For all professions, there are legal powers and duties, professional protocols, quality standards and a range of professional guidance. Getting it right for every child is relevant to a wide range of professionals and there are some underpinning principles within the approach that have Fbroad application across relevant agencies. These principles are being described here as values.
Values inform or influence choices and action across a wide range of role and context. Successful evolution in culture, systems and practices across diverse agencies may depend partly upon on a shared philosophy and value base. The summary below is intended to be both practical and relevant to professionals with a part to play in ensuring that each child is: safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included.
Principles & Values:
- Child at the centre: The experience and needs of each child are central, and their views should be considered. Involve children in decisions about their lives in ways and at a pace which suits the child, their age, stage and circumstances.
- Holistic approach and early intervention: Whatever your professional role, try to consider the whole child. Although your involvement with a child may be short-term, as far as may be appropriate in each case, do consider the child's needs for longer term support.
- Confidentiality and information sharing: Respect the right to confidentiality for children, and for families, while recognising that the duty to safeguard children comes first.
- Safety: Recognise each child's right to be safe. Being safe and feeling safe are fundamental aspects of well-being. If concerned about risk to a child, be alert to the implications for other, perhaps equally vulnerable children in the situation.
- Promoting opportunities and valuing diversity: Actively promote opportunities for children who face discrimination and extra barriers. Respond positively and creatively to diversity among children and families, and colleagues.
- Partnership with families: Recognise how parents, family members and those in the child's network, are (or may with help become) the most significant contributors to meeting a child's needs in most situations. In many circumstances they can lead the plan of action. Listen to those who know the child well, have a sharp sense of what the child needs, of what works well for the child in his/her family and of what may not be helpful.
- Building on strengths: Work to engage the strengths and resources within the family network in plans to address needs and risks for the child (as far as this is safe and achievable).
- Bringing help to the child: If you can play a part in a plan of help, consider how help can be brought to the child rather than automatically passing on information and responsibility.
- Bringing help together: Play your part in ensuring that children and families experience a co-ordinated and unified approach when several professionals are involved. Try to ensure that families are not subjected to stressful repetition of information, avoidable delay, or to assessments without a plan of action to help.
- Supporting informed choice: Support children and families in understanding what help is possible and what their choices may be.
- Teamwork between professionals and agencies: Respect the contribution and expertise of other professionals; and co-operate with them to meet the needs of children, as far as may be appropriate for your role and context. For example this may be through consultation, sharing information, shared assessment, planning, action, or material support.
- Professional boundaries and standards: Recognise that sharing responsibility between agencies does not mean acting beyond our competence or responsibilities. Take action if safety or standards are compromised, whether that means alerting your own manager/employer or another appropriate authority.
- Individual development: Commit to professional learning and development. This may be through training, supervision, teamwork, or application of research evidence. Commit to improvement upon inter-professional practice in work with children and families
- Values across all working relationships: Recognise that respect, patience, honesty, reliability, resilience and integrity are qualities valued by children, families and colleagues. Be sensitive to the impact of the work upon other professionals. Beside the well-being of children and families, consider the well-being of colleagues and value their support.