Children with Disabilities

20.2. Frameworks and Policy Developments

Frameworks and Policy Developments Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2003) (http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/publications/) sets out the government’s aim for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances to have the support they need to 

• Be healthy 
• Stay safe 
• Enjoy and achieve 
• Make a positive contribution 
• Achieve economic wellbeing 

Every Child Matters aims to integrate services for children aged from 0 to 19 with agencies working together across professional boundaries to co-ordinate support around the needs of children and young people. 

Children's Trusts bring together all services for children and young people in an area, underpinned by the Children Act 2004 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2004/ ukpga_20040031_en_1) duty to cooperate and to focus on improving outcomes for all children and young people.

The Children Plan (2007) (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/childrensplan/) is the government’s vision of how it intends to improve children and young people’s lives over the next 13 years to 2020. It includes making a reality of the government’s aspiration to make safeguarding children everyone’s responsibility. The plan made a commitment to strengthen the way in which complaints about bullying are dealt with and to consider how to address bullying that takes place outside school. 

The Children Plan One Year On (2008) (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/childrensplan/) updates on progress and the proposed actions to prevent and tackle bullying including requiring schools to record all incidents of bullying. 

 The National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (2004) (http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/NationalServiceFrameworks/Children/ DH_4089111) requires all agencies to work to prevent children suffering harm and to promote their welfare, provide them with the services they require to address their identified needs and safeguard children who are being or who are likely to be harmed. Standard 8 of the NSF focuses on disabled children and notes that disabled children are more likely to experience abuse than non-disabled children and that children living away from home are particularly vulnerable. Standard 8 requires that Local Authorities, PCTs and NHS Trusts ensure that LSCBs have a system in place to ensure that all disabled children are safeguarded from emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect. The NSF requires interagency safeguarding children protocols to be comprehensive and notes that for disabled children this means:

• Safeguarding protocols include agreement in relation to: 
• Consulting with disabled children, and organisations advocating on their behalf, about how best to safeguard them; 
• The development of emergency placement services for disabled children who are moved from abusive situations; 
• The systematic collection and analysis of data on disabled children subject to child protection processes; 
• Safeguarding guidance and procedures for professional staff working with disabled children; 
• Training for all staff to enable them to respond appropriately to signs and symptoms of abuse or neglect in disabled children; 
• Guidance on contributing to assessment, planning and intervention and child protection conferences and reviews; 
• Disability equality training for managers and staff involved in safeguarding children work; and 
• Regular reviews and updating of all policies and procedures relating to disabled children.

The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/ukpga_20080023_en_1) places a new duty on local authorities to provide short breaks services for disabled children and their families. The Act makes clear that breaks should not just be provided to those carers struggling to maintain their caring role, but also to those for whom a break would improve the quality of the care they can offer. The new duty is intended to come into force in April 2011. (Gov.uk, July 2009)