Promote childrens welfare and wellbeing in the early years

Welfare requirements and guidance of relevant early years framework. Keeping children healthy and safe is so important that over time the four uk home nations have regulated the care of children in settings. To complete this learning outcome you will need to show that you understand and can follow the welfare requirements and guidance that apply to your setting and that you know about the lines of reporting within your setting. The welfare requirements and guidance.

To ensure children health, safety and well-being, every home nation has sets of standards or welfare requirements which settings must meet. The standards vary from country but they all exist in order to protect children who are being cared for by people other than their families. It is essential that you obtain a copy of standards or welfare requirements that apply in the home nation in which you work. If you work outside England, you should also make sure that you are referring to the type of setting in which you work, such as day-care, pre-school etc. Welfare requirements in England.

In England, since September 2008, the welfare requirements are now part of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have also been standardised so that all settings comply with the same welfare requirements you will find the welfare requirements in the statutory framework section of the Eyfs pack. The welfare requirements are compulsory, and it is essential that you have read them as your setting has a legal duty to comply with them.

Lines of reporting and responsibility within the work setting. If you work with children in group setting, it is essential to understand the lines of reporting and responsibility. In some small settings, the lines of reporting might be quite obvious (for example, you may go straight to your supervisor or manager), but in large settings certain members of staff may be responsible for different areas, such as health and safety , and you should report any safely issues to that person. If you are responsible for a particular area, for example, as the designated person who deals with any concerns regarding child protection, it is essential that you work with any new member of staff or volunteers so that they know when they should come to you. You may also have responsibility for training them.

Systems for supporting childrens safety: When receiving children into the setting. At the start of as session, some settings can become very busy. Parents may be dropping their children off, sometimes with siblings in tow, and adults in the setting be stretched because they are keeping an eye on the children who are already there while at the same time greeting children and their parents/carers who are arriving, To avoid children wandering out, or staff not knowing which children have arrived, it is essential that clear system are in place.

Register

All settings must register children on arrival. Some settings involve parents in this, but an up-to-date register is essential in case there is a fire and, most importantly to ensure that staff-child ratios are correct.

Creating a system

There is no ‘ right’ way to staff a group setting at the start of the session. Some settings stagger the arrival times of children; some have a dedicated dropping-off area in the building and others have a member of staff whose role is to oversee the entrance area and be aware of what is happening. The aim should be to create a system that helps children feel calm as the move from the care of their parents to their key person.

Entrances

It is important that we look for ways of reminding parents not to keep doors open or to let out any children other than their own. This in itself may not be adequate and so many settings also have doorbells or buzzers that indicate when a door has been left open or is being held open.

On departure

In the same way that we must create systems to help children on arrival, so we must think about children’s safety as they leave the setting in some ways this can be more difficult as often staff, children and parents are all tired and there are usually belongings to be collected. Many of the systems that are put in place for when children arrive should also be followed when children leave.

Register

It is important for settings to have a system in place to show which children have left the setting so that, if there is an emergency, time is not wasted looking for children who have gone.

Handing over children

It is essential that children are not released into the care of someone who is not their parent or carer unless prior notification, preferably written, has been given by the child’s parent. (Note the welfare requirements with respect to this in the safeguarding section in the EYFS) This is to prevent children from being taken by estranged parents who may not have access orders or others who may harm the child.

During off-site visit

Off-site visits are when we take children off the premises, for example on outings. As outings can be hazardious, you may find that there are specific requirments relating to this in your home nation. In England, there are specific legal requirements and statutory guidance that should always be complied with.

Risk assessment

The starting point before an off-site visit or outing takes place is to carry out full risk assessment. This has to be done carefully and thought needs to be given to the stage of development of the children that you are taking, the duration of the visit and potential hazards in the immediate environment (dogs, traffic, strangers, different road surfaces, for example). You should also think about how weather conditions might affect your visit. Doing a risk assessment will take a little time but is essential and, when done properly, it helps practitioners to focus on possible difficulties so that they are prepared. The risk assessment should of course, detail the measures that will be put in place to minimise the risk to acceptable levels.

Parental permission

You must obtain written parental permission before taking any child off the premises. Some settings which make regular outings to the same place, such as twice a week to the local park, ma ask parents to sign a consent form which applies to a period of time rather than to a specific day.

Staff ratios

The welfare requirements of your home nation often give minimum staff-child ratios with which you must comply when taking children off premises. There can change over time and so you must check the requirments carefully. It is worth noting that these are mininmum figures and so you still need to consider whether more staff or adults are required. For adults who accompany children, such as volunteers or parents, you may also need to consider whether any vetting procedures are required. (In any case, volunteers should not be given sole responsibility of children.)

Emergency contact details

Contact details should be taken with you when children are off site. This is important so that parents can be contacted immediately in the event of an emergency. Other essentials Other essential items to take on an outing include a mobile phone, money, first aid kit and items relating to weather, such as sun hats or rainproof clothes.