Introduction to Safeguarding Studies Assignment 2022

Running head: NURSING
Introduction to Safeguarding Studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction- Safeguarding is a term commonly used in Ireland and the United
Kingdom, in order to explain measures that are taken with the aim of protecting the welfare,
health and human rights of people, particularly young adults, vulnerable adults and children.
Safeguarding helps the target population to live free from any kind of neglect, harm and
abuse (Metzler et al. 2017). Vulnerability refers to the state of being exposed to the
opportunity of being injured or attacked, either emotionally or physically (Bajotto, Garcia and
Goldim 2017). It has been found that professional carers place an emphasis on protection,
empowerment, prevention, partnership, proportionate responses, and accountability, while
safeguarding children and vulnerable adults (SCIE 2018). The case scenario involves a
Pakistani family, residing in the UK since the year 2011. In this assignment, we will reflect
on the case scenario, in relation to the principles of safeguarding.
Overview- The Siddiqi family are Pakistani immigrants living in the UK. There are
five members in the Siddiqi family, with a husband, wife, two daughters aged four and five
years, and a paternal grandmother. The father Mr. Siddiqi has some English proficiency and
is seldom at home since he works for long hours at a convenience shop during the day and as
an Uber driver at night. His wife Mrs. Siddiqi is proficient only in Urdu and Punjabi and does
not have any other relatives in the region. The family resides at a rented property and both the
children Nahal and Eman are sent to a primary school. Their paternal grandmother Mrs.
Awan had been recently admitted to the hospital, following a fall incident from the staircase
that resulted in a fracture in her leg. The children are proficient in English and help their
mother communicate by translating information for her. However, of late, the children have
started reporting dishevelled appearance, with exchanged uniforms and reports of sleeping
during the class. In addition, Eman has been found crying inconsolably, while leaving her
mother’s side. Not only has Mrs. Siddiqi been suspected to have bruises, the grandmother’s
carer has also talked about her client’s nervousness and anxiety while being around Mrs.

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Siddiqi, in addition to bruises on the arms. The residents have also complained about
shouting, verbal abuses and banging from the house. On analysing the case scenario, we can
suggest that the environment at home is not beneficial for the health and wellbeing of the
family members, particularly the children and the paternal grandmother. It is imperative for
the classroom assistant to act in the best interest of the daughters, while providing fostering
an environment that addresses their physical and emotional needs (Spencer, Griffin and Floyd
2019). Under circumstances as these, when people are made aware of any suspicions or
allegations of injury to a child, they should immediately report the concerns to the relevant
contacts and administrative officials. However, prior to reporting the incident, the classroom
assistant must listen to both Nahal and Eman in order to relieve their stress and
apprehensions. Hence, it can be stated that both the mother and the paternal grandmother are
experiencing domestic abuse, and the children are a witness to the incident. This suggests that
the family relationship is highly dysfunctional.
If the case scenario is identified to be a matter of urgency, it is also necessary to refer
the children to the police or social services, who might enter the premise and remove the
children from their mother, followed by relocating them to a safe region for 72 hours
(Donnelly 2019). There are several child abuse investigation units available that would
generally adopt the responsibility of investigating the case. However, the adults involved will
always be requested to attend the safeguarding meetings, in order to provide them the
opportunity to present their views and opinion on the matter. Under circumstances when the
victims do not want to remain in contact with the apparent perpetrators, the police might get
the latter arrested and prosecuted (Davies and Biddle 2018). However, in this case, the
children are not in a state to exercise their rights, and do require the love and care of a mother
during their growing years. Therefore, if feasible, the mother and father will be offered
advice, services and information, in order to prevent further instances of abuse.

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Legislation and policies- The UK Government describes the term ‘safeguarding
children’ as the procedure that focuses on defending children from all kinds of neglect or
abuse, besides averting impairment of their development and health. In addition, safeguarding
also ensures that the children are living in situations consistent with the endowment of safe
and operative care that empowers them to have finest life chances and successfully enter
adulthood (Ratcliffe et al. 2020). Had the situation occurred in 1920, the circumstance would
have been different since stringent legislation and policies were not in action at that time.
The gradual change from conventional child safety to an all-encompassing method
was mediated by the original safeguarding children report by the Joint Chief Inspector in
2002, in addition to the Victoria Climbié Inquiry in 2003. The Joint Chief Inspector in 2002
is intricately associated with the case scenario since it identified the fundamental
responsibility that all agencies have towards ensuring the children are protected jeopardies of
further harm (Burton and Revell 2018). The murder of Victoria Adjo Climbié by her great-
aunt and the latter’s boyfriend also resulted in a public inquiry, thereby bringing about major
changes in child protection policies. Owing to the findings that agencies that had been
involved in the care of the victim miserably failed in protecting her, the Every Child
Matters programme was designed with the aim of enhancing the lives of affected children
(Woolley 2017).
The Children Act 2004 would guide the intervention since it aims to put in place
different services that are meant for young adults and children, and also deals with day care,
child minding, adoption, and private fostering. Moreover, the Act also adopts a child-centred
outlook and comprises of world-wide as well as directed and specialist services (HM
Government 2018). Its relevance to the case can be associated to the fact that the act focuses
on incorporation of services, plans and evidence to empower the mind of young people to be