Logo

Essay on Child Protection

Students are often asked to write an essay on Child Protection in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Child Protection

Understanding child protection.

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from harm. It involves measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation affecting children.

Importance of Child Protection

Children are the future of our society. Protecting them ensures a safer, healthier, and happier world. Child protection helps them grow and develop without fear, promoting their mental and physical well-being.

Role of Society

Everyone has a role in child protection. Teachers, parents, and even children themselves can contribute. By being vigilant and reporting any signs of harm, we can keep children safe.

Child protection is a crucial element of a thriving society. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of children.

Also check:

  • Speech on Child Protection

250 Words Essay on Child Protection

Introduction.

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It’s a critical aspect of ensuring the holistic development of a child, enabling them to grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.

The Importance of Child Protection

Child protection is a fundamental human right, enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It’s a vital prerequisite for the overall well-being of children and the future prosperity of societies. By protecting children, we not only ensure their physical and mental health but also contribute to the development of resilient, productive adults.

Challenges in Child Protection

Despite global efforts, child protection remains a significant challenge due to factors like poverty, social norms condoning harmful practices, and inadequate legal frameworks. Additionally, conflicts and crises exacerbate the vulnerability of children, making child protection even more critical.

The Role of Society in Child Protection

Society plays a crucial role in child protection. It’s the responsibility of every individual to report instances of child abuse and neglect. Schools and community organizations should implement child protection policies and provide safe environments for children.

In conclusion, child protection is a collective responsibility that requires concerted efforts from individuals, communities, and governments. It’s an investment in the future, ensuring that children grow into healthy, productive adults who can contribute positively to society.

500 Words Essay on Child Protection

Child protection refers to the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. This is a global issue that requires the collective effort of individuals, communities, and governments. The importance of child protection cannot be overstated as it directly impacts the physical, emotional, and psychological development of children, shaping the adults they become.

The Scope of Child Protection

Child protection encompasses a wide range of issues. These include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, exploitation such as child labor and child trafficking, and violence in the form of bullying or domestic violence. It is not limited to the home environment, but extends to schools, community spaces, and online platforms. With the advent of digital technology, children are now vulnerable to cyberbullying and online predators, expanding the scope of child protection.

Legislation and Policy Frameworks

Numerous international, national, and regional laws and policies have been implemented to protect children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most universally accepted set of standards for children’s rights. It provides a comprehensive framework for governments to develop legislation and policies focused on child protection. However, the effectiveness of these laws and policies varies significantly across different regions due to factors such as cultural norms, enforcement mechanisms, and economic resources.

The Role of Education

Education plays a crucial role in child protection. Schools should not only provide a safe environment but also equip children with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves. This includes teaching them about their rights, how to identify and report abuse, and how to navigate the digital world safely. Furthermore, education can break the cycle of abuse and exploitation by providing children with opportunities for a better future.

Community Involvement

Child protection is not solely the responsibility of the government or the education sector. The community plays a significant role in creating a safe environment for children. Community members can contribute by being vigilant, reporting suspected abuse, and supporting families in crisis. Community-based organizations can also provide resources and services to vulnerable children and their families.

Child protection is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach. It is not enough to merely have laws and policies in place. Effective child protection requires the active involvement of schools, communities, and each individual. It also requires addressing the root causes of child abuse and exploitation, such as poverty and societal norms. As future leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that every child is protected and has the opportunity to thrive.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Child Rights
  • Essay on Child
  • Essay on Child Abuse

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

One Comment

300words essay Child protection

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Child Protection in the UK Essay

Child protection basically refers to the welfare and safety of a child by protecting them from bodily, emotional, neglect and sexual abuse. According to UNICEF, 2006, child protection refers to prevention and response to violence, abuse, as well as exploitation against children. These include child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, child labour, in addition to other destructive traditional practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and marriage of children.

Children are subjected to violation of their rights all over the world, but despite of the extent, very few incidences are reported and under-recognized impediments to child development and survival besides being violations to basic human rights.

The convention on the rights of the child (1989), candidly elaborates children’s fundamental rights as encompassing “the right to be protected from economic exploitation and harmful work, from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse, and from physical or mental violence. The law also ensuring that children will not be separated from their family against their will” (UNICEF, 2006, P.1).

The development of the child protection system in the United Kingdom has been distorted by two factors namely; the impact of media reporting and the way in which celebrated child abuse tragedies have been handled. This essay is geared towards discussing both sides of the coin concerning the two factors mentioned earlier and possible solutions to save the situation.

There are various agencies charged with the responsibility of child protection, for instance in Wales and England, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) gives statutory guidance to local authorities. In Northern Ireland, it is the department of health, social services, and public safety (DHSSPS) while in Scotland it is the Scottish government, which guides the local authorities.

These agencies have put in measures to ensure cooperation between the agencies through the safeguarding boards. For instance, in England and Wales, the local safeguarding children’s boards (LCSBs) guarantee that the main agencies charged with protecting children work efficiently and jointly in supporting and safeguarding children’s welfare locally (NSPCC, 2010, p.2). LSBCs are more effective as they replaced the non-statutory and core membership is outlined in the Children Act, 2004.

This body incorporates police, local authorities, and health bodies among others. In Northern Ireland, a multiagency ACPCs, (Area Child Protection Committees) is the central point for ensuring local cooperation to protect children who are specifically considered as facing a major harm. Currently reforms are underway to instill change in protection services that include establishing a statutory regional Safeguarding Board (SBNI).

In Scotland there are 30 local child protection committees (CPCs) charged with child protection systems in their relevant fields (NSPCC, 2010, p.4). They comprise representatives from diverse backgrounds like the police, local authorities, children services, voluntary sector, and health bodies. However, in Scotland no Safeguarding Boards have been introduced yet.

Looking at child protection in the UK at the local level, children’s services by local authority are in charge of planning and protection services for the children. In England, all children services’ authorities must have a children and a young people’s plan as per the Children Act 2004 in order to offer premeditated bearing to the entire services to children. They should also establish a trust for children that will oversee planning, commissioning, and adequate delivery of children’s services.

On 1 April 2010, a children’s trust board was established following a statutory direction. The director in charge of children’s services is proficiently answerable for services delivered by the children’s trust for example, social services, and education. In addition, an elected councilor is chosen as “lead member” for the services. The lea member, the director and LSCB are in charge of creating and putting into operation the child protection systems as well as policies for professionals who work with children (NSPCC, 2010, p.6).

Various laws that govern the child protection in the UK and this legislation paves way for prosecution of people accused of child harm or abuse. This legislation has been in existence since the 1880s; however, following a sequence of sophisticated deaths because of child abuse culminated into ensuing inquiries that have birthed the recent systems of child protection. A case in study is the first formal inquiry into a death of a child by the Curtis Committee in England, named Dennis O’Neill in 1945(Laming, 2003).

His foster father killed Dennis at the age of 12. However, Maria Colwell who died at the age of seven in 1973 is the wheel behind the founding of current child protection organization. There were further changes instigated by deaths of other children especially Jasmine Beckford who died at the age of four, in 1984(Laming, 2003).

Today, the legislative structure for child protection system in England and Wales is established in The Children Act 1989. In Northern Ireland the framework is instituted in the Children Order 1995, while in Scotland it is the Children Act (Scotland) 1995 (NSPCC, 2010, p.6). There have been several amendments to the Children Act 1989 following a legislation, which was fueled by the Lord Laming’s inquiry.

This was an inquiry into the death of an eight year old by the name of Victoria climbie back in 2000, which piloted the publishing of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) by the government (NSPCC, 2010, p.9). Later, the Children Act 2004 was established to provide a legal outline for the program. Although, it did not replace the Children Act 1989, it brought about radical changes to the system through which children’ services were planned in Wales and England: it became fully operational amid 2006 and 2008 (Munro, 2011).

The media in every society plays a great role in shaping the social aspect of that society. The media is a socialization agent whose importance cannot be overlooked. It changes the behavior of the people as well as their attitudes towards certain issues in the society.

Through the media, the aspects of the society that are inappropriate are easily demonstrated and therefore mechanisms of dealing with them come to place. When an issue becomes a highlight in the media it becomes a central focus for the whole society. This is the same impact that the media has on the child protection system in the U.K. The media reporting on child protection system have had both positive and negative effects. This has been evidenced in a number of child abuse cases reported before (Munro, 2011).

On a positive note, the media has been instrumental in enhancing awareness of the child protection issues, legal structures present in case of harm. They also expose cases where children have been exploited or abused. In addition, they advertise the toll free numbers in case of abuse as well as keeping all stakeholders like social workers and the government on their toes regarding children protection system.

It has informed on the need to report cases of child abuse and thus making it easier for the local authorities and the government to provide children protection services. To some extend it has steered public confidence in the UK protection system especially coverage on a successful delivery to an abused, exploited or neglected child. Through research and its extensive search for information, the media helps expose facts that are not available to the social workers or the local authorities (Galilee, 2007).

This can also be seen in the light of increased number of articles and journals tackling child abuse allowing increased coverage on the issues that concern child abuse. This information is valuable for the success of the child protection policy. The media also passes on very educational and helpful messages using adult fiction, children’s fiction as well as different features or editorials from the print and broadcast media (Ayre, 2001, p.880).

The media differentiates between normal and deviant behavior making it easy to understand child abuse. When some behaviors are exhibited, children may not be able to understand that it is wrong in the first place and that their rights are being violated. Through the media they can therefore differentiate what is abuse and what is not. On the same note, the media acts as a watchdog for the people to ensure that the provisions, for instance, of the Children Act are well adhered to.

It also reflects on the government and society’s failure in handling child abuse. The media will audaciously expose government’s failure in uncovering the death of an abused child. In addition, another child’s death resulting from abuse leads to revisiting of previous tragedies. This is good for holding everyone responsible (Goddard &Saunders, 2001).

However, various researchers have shown that media coverage on child protection in most instances does more harm than good. One of the key concerns is the portrayal of social workers and social work. Views from different individuals and researchers over the last thirty years have indicated that the media misrepresents social work and especially the press reporting by giving undue negative and biased reporting of social workers and social work.

Furthermore, a high percentage of reporting by the media on social work is on child welfare and abuse (Vallianatos, 2001). This has to some extend created hostility and mistrust towards the social workers as he service users feel that they are dealing with incompetent service providers. This further leads to a representative conclusion that the profession is unskilled in speaking to the outside world, moreover is equally apprehensive of journalists (Galilee, 2007).

An interesting feature is evidenced in relating the relationship between social work and newsworthiness. Most of the social work stories especially on child abuse are slow and generally do not meet the requirements of the news value. However, social work stories occupy headlines when there is a case of immense failure. For example in the Beckford inquiry as mush as the news qualified as news values, the image of social workers was put at stake (Elsley, 2010).

They were described as “naïve, susceptible, negligent, incompetent, and untrained besides being powerful, heartless bureaucrats” (Galilee, 2007). In the Cleveland sex abuse case the perspective on social workers were similarly described as incompetent and powerful bureaucrats. Additionally, they were depicted as indecisive when put together to handle a problem. The daily mirror on July, 6, 1988 described social workers for children as having “laid back attitude, lack of accountability, and being too easily susceptible to ‘trendy’ theories” (Galilee, 2007).

The case was also depicted as a dispute between the state’s dedication to look after children and parents’ responsibility to implement a corresponding paternalism. This has led to creation of mistrust in the system and deprofessionalization of social work.

During the three decades, other issues regarding the role of the media and child protection have also surfaced. It also emerged that melodramatic reporting of a string of fêted child exploitation and abuse scandals specifically in England and Wales led to continual denigration in the media of the child welfare organizations considered blameworthy for those children’s’ deaths. The media has contributed to the conception of a climate of distrust, blame and fear which is seemingly rife in the area of child protection.

This is indicative of destructive alterations introduced into the child protection system following the self-protective reactions of pertinent authorities both locally and nationally to the mass media ambush (Ayre, 2001, p.881).

Despite the efforts to use more resources to enhance the intricacy, scope, and legislation of the child protection law, the public confidence has remained obstinately and frighteningly low. This is because of media coverage and handling of the previous tragedies. Those celebrated scandals called for a lot of public attention and increased response in both the broadcast and print media. Whereas this awareness created by the coverage had the potential to have a positive effect on child protection system; it did exactly the opposite.

This is because there emerged antagonistic public pillorying in the media over the child agencies involved (Ayre & Preston, 2010). There was also the publication of the in-depth recommendations following the involvement of the public inquiries into the cases made to the welfare agencies. A climate of blame has also prevailed to this effect. Either this is clearly evidenced in media reporting where it is the government or the child abuse professionals are to blame who turn the blame to the family. This has created more tension working against the protection system.

The urge for the journalists to sell news has driven them into constructing news with immediacy and tailoring drama in order to sell. This has led to a climate of fear, for example there is more coverage on sex abuse scandals. The media portrays sex abuse as coming from unknown assailants and not someone familiar to the child (Goddard &Saunders, 2001).

Moral panic therefore results from overdramatizing these activities to extreme events of sex rings, murder, and abduction of children into care by the social workers and thus over-sensitizing the underlying risks. This fear also extends to not only the public, but also the professional groups and policy makers (Ayre, 2001, p. 885).

Media coverage on child abuse or protection create a mistrust between the public, policy makers and politicians on one side and professionals dealing with child protection on the other. Substantial anxiety is brought forth in relationships through the adversarial nature of child protection system. Severally, child protection professionals have been described as “child stealers who steal sleeping children at night” in the media (Vallianatos, 2001).

They are seen as trusting individual with very liberal working ethics. This has worsened public confidence in the protection system. It is common knowledge that in the media “good news is no news” therefore there is no much regard is granted to the everyday successes of the agencies and the protecting system after a successful detection of abuse, and prevention of fatal injuries or even death.

The focus is to dwell on the failures in order to “produce” news. Although its not only the media will want to display a better image of child protection, those in the child welfare profession want a better image too.

Media reporting and the way previous cases on child abuse and resulting deaths has great an impact on the success of the child protection system in the United Kingdom. This has proven to be a tough fight for the government to win given the public perception, attitudes, and lack of confidence in the system.

The government has tried to deal with the previous cases with a considerable gravity (Boateng, 2003), for instance in Victoria Climbie’s case several changes were introduced in the legislation system better protection for the children.

This was also evidenced in the handling cases of Maria Colwel and Jasmine Beckford; which saw major changes on the Children Act 1989. Despite these measures the blame and lack of confidence still lurks. There is a need to understand that this is not entirely and exclusively the responsibility of the government and social workers (Parton, et.al 1997).

A more feasible solution to these perceptions is the need to emphasize that the family has the greatest role to play in child protection. The family comes in by primarily preventing the abuse and exploitation of children right under their noses, in their homes. Previous research and past cases indicate that close family members and neighbors perpetrate child abuse. As the primary socializing agent, the family has the responsibility of instilling the right morals on its members and teaching them what to do if abused even when the parents are not around.

They should also teach children to check out for early signs of any abuse. The family can also support the protection system by supporting the social workers when required to give any information regarding child welfare. They should also change the underlying perceptions as mapped by the media (Tunstill & Hughes 2006).

Social workers should change the way they handle the media concerning child abuse. There has been a “somewhat” a cold war between the two parties. As much as the media might misrepresent their work, they are not able to face the public (Colton, et.al, 2001). The media on the other hand should respect ethics governing their work and keep away from tailoring news to sell more and in the process creating fear, blame and mistrust among the public.

The media should also give information, which is not exaggerated and unnecessary emphasis on the failure of various stakeholders in this regard. It should stop overemphasizing on strangers or outsiders as the main perpetrators of violence, abuse against the children, and let them understand that people around them even among family members and friends can violate their rights (Ayre & Preston, 2010).

The government on the other hand should ensure that it enhances the image of the protection system. Its legislations should be geared towards enhancing the welfare of the children and not otherwise. For example, the NHS bill passed recently is set to jeopardise the child protection especially if misinterpreted.

Finally, the media, child abuse professionals, and the government should all avoid using child protection as means of enhancing their image at the expense of the children (Hetal, 2010). In addition, child protection should not be driven by the urge to get funding.

Reference List

Ayre, P. 2001, “Child protection and the media: lessons from the last three decades”, British journal of social work, vol. 31 no.1, pp. 887-901.

Ayre, P. & Preston-Shoot, M. 2010, Children’s Services at the Crossroads: A Critical Evaluation of Contemporary Policy for Practice , Russell House, Lyme Regis.

Boateng, P. 2003, Every Child Matters . Web.

Colton, M., Sanders, R. and Williams, M. 2001, An Introduction to Working with Children , Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Elsley, S. 2010, Media Coverage of Child Deaths in the UK: The impact of Baby P: A Case for Influence? Briefing No 8, Centre for UK-wide Learning in Child Protection , University of Edinburgh, London.

Galilee, J. 2007, 21 st century social work: Literature Review on Media Representations of Social Work and Social Workers . Web.

Goddard, C., Saunders, B 2001, Child abuse and the media : child abuse prevention . Web.

Hetal, P. 2010, A Guide to Social Workers, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Laming, H. 2003, The Victoria Climbie Inquiry . Web.

Munro, E. 2011, The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report – A Child Centered System . Web.

NSPCC 2010, Child protection fact sheet . Web.

Parton, N., Thorpe, D. & Wattam, C. 1997, Child protection, Risk and the Moral Order , Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Tunstill, J., Aldgate, J., & Hughes, M. 2006, Improving Children’s Services Networks: Lessons from Family Centers , Jessica Kingsley, London.

UNICEF 2006, Child Protection Information Sheet: what is child protection? pg. 1-2. Web.

Vallianatos, C 2001, She puts social work in the news . Web.

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, December 2). Child Protection in the UK. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-protection-in-the-uk/

"Child Protection in the UK." IvyPanda , 2 Dec. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/child-protection-in-the-uk/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Child Protection in the UK'. 2 December.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Child Protection in the UK." December 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-protection-in-the-uk/.

1. IvyPanda . "Child Protection in the UK." December 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-protection-in-the-uk/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Child Protection in the UK." December 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-protection-in-the-uk/.

  • Court Structure in England and Wales
  • History, Culture and Language of Wales
  • Adler’s Safeguarding Tendencies Essay
  • Safeguarding Civil Aviation: Airport Security
  • Safeguarding of Children on Adult’s Ward During Visits
  • The Aboriginal Community in the New South Wales
  • Education System in England and Wales Today
  • Jurisdictional Differences: Australia, England & Wales, and the US
  • Disability Hate Crimes in England and Wales
  • Globalization of Logistics and Supply Chain Management in Wales
  • Emergence of Social Work in Britain
  • Generation Me: Twenge’s Concept
  • Understanding Cities and Regions
  • Examine a Sub-Culture in Your Society, Past or Present
  • Multiculturalism Should Continue To Be Promoted In Canada

logo

Child Rights Resource centre

save-childrens-definition-child-protection(thumbnail)

Save the Children’s Definition of Child Protection

Publication year:

pdf (41.7 KiB)

Save the Children

Definition of Child Protection adopted by Save the Children on 10 December 2007.

Save the Children defines child protection as measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence affecting children. Child protection means safeguarding children from harm. Harm includes violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect. The goal of child protection is to promote, protect and fulfil children’s rights to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)) and other human rights, humanitarian and refugee treaties and conventions, as well as national laws.

Child protection should not be confused with the protection of all children’s rights, which is the responsibility of everyone working with children. Similarly, child protection is related to – but distinct from – the organisational protocols, policies and procedures aiming to ensure that every child with whom Save the Children and its partners works is safe while they are in our care.

Read full abstract

View & Download

1 Documents

Document information

Child Protection

© Author/Publisher

Subscribe and receive reading selections

Upload research & contribute to the collection

  • Learning Catalogue
  • Child_Protection_intro

Introduction to Child Protection

Short e-course

UNICEF activity

Introduction to Child Protection

This short course describes UNICEF's work in the field of Child Protection, and why it matters. In this course, you will explore the goals, programmes, challenges and achievements of child protection work.

Cover image: © UNICEF/UNI161865/Holt

Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is at the core of UNICEF's mandate. This course describes what the UNICEF Child Protection programme does and why it’s important.

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explore some forms of violence, exploitation and abuse that children experience and/or are at risk of facing throughout the world.
  • Describe what child protection means in UNICEF and why it is central to UNICEF's mission.
  • Identify UNICEF child protection programming strategies.
  • Illustrate what a child protection programme might look like and the result it can achieve.

This course is suitable to new staff of any level of seniority, of technical or non-technical background, who want to learn the basics about the subject.

It is also open to anyone interested in learning about UNICEF's Child Protection programme. 

It should take you about 30 minutes to complete this self-paced course. 

Methodology

This course is composed of a single short self-paced animated module, including various examples and activities. 

This course is composed of five sections:

  • Introduction
  • Why child protection?
  • UNICEF's approach to child protection
  • Building the evidence base
  • What child protection programming looks like

Contact details

Caroline Bacquet, Child Protection Officer,  [email protected]

Hellen Nyangoya, Child Protection Specialist,  [email protected]

SocialWorker.com

Reflective Practice in Child Protection: A Practice Perspective

By: Kelly Dundon

When I thought about my experience and methods of using reflective practice, I wondered how I would ever be able to articulate and make sense of the complex, critical, and sometimes deep and painful thoughts that underpin my practice in front line child protection. Eventually I came to the realization that we all do a certain amount of reflective and critical practice on many differing levels. We can easily find time to reflect before, during, and after events, from the superficial to extensive and through our personal to professional lives.    Reflection allows us to plan, articulate, evaluate, exact change, and perhaps more importantly, learn in the complex issues that we face daily. As part of our working with often disordered and dysfunctional children and families, with reflection, we are able to positively work toward best outcomes and in the best interests of the children with whom we work.

    The importance of thinking reflectively, that is to break down and closely analyze the processes that occur in decision making, in child protection, I believe is an essential part of our role. Doing so helps us to develop a sense of what has been achieved, what is likely to be achieved, and what could be done better, the importance of which has long been evaluated by many writers, including Schon (1983), Johns (1996, 2000), and more recently Rolfe (2001) and Fook (2002). As students, child protection practitioners, and later in our careers as practice teachers, leaders, and in helping to shape policy, we are able with the methods of reflective practice to conclude, inform, and broaden our practice knowledge.

    I began to understand the importance of utilizing the tools that were available to me long before I knew what it was actually called. In 1998, I grappled with being a broke student and 21-year-old single mother of two. I juggled diaper changing and textbooks and felt overwhelmed with the demands that were either placed upon me, or that I had placed upon myself. I needed a way to make sense of it all, so I began to write a few lines every night about my placement, theories and methods, thoughts, fears, and achievements. This helped me to really focus on what the issues were. Not being a natural academic, I found this very useful. About a month later in a seminar, I learned that I had been documenting my learning experience and that this was an essential tool for every student. I have now kept eight years of practice diaries—all strictly confidential, of course, but boy, you should read the contents! Some are highly emotional and not very productive excerpts. Others are productive and insightful. It is pleasing to see one’s sense of self develop over time.

    I look at how I, and others around me, have grown in competence and thoughtfulness through this process. I can clearly see that at the end of each time we really think about what we are doing, there is what I call an “awakening”—the sudden realization that we are on the right or wrong track, that we can do this very difficult job. I see the clarity, harmony, and satisfaction. When I feel this way, it is almost as if I have lifted above the situation. I am able to see below and think laterally about the potential impacts of my actions, before, during, and after an event. I add that a major part of working in child protection is the responsibility placed upon us as practitioners and team leaders to make good decisions. We can, with reflection, be able to accurately describe in progress notes and through assessments what has led us to our decisions and critically analyze our practice without feeling the burden of blame.

A Model for Reflection

    Borton’s Developmental Model for Reflective Practice, developed as early as 1970, is of great interest to me. The framework works in a sequential and cyclical order and is very easy to follow and recommended for first-time reflective practice. Borton’s (1970) model looks at three levels of reflection—What? So what? and Now what?

    He starts with a descriptive level of reflection, which he calls the “what.” An example is: What is the issue/problem? What was my role? What was mine and others’ response to the actions taken? Then we move to “So what?” This concentrates on the theory and knowledge building level of reflection: So, what does this tell or teach me about my service user, about myself, about the model of care that I am providing? So, what did I base my actions on and what was going through my mind as I acted upon them? So, what could I have done differently? So, what is my new understanding of this situation? “Now what” looks at what we can now do to break the cycle and to improve the situation in the future. The broader issues now need to be examined if this action is now to be successful. Once we have done all this, we can look at the end of this cycle by asking ourselves: Now what might be the consequences of this action?

    When opening one’s mind to using a model such as Borton’s, and particularly with practitioners who are new to reflection, I find that a very simple exercise is to concentrate on something like what happened at breakfast this morning and to really start to pick apart the events—why certain things occurred and others didn’t, and so forth.

Other Models

    I also see great value in drawing or mapping situations that are complex and in need of a good sorting out. In one of my previous positions, we used a visual mapping technique in looking at one particular child whose needs were complex. The map was huge. It covered a wall. Everyone really got into drawing and describing different ideas over the course of about a week. This type of free association whet many an appetite and allowed us to think creatively and outside of the boxes that we can often get stuck in when working in child protection.

    Having spoken to many workers involved in child protection, I have found that we all have different ways and levels in which we reflect. Some use a log, mapping techniques, and supervision or verbal accounts and discussions within teams to thrash out the problems to get differing opinions and ideas. You may ask a colleague to play devil’s advocate and question your beliefs, values, and attitudes about, say, drug affected parenting. We can, with this level of discussion, learn a great deal from each other and ourselves. We can closely examine and reflect upon our fears, discriminations, power relations, values, and beliefs. We can also examine the ripple effects of these issues for our service users and the wider community setting.

Why Reflect?

    I can think of many different reasons to keep reflecting upon what we do. First, we are in the business of protecting children. We need to be clear that we do protect children and ourselves when we are in the field. A little bit of thought and planning now may be of huge benefit later. Something that I have found is that reflection seems to create a certain clarity and sense of safety around this business we are in. The log I use is a very safe way of offloading and debriefing myself, as well as discussions with colleagues and managers. It enables me to avoid stress and vicarious trauma. It helps me to move forward from anger and frustration at service users, colleagues, departments, policy, and red tape toward a certain inner peace! It helps me to understand why I feel this way, why it needs to be this way, and how what I do could potentially change this situation positively, I guess from negative energy to positive energy or something like that. By doing this we can go a long way toward keeping well at work, which affects our service delivery and ultimately the way in which we do our business with children.

    The constant weight of workload pressure and prioritization is often of concern to us as child protection workers. It is easy to get caught in the overwhelming feeling of drowning in paperwork, children with high needs, and balancing risk like a trapeze artist. When we feel this way, to sit quietly in a park for five minutes and briefly run through the priorities, we can look at how we can work smarter, perhaps delegate tasks to families, therefore empowering them and including them in planning for children. In the wider spectrum, we can look at how we can establish a work-life balance, while still getting through all tasks and complying. A balance is possible with some thought, care, and of course, departmental policy, which positively supports work-life balance and understands its importance in terms of overall success and health of its work force and work practices.

    Second, instead of finding ourselves bogged down with constraints, if we are serious about our roles as corporate parents, we can truly focus on the children we serve and what would be in the best interests for that child, even if what we think would be the best solution is not possible. We have thought through the “what ifs.” We can evidence this through formal and ad-hoc supervision and case notes. When an adult seeks information on his childhood file, if he can clearly see the efforts that were made to keep him within his family or the reflective practice and decision-making that led to his removal, this may be part of his healing process, and we have helped to identify to him what the department is, why we do what we do, our mistakes, and how we have learned and developed over time, a transparency about child protection.

    We can encourage others to utilize reflection by offering consultation papers, questionnaires, and service user groups to empower our staff groups, children, and families. The benefits of reflection in terms of collaborative practice with other agencies and wider communities opens many doors to our understanding of roles and responsibilities, and it can be critical in removing boundaries and stopping us from blaming others. We must seek to empower others around us to take personal responsibility for reflection, for speaking up and letting people know what we think and why through this process.

    Another part of reflection is being able to use the criticism we face and utilize it—that is, turn the situation on its head, and learn something positive from it. Instead of being defensive and subjective, we can learn and move forward. I acknowledge, through my own experience, that this healing process may take time, especially if we are particularly wounded by a scathing remark or insult in our work practices, but it is possible.

    We are also able to establish boundaries when working with children, something that is often assumed that we can automatically do, although it does take experience, time, and skill. When a worker does over-identify with a client, this can be a negative experience for the provider and user. If we find the ability, through reflection, to step back and look at the bigger picture, we are able to work more effectively with a service user.

    In conclusion, the importance of critical and reflective practice is difficult to measure and often under-estimated, yet it is crucial to our professional and personal development. More important, I feel that reflection helps and prepares us to be accountable and responsible for the very difficult decisions and challenges we often face in child protection and allows us to make good choices and have better outcomes for children.

Kelly Dundon, her husband Martin, and their four children immigrated to Australia in 2005 from England. Kelly has six years of front-line child protection experience and is now a team leader in a statutory organization. Kelly spends her spare time with her family and writing about the ups and downs of child protection.

All material published on this website Copyright 1994-2023 White Hat Communications. All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to reproduce or reprint any materials on this site. Opinions expressed on this site are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Home / Essay Samples / Social Issues / Violence / Child Protection

Child Protection Essay Examples

The way corporal punishment affects children.

Corporal punishment towards children has been a controversial topic for many years. It’s the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury for the purpose of correction or control of the child’s behavior. This common form...

Curfew for Minors: Effective Safety Measure Or Infringement of Rights?

Curfews have many great outcomes, and I believe they keep us and others safe. Many parents also share this belief that when they give their children a curfew they are protecting them from a certain danger. I have to agree with those parents. I believe...

Child Labor in Pakistan: a Complex Issue

Child labor is a pressing global concern that denies children their right to a proper childhood, education, and overall development. This essay delves into the issue of child labor in Pakistan, shedding light on its causes, consequences, and the steps that need to be taken...

Realizing Human Rights: Combating Violence Against Children

Violence Against Children Essay: Making Human Rights Real - “It is easy to bring strong children than to mend broken adults” Did you know that every person in the world has human rights? Even children have rights. Human rights are things that every person should...

Preventing Early Marriage: a Guide for Parents and Communities

Marriage is an institution that consents the relationship of a man and a woman and binds them in a system of mutual obligations and rights essential to the functioning of a family life. It signifies the beginning of their future together. Unfortunately, thousands of girls...

Child Labor: Violation of Basic Children's Rights

Children remain the most susceptible section of society. They are naïve, comparatively feeble and imbecile, gullible enough to be tamed. They are the base upon which our future depends. Their moulding today will redefine the world tomorrow. The very reason is enough to handle them...

The Significance of Personal Hygiene for Health and Well-being

“Children are the wealth of tomorrow; take care of them if you wish to have a strong India, ever ready to meet various challenges”. At the beginning of the 20th century, the major cause of child mortality in the age group of 5 to 14...

The Tragic Case of Genie Wiley: the Story of Feral Children

Feral Children are children who are brought up with inadequate contact with other human beings and can instead, be raised outside in the wild through possible animal activities. Such isolation is either done intentionally or by fate in which something may have happened to the...

Growing Up in Poverty is a Problem in Scotland to an Extent

Poverty is a current problem in Scotland and is affecting many people of different ages, one of those ages are children. Figures show that poverty is clearly a problem in Scotland as ‘one in five people in Scotland are living in relative poverty’. More specifically...

Ways of Giving Care and Protection for Children and Young People

There are many arrangements that are available for looked after children and young people. It would all depend on the current situation that the child or young person is in. A looked after child is a child that has been in the care system for...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

You may also like

  • Gay Marriage
  • Animal Testing
  • Cruelty to Animals
  • Women Suffrage Movement
  • Gender Wage Gap
  • 2Nd Amendment
  • Freedom of Expression
  • Concept of Freedom
  • Domestic Violence Essays
  • School Shooting Essays
  • Violence Against Women Essays
  • Cyber Bullying Essays
  • Violence in Video Games Essays
  • Gang Violence Essays
  • Media Violence Essays
  • Sexism Essays
  • Gun Violence Essays
  • School Violence Essays

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->