Newman University: Safeguarding Context Analysis Essay, 2019

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of safeguarding, specifically focusing on the historical, political, and legal contexts surrounding the protection of primary-aged children (5-11). The introduction defines safeguarding and its importance in protecting children from harm, abuse, and neglect, referencing UK legislation and guidance. The essay explores the historical context, tracing the evolution of safeguarding policies, including the influence of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry and the Every Child Matters program. It examines the shift from traditional child protection to a more comprehensive approach and the role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs). The political and legal contexts are then discussed, highlighting policy changes from the mid-1990s to 2008, and the impact of the Conservative Government's election in 2010. The essay also touches upon the legal obligations of organizations working with vulnerable children and emphasizes the importance of safeguarding policies, recruitment processes, and risk management. A critical analysis section connects safeguarding with child protection laws, discusses the vulnerability of primary-aged children, and addresses the need for safe food products, child labor bans, and accountability. The essay further delves into the political context, discussing child abuse scandals and the failures of government in safeguarding children, particularly in cases of sexual abuse. It concludes by emphasizing the need for stricter rules and punishments to protect children and the importance of governmental prioritization of these issues. The essay aims to provide a detailed understanding of the complexities and challenges in safeguarding primary-aged children within the UK context.

Running head: SAFEGUARDING
SAFEGUARDING
Name of the Student
Name of the Organization
Author Note

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Introduction
Safeguarding is mainly defined as the specific term which has been utilized in United
Kingdom for denoting several measures for protecting the health, human rights and also the
well-being of various individuals which will be allowing all of the primary aged children to
live entirely free from any sort of harm, abuse as well as neglect (Cipriani 2016). Any
specific child can be hugely considered to be a very high risk of either harm or rather abuse.
The government of UK has been known to be greatly enacted legislation and guidance which
is published for the protection of the children from any maltreatment and also makes sure that
all of them will be growing up in several circumstances which have been highly consistent
with the specific provision of care which will be highly effective. It actually enables all of the
various primary aged children to possess all of the best outcomes (Bingham et al. 2016). The
huge responsibility for all of such aims is hugely deemed for lying with all who will be
coming into direct context with all of the families and the children. Safeguarding children is
mainly a particular concept which is known to be reaching far beyond the protection of the
child for involving the extra aims of the prevention of harm of the health of the children. This
will be ensuring that several children will be growing up in all the circumstances which will
be consistent with the specific provision of safe and care which will be highly effective
(Harris, Balmer and Sidebotham 2018).
Historical Context
The government of UK has been known to be have defined the specific term
safeguarding children as the particular procedure of the protection of the children from any
sort of abuse or rather huge neglect (Coleman and May-Chahal 2013). Safeguarding children
also involves the prevention of the impairment of their development as well as heath. It will
also be ensuring that all of the children will be growing up in several circumstances

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consistent with the particular provision of care which will be highly effective, enabling the
children for possessing optimum chances of life and entering adulthood in a successful way
(Humphreys and Bradbury-Jones 2015). This particular shift from the protection of the child
which is traditional to an approach which is much more all-encompassing has been
influenced by the particular Victoria Climbie Inquiry of the year 2003. The particular
programme of the Every Child Matters has been hugely aimed towards the enhancement of
all of the various outcomes for different children within some of the main areas. Some of
these main areas will be involving being heath, staying safe, achieving as well as enjoying
and thus making a contribution which will be positive. For the achievement of this, the Act
has made a huge number of alternations which are institutional involving the abolition of the
Committees of the Area Child Protection which has been particularly deemed for having
performed very badly within some of the areas by the report of Joint Chief Inspector. All of
these consisted of various representatives from the agencies of local partner like housing,
police and also service of probation. The LSCBs have been known to be charged with
properly coordinating all of the various functions of all the agencies of the partner in the
particular relation to protecting the children (O'Loughlin and O'Loughlin 2016). They have
carried out this particular function by among several things, agreeing the specific contribution
of all the agencies of the member and properly deciding how all of such funds which are
pooled must be allocated. The Act has even placed a specific duty upon all of the various
agencies for making several arrangements for both promoting as well as safeguarding the
particular welfare of the children (Archard 2014). In the year 2006, the government of UK
has finally released Working Together for safeguarding children which will be actually
setting out various ways within which all of the various individuals as well as organizations
will be working altogether for both promoting as well as safeguarding the children’s
wellbeing. In the year 2010, this has been superseded by Working Together to Safeguard

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Children has been known to have hugely expanded the particular focus upon working of the
interagency and also took into account all of the various recommendations of the progress
report of Lord Lamings (El-Radhi 2015). The particular Protection of Children in England is
known to be suggesting that it is imperative that the professionals of the frontline will be
getting to know all of the children as individuals. Working Together to Safeguard Children
has been known to be again updated in the year 2015 and also in the year 2018.
Political and Legal Context
The particular period from the middle of 1990s and until 2008 has really seen a
change in the policy in various significant ways (Parton 2016). The main object of the
concern has been what actually cases harm to all the primary aged children and what must be
the roles of all the agencies which are official and also all the professionals. In the procedure,
it has been noticed that there is an essential alternation in all the relationships between the
state, children and their families. Underlying such kinds of developments are totally new and
sometimes may be highly competing several ideas regarding the huge risk to all the children
and all the best ways for properly addressing them (Coppock and McGovern 2014).
However, the specific period from that of the late 2008, following a lot of social reaction to
the greatest tragic death of Baby Peter Connelly, practice as well as policy have been seen to
be moving towards directions which are completely new. Not only has been the ‘child
protection’ rediscovered as the specific issue of highly significant concern which is political,
but also there has been the beginning of both practice as well as policy to be properly
reconfigured in some new kinds of ways. Such kinds of development have been given a huge
impetus following the specific election of the Conservative Government in the year 2010
(Garratt, Piper and Taylor 2013).

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All of the various groups of community which have been working with all the primary
aged children at high risk possess several obligations which are under the common law of the
‘duty of care’. Several organizations must be ensuring that the particular standard of care
which will be offered must be meeting all of the various expectations which are reasonable,
particularly bearing in mind all of the various generally accepted standards of good practice.
For fulfilling their specific duty of care, the committee of the management must be needing
some steps for properly safeguarding and also for taking a huge responsibility for all the
primary aged children at a huge risk of harm with all those their organization will be
working. All of the organizations which have been working with groups that are highly
vulnerable must be possessing a specific policy of safeguarding in proper place which will be
supported by all the various guidelines as well as the processes (McAlinden 2013). The
particular enterprise must be possessing several processes which will be clearly defined for
recruiting as well as selecting all the proper volunteers, management which will be effective,
proper training of both the staffs as well as the volunteers and raising huge awareness of
proper responding as well as reporting all of the various concerns regarding the incidents of
abuse which have been suspected (Pearce 2014). The enterprise must also be possessing
assessment of risk, proper management with the particular regard to preventing children,
management of records, confidentiality, sharing information and must also be ensuring an
effective management of several activities.
Critical analysis
Safeguarding has direct link with the child protection laws prevalent worldwide. As
per the historical context safeguarding refers to the necessary steps that should be taken in
case where a child is being dealt with. When working with child aged in between the range 5-
11 years their food intakes, basic hygiene, protective clothes should be taken care off. There
is a huge list that should be taken care off while working with children especially in the

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primary age group. Children in this age group are vulnerable to many diseases as at a young
age they have least knowledge about what is good for their health and what is not (Pearce
2014). They are fascinated by junk foods and many do not like having food. The lack of
proper nutrition can affect their health adversely. The ban of child labor can be said to be
rational in the historical context as children in the primary age group should not be forced to
work irrespective of the condition or situation their parents are in. When working with
children of this age group the person given the responsibility of their basic needs should be
very careful with these and should take this matter on a serious note. The food products that
are produced to be consumed by the children mainly should align by certain rules and
regulations and must be tagged safe to be used by them (Peckover 2013). There have been
many cases where children aged between 5 to 11 are seen working in hazardous conditions.
There are many acts such as the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 according to which a
child must be of the age 13 to start working. The people around should be responsible enough
to check that the workplaces they visit on a daily basis are following these rules and
regulations (Peckover 2013). There is much other hazardous and high risk work that requires
an individual to be at least of the age of 18 or in certain cases even 21 to be able to work in
specific environments. These laws and acts prove that safeguarding children is given much
priority and any responsible citizen is required to stand up in case where children are found to
be forced to work in hazardous conditions. The interest of the child matters to make decisions
on all necessary products that include the environments, goods and services and
accommodation that needs to be procured so that it can be ensured that the food being
consumed is safe for the child.
It has been a topic of debate since the last 40 years that is related to child abuse and
child protection. Primary aged children have been charged emotionally at the same time
politicized as well. It says that in this context the child protection systems have failed and this

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also speaks about the incompetencies of the professionals and the agencies (Piper 2013).
Child abuse scandals have been prevalent that shows governments have failed in
safeguarding primary aged children. The child labor issue has been politicized and
governments have come up with various rules but in vain. The political context of
safeguarding primary aged children reveals that the laws present have been inefficient in
solving the issue of child abuse. There have been growing numbers of child sexual abuse and
this also proves that the government has failed in being strict with the rules and regulations.
There needs to be proper rules for safeguarding children from sexual abuse. The case is such
that whenever there is any such case related to primary aged children politicians are busy in
their blame game. They should instead focus on the facts and think of ways to stop these
criminals from doing such heinous crimes. It should be tagged as a heinous crime and the
persons doing the same should be given strict punishments so that others do not commit the
same crime (Tarr, Whittle, Wilson and Hall 2013). The political context suggests that people
in the government are not giving priority to this and they are just acting for some time after
the incident and getting back to their usual work within a short span of time. The children in
the primary age must be given much importance as at this tender age they should be enjoying
their childhood rather than facing abuse and negligence.
On the legal context it can be said that there are many provisions following which a
person can be punished if found guilty of ill-treating a child. Legal actions can be taken
individuals who are found treating primary aged children as mere objects rather than human
beings. It can be said that a child wishes and feelings as per his age along with experience are
important as a child needs to be involved in decision making processes and nothing should
be forced on the child (Webber, McCree and Angeli 2013). The children in this age are too
small to understand what is good for them and what is not should thus someone who has
taken up their responsibility should be referred to whenever important decisions are being

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taken. It is the responsibility of the local authorities to take reasonable steps in order to
identify what percentage of the primary aged children are in need in the local area. It is the
responsibility of the local authorities of an area to take required steps to prevent ill treatment
of primary aged children in their area. As per the Children Act 1989, the local authorities can
even interfere in matters of family wherever they find or feel that a primary aged child is
being tortured or kept under pressure by the family members (Wood 2016). The health and
other basic needs should not be neglected by the family members and it should be ensured
that no child in the locality is facing abusive behavior or negligence. There are cases where
children at this young age fall in the trap of unknown persons as they feel neglected in their
family. The child’s reactions can be taken into consideration to understand the condition he is
in and to help him accordingly.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that safeguarding the primary aged children is really very much
essential and there is a need for developing various practices for the protection of the child.
All of the various organizations which have been working with or rather coming into the
context with a large number of children must be possessing several policies of safeguarding
as well as processes for particularly ensuring that each and every child, regardless of any
disability, reassignment of gender, race, belief or rather religion possess equal the right for
equal protection from huge harm. Setting up as well as properly following policies of
safeguarding will be actually meaning that all of the children are entirely safe from all the
adults or rather from some other children who may be posing a lot of risk. This will be
involving several enterprises of community, groups of faith, providers of private sector, clubs
of sports, hospitals and also schools. Hence, it can be easily said that safeguarding is basically
a particular actions which is actually taken for the promotion of the welfare of the children
and also for preventing all of them from any sort of harm. Safeguarding actually means the

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protection of the children from any maltreatment, prevention of harem to the health of the
children and also for ensuring the children to grow up with the specific provision of care
which is highly effective. Safeguarding will also be involving several actions which will be
enabling all of the primary aged children towards having the best outcomes.
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