Children Act 1989

Every Child Matters Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the wellbeing of children and young people from birth to age 19. The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme aims to put in place a national framework to support the joining up of services so that every child can achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes. Support will be provided in the following areas: • To ensure that support for parents becomes routine, particularly at key points in a child or young person’s life because parents, carers and families are the most important influence on outcomes

Beth Walston-Dunham (2011) explains that in deciding on which parent to grant child custody, the courts usually place great consideration on the best interests of the children, before other factors. These are the interests that ensure that the child’s psychological and emotional wellbeing is upheld in the aftermath of a divorce. A divorce brings with it very dramatic changes into the lives of the children. Because of these, the courts have been tasked to examine a number of factors that affect the life and needs of the children after a divorce. The courts have majorly granted child custody to the parent who offers the most suitable parenting environment that meets the needs of the children as well as one that is least disrupts their life, (Walston-Dunham,

Some cultures will have different boundaries than other and also gestures that mean one thing in one culture can be unaccepted in another. For example in some cultures it is seen as unacceptable to look someone directly in the eye, especially and elder. Finding out things like these can help with effective communication. Showing respect to someone of another culture with help to breakdown barriers and make communication more effective. If it were a parent of a child at the school you worked in this would be very important if you needed to discuss something with them.

During high-conflict divorces, the parties may not have the ability to work with each other, even for the good of the children. It is also seen in families where domestic violence has occurred, it may be necessary to seek the assistance of a child custody evaluator in the issue of custody arrangements. In these and other situations, the use of psychological testing assist the evaluator to attempt to determine and review the psychological make-up of the parties, their possible personality deficits, and their potential for distortion or outright lying. Psychological testing may also allow the evaluator to learn more about the parties' personality traits, how these traits can affect their parenting styles, as well as how they may impact upon interactions between the parents. This information becomes useful when the evaluator is called upon to make recommendations to the court with regard to custody, visitation, and assist in developing a general parenting plan for the

As children began grow, they began to make their own choices and learn to deal with the consequence of their mistakes. However, some parents will try to protect this process which can harm their child by them not accepting responsibility on their own. An article by Dr. Nathan Lents has given the audience a view about those who tend to be overprotective parents are actually not

The current framework is the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) which states that working with parents and other professional is essential and has an impact on a practitioners practice. The parents know their child the best therefore it is important to communicate with them in order to find out the child’s interest and dislikes. As he EYFS states in the article 3.68, “Providers must maintain records and obtain and share information to ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting, and to help ensure the needs of all children are met.”- EYFS 2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf This part of the EYFS means that failing to communicate and sharing information means that the child’s needs will not be met. The EYFS was updated to add more attention on working with parents and other professionals in order to meet every child’s needs. It is important to share the ongoing observations made by the key person of the child and tracking so the

The strategy where stated to intervene at two levels, the policy level and the community level aiming to review existing policies and legal documents by developing new ideas as well as proper approaching the community through comprehensive education and proper leadership skills. One expected output of the framework is delivering of a comprehensive age appropriate information and education for adolescent and young people. Action plans involves workshop programs for counsellors and primary/secondary school teachers, development trainings for social workers and peer-educators, integrated life skills educations of teenage pregnancy issues on curriculum school syllabus and designing comprehensive national behavior and social change communications. This strategy framework is unique because it deals with children, aiming to assist every individual on the transition period from childhood to adolescence. Investing on workshop training developments for teachers and counsellors is an important move as well because mentors are professionally cultivated with evidence base to be a competent confident therapist in whatever situation

• Encouragement: if children are not given the praise and encouragement they need, this will affect their relationships and friendships as they get older and they will have poor attachment this can develop into anxiety, depression and they will lack motivation. • Learning difficulties are also a factor that influences a child’s development. Children with learning difficulties will need extra support with certain areas of development and may develop low self-esteem because they get annoyed with themselves for not being able to do something, such as a simple numeracy problem or read a book. External factors affecting learning and development are likely to be limited access to services and support, but parents and carers may not be aware of this. • Children with ill heath on a regular basis can develop much more slower, this may cause longer term issues such as failure to grow or thrive.

The same goes for young readers who are confident and may be “put off by books that fit their ability” rather than their age (130). It is important to respect and appreciate the “tastes and needs of children instead of applying guidelines” (130). There are also “explicit and implicit” social problems that are associated with age banding (135). These social problems include giving adults the power to control what their kids read, “preventing readers” from trying to read above their age, and not allowing children to stay updated on current

It ensures that all the understanding, encounters and insights gained through working with the children and families in need are heard at Governmental level. Meaning that Barnardos compiles relevant data, findings and keys issues observed in surveys and voices these concerns to governmental bodies on behalf of the public, children and their families. Barnardos influence and impacts policy process by advocating for the rights of children through their campaigns and analysis of implemented policies. For instance, the Irish government is in the midst of a debate on the implementation of a new Domestic Violence Bill. Barnardos provides abused children a “voice” by recommending practical changes to the bill such as a systematic inclusion of the impact of domestic abuse of children in all risk assessments undertaken, removing legal fees for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, introduce an on-call judge system that Gardai can utilise to issue emergency barring orders for crises that occur outside of office hours.