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The well-being of children and young people means that they are safe, comfortable, happy, feeling good about themselves and ready to learn and develop. It's essential that children live and are taught in a safe and stable environment in order to ensure sound well-being development. Children need to be valued in order for them to develop to fulfil their potential.
The following factors contribute to the well-being of children and young people and it's essential that childcare workers and families/carers take them into consideration:
Well-being can contribute towards many elements:
Confidence: developing the ability to do an activity or task confidently, without worrying about making mistakes.
Self-esteem: a good opinion of yourself, valuing what you can do.
Self-worth: thinking that you are valuable and that you have many things to contribute.
Positive self-image: seeing yourself as a positive person, valuing yourself.
Dealing with anger: the ability to deal with losing someone close to you in bereavement, a small child losing a pet can cause anger.
Coping with change: how you deal with changes in your life e.g. a change of school, a new baby in the family.
Managing conflict: how you cope if you disagree with someone or a particular scenario.
Self-awareness: knowing who you are and recognising yourself.
Demonstrating empathy: thinking of others, understanding how others feel.
Dealing with challenging situations: the way you can develop your ideas to solve problems.
The childcare worker and parents/carers have a duty to ensure that children and young people in their care have their well-being met in order to be able to develop the above elements.
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A variety of factors can affect the well-being of children and their families/carers, leading to serious consequences.
They can include:
Health and Safety: If the environment is not safe, this can affect children and their families/carers and cause harm. Environment can mean the setting, play areas, leisure centres, social institutions and homes. Without a safe environment in which to play and spend time, children will not be able to learn by exploring and investigating. The ability to take risks safely will be limited and this will affect their opportunities to make decisions and choices. As a result, children will not fulfil their potential. They will appear to lack confidence and they won't learn from previous experiences. Ensuring a safe environment allows everyone to be aware of dangers that may arise and how to deal with them.
Care: Children and young people's basic care needs include food, sleep, clothes, a home, fresh air, love and stimulation. It must be ensured that all children have access to health centres from the minute they are born. Without this, their health will not be monitored and babies will not be immunised at the correct times. Medical conditions will go unrecognised which will affect health and personal development. It's vital that children and young people have nutritious food and plenty of sleep to be able to cope with the activities and challenges of the following day. They need a comfortable home offering stimulation and unconditional love. If children and young people don't receive appropriate care, they won't develop healthily which will cause low self-esteem.
Abuse: Abuse has a serious physical, intellectual, social and emotional effect on children and young people. This will affect the development of the individual's well-being as well as causing physical harm. If it is suspected that children are suffering domestic abuse, schools and education settings have a duty to protect them and promote their well-being by referring them using recognised child protection procedures. Child abuse can sometimes lead to children abusing themselves with alcohol and drugs. Regular drug abuse can lead to severe physical and psychological addiction which will be hard to control.
Stimulation and Education: If children and young people are not stimulated, they will not have opportunities to develop and learn to their full potential. Without education, they will be unable to prepare for the world of work which in turn can cause poverty, ill health and low self-confidence. Children and young people need to receive education at the setting and at home and through that they can modify their learning to match the environment.
Poverty: Every household needs money to be able to live, develop healthily and succeed. Without money, children and young people will not have access to nutritious food to grow healthily which will then affect their physical well-being. Access to transport and leisure activities can be limited, affecting the child's social development. Poverty can limit what people can buy such as mobile phones, clothes or toys. Very young children don't understand why they can't have everything like their friends. As a result, they may feel lonely, suffer from bullying, and be isolated by their friends.
Family/carers and friends: Children's upbringing can vary within families/carers and this can affect well-being. If there is no consistency within the family/carers e.g. a divorce or an adult joining the family/carers and taking the role of stepfather, children may feel insecure in the situation and think they're being left out. This can make children more withdrawn and cause them to fall behind in development. The behaviour of families/carers also varies and attitudes that are acceptable in one family/carers may be unacceptable in another. This can influence children and affect the way they behave outside the home. Behaviour has a significant effect on the present and future success of children and young people; socially, educationally and when they are in employment.
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The parents/carers are the child's first educators. They have more knowledge of the child than anyone else as well as an understanding of their abilities, their preferences and the care they need to meet their needs. Children and young people are seen to develop best when they have a positive relationship with their families/carers.
Parents/carers and families/carers are integral to the well-being of children and young people. They are central to their lives and the well-being of the family/carers influences the well-being of the children. It's important that childcare workers support this relationship by sharing relevant information and cooperating in order to ensure the best possible results for the children. By sharing information they can recognise how the child behaves at home in comparison with the setting, and if there are problems at home that may affect the child's development of well-being. This information will contribute to childcare worker observations which should be shared with the parents/carers. Sharing information can ensure a speedy response to any aspect causing concern or difficulty.
The natural attachment created between children and their families/carers is strong and the childcare worker needs to consider the consequences if this attachment changes. The attachment is not always present in families/carers and intervention is needed if there is a suspicion of danger to children and young people's welfare. If there is any difficulty due to health or education the child may be referred, with parental permission, to the relevant agency. In cases where the child is seen to be in danger of harm, parental permission is not required before intervening.
Some children and young people have had traumatic experiences in their families/carers. Some will have experienced death whilst others will have had to be separated from their primary carers for reasons affecting well-being. As a result, they are referred to different professionals who try to help them but they have to learn to trust them. Article 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states 'Your right to receive care if you can't live with your own family'.
Professionals and agencies need to work together to support and promote the well-being of children, young people and their families/carers. Specific agencies can intervene as follows to contribute to the well-being of children, whether at home or in care.
Professionals / Agency | Intervention type |
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Health Visitor | A trained nurse specialising in children's health promotion. |
Sure Start | Supports families/carers with programmes such as parenting, healthy eating and learning through play. |
Flying Start | Advice for 0-3-year-olds and their families/carers. The focus is on promoting social and emotional skills while |
Substitute care | The child receives care if separated for periods from their primary carer. |
Respite care | A child receives short-term care to give respite to the parents/carers. |
Hope House | Offers assistance and emotional support to families/carers facing losing their unwell child. |
Speech and Language therapist | Treats speech defects and disorders and encourages children to develop their communication skills. |
Key worker | Provides support to a group of children or on a one-to-one basis according to their needs. Works closely with families/carers. |
Children in Wales | A National Organisation offering guidance to organisations working with children, young people and their families/carers to meet their needs. They focus on poverty, rights, safeguarding, parenting, and a number of other issues. |
Police | Respond to any cases where children /young people appear in need of protection. |
Local Safeguarding Children Board | Responsible for protecting and promoting the well-being of children. A number of different agencies work together to protect children, e.g. the police, health board, education authority. |
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The childcare worker has a duty to ensure that they support well-being and inclusion when working with children and young people.
The childcare worker must promote the good health of children and young people, take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection and act appropriately when they are unwell. There should be a procedure in place that can give information to families/carers e.g. inform them if infectious diseases are around. Exercise activities should be undertaken regularly and the benefits of active play within the setting and outside should be discussed. It's important to discuss hand hygiene and practise the routine regularly so that children understand that doing this supports hygiene and prevents cross-infection. It must be understood that children and young people need balanced nutrition to meet their growth and development needs.
Planning and provision of a safe environment is needed to promote children's learning. Children with specific needs should be able to gain full access to the activities offered. Children must be given opportunities to take risks, solve problems and make decisions in order to develop independently. If given the opportunity to explore, they will learn how to deal with dangers in daily life so they can develop to become safe adults. In order to ensure a safe environment, daily safety checks should be conducted at the setting; both inside and out. It must be ensured that suitable adults care for children / young people, or that a parent/carer who has unsupervised access is suitable to do so.
The childcare worker should prepare an environment within the work setting that supports and expands the children's development and education. It's essential that all children have access to a stimulating environment that allows learning to happen in an exciting and challenging way. Children should be encouraged to actively participate in their learning by offering their own suggestions and ideas. Praising and encouraging children's efforts will develop their confidence and self-esteem. A caring environment needs to be provided that gives children and their families/carers opportunities to offer responses; this will give them the feeling that they are valued and respected.
Behaviour management for children and young people needs to be effective and suitable for their development stage and specific individual needs. Children and young people who develop well socially and emotionally at a very young age are more likely to make friends, settle well at school and understand how to behave appropriately in various situations.
Positive behaviour can be encouraged in children and young people by:
Through this, they will develop strong self-esteem and a sense of self-worth, as well as a sense of empathy towards others.
Mark by dragging over the words of your choice in both paragraphs that show how to support well-being and inclusion.
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