all children. These articles have been split into four main categories: the general requirements for all the rights; the basic rights to life, survival and development of one’s full potential; being kept safe from harm; and respecting the views of the child.

The Convention also sets out minimum standards in areas such as health care, education and social services to protect those children’s rights. There are 54 articles in total that apply to all children with no exceptions, here are two examples; Article 19 states that all young people have the right to be kept safe from experiencing violence, mental abuse, physical abuse or neglect by any adult they come into regular contact with e. g. parents, carers etc and Article 34 gives the right for all young people to be kept safe from any form of sexual abuse or exploitation.

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When the UK government agreed to abide by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child it meant it had promised to not act in a way that would infringe any of the rights and it agreed to ensure they were fully implemented in a non discriminatory manner. Accordingly the government is responsible for ensuring people act in the best interests of the child and that children are treated as individuals within a family whose views should be taken into account.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was implemented by the government but it requires all parts of society to respect them to ensure the rights of the child are being met. This therefore has a massive impact on my role and responsibilities within my job. This is due to the fact that I must ensure the rights outlined in the convention and the minimum standards set out are being met at all times as it is a legal obligation. It is also important for me to ensure the individuals views within the home are being actively sought on a regular basis, listened to and respected.

This is done by seeking the individuals views during the care planning and development of placement plans so that their wishes can be recorded and implemented where appropriate. It is also important to encourage and support the individuals to attend review meetings to express their opinions on their care plan and future. There are also minimum standards that relate to this e. g. standard 1. 4 which states “the views of the child, the child’s family, social worker and IRO are sought regularly on the child’s care. ”

Under the UN Convention I also must ensure that I keep the individual safe from harm or abuse. This corresponds to various Educare policies and procedures under safeguarding which stipulate things such as all visitors to the home are asked for ID and appropriately supervised. It also requires me to have appropriate risk assessments and management in place specific to the individual so as to reduce any potential risks associated with a situation and to develop strategies to help encourage and support and individual to manage their own risks.

This information is also put into the minimum care standards under standard 4 which outcome is to ensure “children feel safe and are safe. Children understand how to protect themselves, and feel protected and are protected from significant harm including neglect, abuse and accident. ” The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child essentially underpins all aspects of the work we do and how we undertake it and the responsibilities we have to the individual.

It is therefore a major and key piece of legislation that we must be familiar with to fulfill the job role and responsibilities as manager of a home. HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998 The Human Rights Act was drawn up by the UK government and implemented in 1998. It draws on the European Convention of Human Rights but allows for issues to be addressed within the UK courts of Law rather than needing a European Court. “The Act provides that it is unlawful for a public authority to act in such a way as to contravene Convention rights.

For these purposes public authority includes any other person "whose functions are functions of a public nature. "” The Human Rights Act uses a set of articles to detail the rights of everyone within the UK. Examples of these articles include: the right to life; prohibition of torture; prohibition of slavery and forced labour; right to liberty and security; right to respect for family and private life; freedom of thought conscience and religion; freedom of expression; prohibition of discrimination; protection of property; and right to education.

The Human Rights Act is another piece of legislation which underpins all aspects of the job role and responsibilities of being a manager of a children’s home. If parts of the Human Rights Act are ignored or not adhered to then it can become a criminal offence. As a result of the Human Rights Act equal opportunities policies and procedures were drawn up and implemented and form the basis of the way we work with the individuals to ensure we adhere to the Act and ensure the individual is not discriminated against under any basis.

There are also several acts that were developed as a result of the Human Rights Act to stop discrimination within the work place and towards others. It is therefore important that valuing diversity is promoted within the home and understanding of different cultures, religion etc. are developed. This also forms one of the key outcomes Ofsted assesses for to see how well it is achieved within the home. The Human Rights Act also ensures that the individuals have a right to privacy and security.

This includes individuals having privacy in their bedroom environment unless there is a concern for their safety and that they have their own room key so they can keep their room locked and have their privacy respected by other individuals living in the home. It also means for example that people are asked for ID when visiting the home and are appropriately supervised so as to ensure security and safety within the home is maintain. Freedom of thought ensures that the individuals are allowed and encouraged to develop their own opinions on things and that these opinions are respected e. g. in relation to religion.

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