I will be focusing on the positive care environment using early years. I will obtain policies from the school and will assess how these create a positive environment.

by daniella_amy (student)

AS and A Level Healthcare

Danielle Crawford 8034

Index

Title: Page Number:

Introduction: 2

A01: 3

A02: 17

A03: 21

A04: 33

Bibliography: 42

Introduction

The aim of this assignment is to develop an awareness that positive care environments reply on practitioners having a comprehensive understanding of the diverse society we live in. I will investigate how the service user’s rights and well-being relies on the care practitioners through the care value base and how it can enhance my service user’s opportunities in accessing services they need to. I will be looking at their legislation, school prospects and complaints procedure to see how well they promote a positive care environment.

I will use my work placement to help me complete my assignment; I will choose one of the following service-user groups specified access services:

- Health

- Early years

- Care of older people

- Individuals with special needs

I am currently on work placement at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School, therefore I will be focusing on the positive care environment using early years. I will obtain policies from the school and will asses how these create a positive environment. I will also obtain the procedures the school follow to evaluate and investigate how this promotes a positive environment. I will observe the care setting and highlight how the school promotes the care value base in order to ensure that they a positive care environment.

By completing this assignment I will gain an understanding of individuals rights, beliefs, values, barriers to access, how to create a positive environment and how the society help to promote the service user’s rights.

A01 – Care value base and equality

We now live in a shared, diverse society, which contain a wide verity of different people, and people who may be different from us. This could consist of being a different skin colour, different sex and different age. A care practitioner should be responsible to understand and work sensitively and knowledgably with different diverse needs to identify a specific issue for the service user. Not all service users are treated the same, but this may depend on their health and well-being. All service users will have opportunities for access to services which meet their different needs.

Learning about differences and trying to understand individual beliefs and needs are an essential skill for promoting equality. There are five sectors to ‘The Care Value Base’ which need to be followed by care practitioners in order to promote a good care environment. The Care Value Base is a set of values or principles devised by the Care Sector in 1992 in order to protect individuals’ rights in a care setting ranging from primary schools to hospitals, anything in the health care sector. The Care Value Base includes;

- Anti-Discrimination

- Empowerment

- Respect for individuals rights, identity, beliefs and culture

- Effective Communication

- Confidentiality

St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School’s motto is;

"Working, praying, sharing and learning together"

I believe this statement suggest the school is a very positive care environment to work within and incorporates the care value base. To bring the school together to work as a team every individual must be respected, as everyone has the same religion in the school, discrimination is not found through their religious side, but they are taught not to discriminate against someone colour, background or sex. St Mary’s need to meet the needs of every individual service user, by doing this they promote confidentiality to respect service user’s human rights and to gain their trust and respect for the school as a whole and a community.

Effective communication is important in the school the children are cared for appropriately and effectively. The school empowers the children by giving them opportunities to stay behind for the school choir, music band, eco-friendly groups and other fun school activities, they are also taught to make their own decisions. They are encouraged to build trusting relationships and how confidentiality is very important. Below I have described the care value base in more detail and depth and how it is included in St Mary’s RC Primary School’s policies and how it is used in the care setting from my observations.

Anti-Discrimination

Anti-Discrimination is individualising a service user because they are seen as different in some way, for example, service users can be discriminated against as of their age, gender, race, disability, religion and sexuality. ‘The school has a Racial Harassment policy which states that it condemns all forms of racial harassment, and recognises that all pupils and staff have an equal right to the maintenance of and respect for, their racial identities, customs, culture, language and religious observances. The school will not tolerate any abuse of these rights, whether concerning pupils or staff.’ Discrimination can be avoided in schools by educating pupils about the diverse society we live in, for example, they could learn about different religions not just their own and customs; this makes them aware of other cultures and will become a norm to them. In a care setting, practitioners must be taught about the diverse society we live in and should not individualise someone because they are different. Instead, they should take the time to understand their needs, and treat them equally and fairly. Discriminating against someone can lower their self-esteem, which is the worst thing someone can possibly do in a care environment as trust will become a big issue for them. By having low self-esteem, they will be left feeling depressed, singled out, stressed and very upset by the treatment they are receiving.

‘There are two main types of discrimination – direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination is where a person is treated less well, in comparison with someone else, because of his or her racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. An example of this is turning a person down for a job as of their age, gender or race. Indirect discrimination is when an apparently neutral specification, criteria or practice would disadvantage people on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation unless the practice can be objectively justified by a legitimate aim. An example of this is Indirect discrimination is when an apparently neutral specification, criteria or practice would disadvantage people on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation unless the practice can be objectively justified by a legitimate aim.’[1]

During my work placement I have observed the children learning about other cultures and religions as a part of their RE curriculum they are taught in the school grounds. In my questionnaire given to the year 3 class teacher, whose name I will not quote for confidentiality reasons, answered the question ‘How do you stop discrimination and bullying?’ by quoting ‘The ‘Good behaviour, self-discipline and Anti-bullying’ policy the school has will be ‘highlighted’ and have regular assemblies to establish the ethos of the school and to emphasise the message that bullies and bullying will not be tolerated.’

Empowerment

Empowerment is the development of skills, knowledge and abilities in the service user to enable them to control and develop their own learning. By empowering a service user a care practitioner should provide the service user with the correct and relevant information needed to make a decision, it is then in the service user’s control to make the decision. A slogan associated with the school to show they promote empowerment is:

‘We guide you to make the best choices in life – It’s my life’

Empowerment can raise a service user’s self-esteem and confidence and can result them in having an overall positive self-concept, which is both self-esteem and self-image. Empowerment is promoted by the school by asking the children what they would like to do. The school has also given pupils responsibilities which enable them to be trusted and feel they are free to make their own decisions and choices on how to act appropriately for the responsibility given. The responsibilities are as follows:

a. To attend school regularly, on time ready to learn and take part in school activities.

b. To aim at the highest standards in all aspects of school life.

c. To co-operate with the staff and to accept the authority and rules of conduct of the school.

d. To consider and respect the feelings and property of other people both in school and in the wider community.

e. To care for the grounds, buildings, furniture, equipment and books provided for the school.

Whilst on my work placement in St Mary’s RC school, empowerment was promoted to the service user’s most of the day. They were offered what books they would like to read, whether they would like milk or water and if they wanted to take part in a classroom activity. Also, the school offers after school activities such as; football, netball, swimming, eco-friendly green club, homework club, choir and music band practice. This is optional to the children whether they would like to stay after school to attend these practices. This allows the service user’s choose which activity they would like the most and to attend, if any of the children want to quit the group, they are not forced to stay but are told how great of an opportunity the group could be for them, then in their own time they will decide whether to leave or not.

Respect for individuals rights, identity, beliefs and culture

So far I have talked about Anti-Discrimination and Empowerment, but without respecting an individual the laws and policies would not work, so this is a very important aspect of the care value base. A care practitioner must recognise that every service user is different and should be treated differently but at the same time in a fairly and equal manner. Respecting an individual will gain their trust and build a trustworthy relationship with them. It will also make the service user feel confident and belonged to, their self-esteem will raise and this will give them a positive self-concept. Lack of respect in a care setting could damage a service user’s self-esteem and leave them feeling depressed, stressed, alone and upset, they may also feel undervalued and unworthy. An example of respect of a service user’s identity is a special needs campaign produced by the school and Special Needs Co-ordinator:

‘The most effective means of identifying children with special educational needs is by using the class teacher's skills, in which the teacher becomes aware through daily contact with the same children, that some have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age. After discussion with the schools Special Needs Co-Coordinator the class teacher will devise an educational program to meet the child's individual needs.’[2]

The school has regular parent evenings so the child is closely monitored and cared for. This also makes the parents happy as they know their child is being cared for well and is in good hands, it maintains good communication with the school and the parent of the child.

Effective Communication

Communication is when you build an understanding of what another person is communicating. Active listening is the way in which we show we have understood what is being communicated by using the communication cycle. The communication cycle is as follow as figure 1 below:

[3]

The communication cycle is about making contact with others and being able to understand what is being asked. It involves people sending and receiving messages. We all communicate, or send ‘messages’ continuously. The communication cycle occurs when; a person has an aim/idea, the message is composed/ coded (using words or non-verbal means), transmit/send message (speaking), message received (by hearing or by noticing non-verbal communication), the second person decodes the message and then the message will be understood. Effective communication means that we are able to express ourselves, both verbally and non-verbally, in ways that are appropriate to our cultures and situations. This means not only being able to express our opinions and desires, but also our needs, advice, fear and help.

Our body movement sends messages about whether we are tired, happy, bored or sad. This includes the way we sit, talk, move and walk. Our face to face positions can also send signals, standing or sitting eye-to-eye can send messages of formality or expressing serious emotions such as anger. Maintaining eye contact shows that you care and that you are interested in the conversation going on and are listening effectively. Another way of effective communication, common in primary schools and early years is gestures. This is a more friendly approach and can help service user’s feel more comfortable in the care setting. In St Mary’s RC Primary School the teacher in year 3 reads a book to the children and changes her voice, pitch and tone to keep the children interested in the book and to keep them from becoming bored. This educates the children the importance of effective communication and how to respect one another.

When the children enter the classroom in the morning, the teacher get the children to sit down in a circle, so nobody is left out, and greet them all in a friendly, welcoming tone of voice, this ease the children and help them feel comfortable in the classroom. The children are taught how to pronounce words properly, how to spell and mostly important in the school – manners. This ensures that they will be able to hold conversations effectively, greet people they don’t know and how to speak in everyday situations.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality means that the service user has the right not to have their information shared or accessed by any unauthorised people who may want to access it. ‘It is the policy of the Governing Body to allow the parents or guardians of pupils in this school access to the curricular and educational records of his / her child(ren). The Governors delegate to the Head-teacher the requirements to maintain these records which must be up-dated annually. The Governors and Staff will make every effort to protect the confidentiality of all pupils in their care, including:-

a. Records ...

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Confidentiality

a. Records concerning another pupil.

b. Probation or court records.

c. Reports from social services or,

d. Any information relating to actual alleged or suspected child abuse.’

If any information wishes to be shared about the pupil in the school, the parent of the child needs to be contacted firstly to give the school their consent of passing on their child’s records. Breaking confidentiality will automatically break trust between the school and the service user’s; this can cause stress and result in being upset.

In St Mary’s RC Primary School the register is done on the intranet and only teachers and appropriate care practitioners have access to this. Children are under no circumstances are allowed to access the intranet as this is where the confident information is kept. Very important information is kept safe by the headmaster so only he, and who else is allowed to know can see.

Equal Opportunities

Although equal opportunities may not be considered as a main part of the care value base, it still has a great importance in a care setting. St Mary’s RC Primary School prospectus states that the school:

- Are committed to providing an education which recognises the diversity of the community we serve and society at large.

- Aim to promote a friendly learning environment which enables all children to fulfil their potential and which positively reflects the range of cultures and experiences of the whole community

- Aim to ensure all aspects of our provisional address issues of class, disability, gender and race

- All pupils have a right to broadcast a balanced curriculum which will enable them to achieve successful results regardless of class, disability, gender or race

- Development in all pupils and a spirit of understanding, co-operation and respect for all members of the community.[4]

St Mary’s RC Primary School promotes equality as it teaches about the diverse society in which we live in, and insures all aspects of our provision address issues of class, disability, gender and race suggests that the care practitioners teach the service users about anti-discriminatory practice and a diverse society. Service user’s should know and recognise that discrimination is wrong. Their aim to develop pupils in a spirit of understanding, co-operation and respect for all members of the community suggest to me that St Mary’s RC educates the service user’s to have respect for individual choice, identity, culture and beliefs.

The main aims and objectives as defined by our Catholic Faith are: -

1. To instill a sound knowledge of the Catholic Faith by helping to produce responsible individuals able to care for themselves and get on with others different from themselves, recognizing that each has different needs.

2. To work with Parents, Parish Community and others to lead each child on their personal journey of faith.

3. To ensure the uniqueness of each child is recognised and valued.

4. To help pupils to develop lively, enquiring minds, the ability to question and argue rationally and to apply themselves to tasks and physical skills.

5. To evaluate our work and aims at regular intervals, adapting them as necessary.

6. To instill religious and moral values, a respect for oneself and others, which informs everyday life and relationships, promoting tolerance of other races, friendliness, politeness, as well as respect for ones own property and the property of others and the school environment.

7. To give instruction in the basic skills namely reading, numeracy, oracy and literacy by the most efficacious methods available to us;

8. To promote Christian values within the school and to encourage in pupils a sense of decency, commitment, self-reliance, responsibility, respect for others and a healthy self-esteem;

9. To ensure the links between school, Church and community are strengthened and supportive of the child.

10. To create an atmosphere which is relaxed but purposeful and to facilitate the achievement of these aims by forming the best possible relationships between teachers, children, parents, parishioners and others involved.

11. To develop an understanding and tolerance of other religions, races and ways of life.

12. To help the pupils develop an understanding of their cultural heritage through the teaching of Welsh as a second language, and by developing the Welsh dimension of the curriculum whenever possible.

13.To strengthen links with our feeder schools St. Albans R.C. High School, Brynmawr Comprehensive School, Nantyglo Comprehensive and Abertillery Comprehensive.

We do not forget that we are part of a process and we want our children to go on to the next stage of education with a built in desire for further interesting work and experience.

The values for St Mary’s Primary School are;

We intend that our pupils will achieve their full potential and become good members of the community by embracing, with us all, these values:

telling the truth

keeping my promises

respecting the rights and property of others

acting considerately towards all living things

helping those less fortunate and weaker than ourselves

taking personal responsibility for our actions

developing self-discipline and at school:

being polite towards pupils and adults

trying our best in everything we do

respecting and caring for other people and their property

being proud of our school and taking care of it

being honest and truthful

The above statements from the schools prospectus tells us in which ways they try to implement the care value base, and how to create the best environmental, equal and respected care service they can. Encouraging children to learn and speak properly and listen with interest, attention and patience means that they educate the service user’s on effective communication and the importance of it. From my own experience, the service users are very well mannered and speak very well. The children also know what is right and what is wrong, they can also relate to a sense of tolerance and understanding of appreciation of other service users. This show the school educates children on a diverse society and how to respect an individual.

Social and cultural diversity

‘Social diversity is the diverse factors surrounding our society such as race, culture, religion, age and disabilities.’[5] It is used to describe the uniqueness and individuality of the society. It is important to learn how to promote cultural diversity in the classroom because only when that happens, will the students learn to appreciate other cultures. ‘Their belief in their own culture will be enriched and it will make them more open to diversity. Thus it will lead to less prejudice. Cultural diversity in the classroom is extremely important to have, because it opens the minds of students to a different experience and enriching experiences.’[6] They learn about different cultures, its varied ways and techniques, the lifestyle of the people belonging to that culture and the likes. In the process, it leads to a lot of learning. Teaching cultural diversity in the classroom is therefore very important because it provides young minds with an entirely new learning experience.

In St Mary’s RC Primary School they change the seating arrangements of the students from time to time and place them with a different student each time. This will allow them to interact with different people and learn something more about them. Sitting in the same place will not help them to build relationships with others. This makes the classroom a positive environment to work in as everyone gets along and know their background.

Prejudice

‘Prejudice is an unfavourable opinion of, or a feeling or an attitude of dislike towards another individual, or a certain group of people. Prejudices are usually unreasonable and unfair judgments, which are not based on accurate information or facts. When individuals act on their prejudice, they treat the targeted individual or group in an unfair, unequal way. Prejudice groups could be; minority ethnic groups, homosexuals, gender and people with disabilities. Prejudices generally result in a person being denied equal treatment and may lead to their self-esteem being damaged and a person’s rights being infringed.’[7]

To stop the needs of bullying and singling groups and discriminating against them, St Mary’s prospectus quotes:

‘The school has an Anti-Bullying, Anti-Discrimination Policy, which is implemented by all staff and is available for parents to view if requested. Parents are encouraged to report any incidents of bullying or discrimination to the Head-teacher immediately and an investigation will be held. Parents of bullies will be informed and sanctions undertaken. The school will not tolerate any kind of physical or verbal bullying by any pupil and all incidents are taken seriously. It is in everyone’s interest that such anti-social behavior should be dealt with most severely.’

This show that all the care practitioners and service user’s need to respect individual’s rights and identities, beliefs and culture. The school make it clear that it is very important for children to know we live in a diverse society and that it is wrong to single out certain groups or individuals and make them feel bad about themselves.

Any parents that wish to make a complaint about something that may concern them need to see the headmaster or the teacher of the class in which the child is in. This is because the headmaster or teacher may be able to sort the situation, St Mary’s RC Primary School has a complaints procedure in their policy and procedures form.

‘COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Parents who are unhappy regarding any matter concerning their child, should contact either the Head-teacher or the child’s Class Teacher.’[8]

If a further complains wishes to be made about a serious matter, the parent will be given a number by the headmaster on who to contact and how to get about the situation properly. Before the child starts school, a consent form needs to be filled in which signs they need to be well behaved;

‘CONSENT FORMS

Parents are asked to sign a General Consent Form, which will cover all educational visits by transport or on foot undertaken by their child, and would be valid while he or she is at this school.’[9]

A02

Barriers are factors which prevent service users from accessing health and/or care related settings in which they want, need or are legally entitled too. Barriers to access’ can also be external and cannot be controlled by the health care setting such as a service user living a long distance away from the care setting they wish to attend.

[10]

One barrier service user’s may come across is the ‘language’ barrier, this means a service user is finding it difficult to understand care practitioners talking to them and also they may not be able to speak the same language. Most health care settings may experience this type of barrier at some point as the UK is now a diverse and multi-ethnic country. In my work placement all the children are the same religion, but not all of them speak fluent English as some of the children come from families with different ethnicity groups. For example, one service user has two types of languages being spoken at home as his mother is Muslim and speaks Arabic and his father is Roman Catholic and speaks English, Arabic was his first language. This will obviously cause language barriers when he comes to school, as the majority of children and all teachers speak English. Emotionally this barrier can sometimes upset and frustrate a service user as they may not understand instructions given; this will cause them to have a low self-concept. Socially he may not feel he can interact effectively with the other children as he may not feel comfortable as children notice people who are different, which may result in bullying or discrimination. Intellectually he may not understand the work and may not want to ask for help, he will lose concentration and lack in developing his intellectual skills. This will make his self-concept negative and affect his confidence.

Another problem that affects service users are psychological barriers. This barrier may result in the service user being too scared or worried to use the service. For example, a service user may tell a teacher they understand the work given to them, but really they don’t understand and need extra help. Children may be too proud or scared to ask for help in school, especially if they are receiving special educational assistance. This was brought up on the barrier section on the questionnaire I produced for the teachers in the Primary school. A service user in the classroom suffers with dyslexia; this affects her in many ways as her lack of confidence and self-concept is very noticeable. Emotionally the service user’ gets upset and angry when a question is answered incorrectly, this also affects her intellectual development as she doesn’t want to work as she is frustrated with herself, and won’t ask for help to understand the work. Physically she is affected as she doesn’t want to take part in any activities as she isn’t good with teamwork and co-ordination, the teachers have noticed that on her PE lesson, she goes missing or feels sick, this is a lack of confidence and she may feel scared of what people think of her. Socially she is affected negatively as she feel she doesn’t fit in with a crowd, so at break time and dinner time she stays in the classroom alone or she will stand on her own in the playground. This results in her feeling marginalised and socially excluded.

The cost of going to school can also be expensive and is a financial barrier. Parents need to buy their children the school uniform, essential equipment (pens, pencils, rubbers and sharpeners) and also provide them with money for school dinner. As well with these essential items, the schools also put on school trips, and sometimes they are not cheap, such as the resent Cardiff castle viewing, educational activities and meals which cost £25.00 per child. Some parents may feel pressured as they may not have a great income and may have more than one child that may want to go on that trip, such as two twin boys in my class. This not only affects the parents but also the children as they will also feel stressed and upset that they may not be able to attend. I was on placement on the Tuesday and the school trip was on the Friday, and the two twin boys were unable to attend, this affected their attitudes all week and the teacher was aware they were unable to go due to financial difficulties with their parents. Their attitudes were easily picked up by the teachers as they were fun, loving working boys and became uninterested with the whole week of school. Intellectually they were affected as they lost concentration in lessons and missed out on essential skills. Physically they were betraying bad attitudes as their body language wasn’t good at school or around their parents whilst being picked up, emotionally they were affected as their confidence was negative as they felt judged by the other school children. Socially they were missing out on a great experience with their friends and felt marginalised and socially excluded. They also avoided conversation with other service users about the trip as they felt embarrassed and upset.

Opening times for the school is also another barrier. This barrier is where the times of the care setting is not suitable for the service users and their parents. A girl in my work placement is always the first in school and sometimes in before the classroom teacher arrives, this is due to her mother and father working seven until seven. The service user has also told the class teacher who informed me that every morning her grandmother brings her to school, and she is always upset and tired. Physically this barrier will affect the service user as she may not feel well enough or have enough energy to come to school as she is in her grandmothers at half past six every school morning. Due to her being tired and upset she doesn’t like participating in exercise, this may lead to obesity in the future or other health related problems. Intellectually she feels too tired to learn and constantly needs reassuring as tends to fall asleep in class, she isn’t focused on the school work and tends to fall behind. This will affect her as she will be missing out on essential skills and will not develop her intellectual thinking. Emotionally she is affected as she misses her mother and father a lot through-out the school day and relies on her grandmother to take her to school and pick her up. Socially she doesn’t get enough attention from her parents and this affects her confidence. From my observations in placement I have noticed she has a bad attitude towards her work and to the teacher, I believe she does this to gain attention off the other service users and the teacher.

These are only a few of many barriers that are mentioned in my questionnaire. The others that are also affecting service users are geographical barriers, physical barriers and resource barriers. Primary schools can sometimes be located in rural areas with a lack of transport to get the service users to and from the service; this is a lack of facility. These can then cause problems for the service users who rely on public transport as they may not be able to access the service they wish to attend. The geographical barrier to St Mary’s Roman Catholic school is due to the busy operation hours. It is very close to a bus stop and a car park which affects the children crossing the roads and affects their safety. Also there is another school straight opposite so sometimes they need to walk fair distances to get to their car.

A03

There are two main factors which effect a positive care environment and that is the care practitioners and the care setting. Policies are principles or rules put together by the care setting to ensure that they meet all service users needs and promote a positive care environment. An example of this could be from a primary school; they could gather a set of rules so ensure the children’s safety in case of a fire, they will follow a fire drill procedure to protect the children. Factors in which promotes a positive care environment include;

Implementation of legislation

Practices

Procedures

Resources

Culture

Implementation of legislation can help create a positive care environment, which every care setting should aim for. This protects the service users and ensures that the service users are being cared for effectively and efficiently and their identities are protected, this is an example of the care value base and how it helps to create a positive environment; as if the care practitioners were talking about the service users personal information this is breaching the service users rights and trust (confidentiality). Policies also create a positive environment as care practitioners must abide by them to ensure safety to the service users and to meet their needs. For example, every service user is entitled to equality and not discrimination , therefore the care practitioners must treat them equally but as individuals also. Practices are put in place to ensure the care practitioners and service users are aware of the policies and procedures. This will ensure the service users feel safe and understand what care they are entitled to, and also siblings of the service user. The resources in the care setting can help to develop the service users development and learning skills and can also satisfy their needs and wishes, this makes the service users, care practitioners and the family of the service users happy. Culture is also important especially as we now live in a diverse society, service users will understand and meet different cultures and religions and can be exciting experiences at times, especially working in a primary school. This is important as the service user will need to adapt to the diverse society we live within.

Examples of positive care environment policies in my placement are:

Personal and Social Education

St Mary’s Roman Catholic quote:

‘In St Mary’s R.C. we will endeavour to adapt a whole school combination approach to P.S.E.. We hope to incorporate a range of experiences to promote the personal and social well being of children and to enable them to develop a sense of self-worth and to relate effectively to others. P.S.E will equip them to be more informed, confident and skilled in order for them to take an active and responsible part in society and it will enhance learning, motivation, performance and achievement. ’[11]

St Mary’s R.C. primary school recognises the importance of the care value base and the need to meet the curriculum needs from the statement above that is found in their policy section. The school uses the educational approach to raise awareness off a different society, how to be individual and key skills which will help them through life. It also educates the service users about social education, health education, and a trusting climate so that the children can build relationships and learn not to discriminate against other cultures and religions. PSE activities and school events are also ways in which the school’s health education is expressed, not only through its normal academic and pastoral arrangments but also through; the whole school environment, the pattern of relationships established, the values transmitted by the personal example of the teachers and others working in the school and the self esteem fostered among its pupils. The aims that St Mary’s R.C. try to reach to promote a positive care environment are;

Equip pupils to be personally and socially effective by providing learning experiences in which pupils can develop skills, explore attitudes, values and personal qualities and acquire evaluate and apply appropriate knowledge and understanding

Develop pupils self esteem and personal responsibility

Prepare pupils for the challenges, choices and responsibilities of work and employment and life-long learning

Empower pupils to participate in their communities as active citizens and develop global perspective

Assist pupils to live healthy and fulfilled lives (by influencing children’s behaviour about choice of diet, road safety and personal relationships)

Foster and encourage positive attitudes towards the environment and the principles of sustainable development, locally, nationally and globally

The reasons to follow this procedure is to teach the children to their best abilities on how to handle everyday skills, problems and challenges, and to understand the diverse society they live within.

Anti-Bullying and Behaviour Policy

The anti-bullying policy was created to ensure that St Mary’s R.C. had ‘a clear behaviour policy that sets out the boundries of what is acceptable, the hierarchy of sanctions, arrangements for the consistent and fair application, and a linked system of rewards for good behaviour’. The school’s behaviour policy also takes into account respect for other peoples religions and beliefs which is and element of the care value base and follows the anti-discrimination procedure. St Mary’s R.C. bullying procedure quotes:

Aims include that all pupils are expected to behave in a responsible manner both to themselves and others, showing consideration, courtesy and respect for other people at all times. This suggests that pupils must show respect for other peoples cultures, beliefs, identity and norms. In addition to the anti-bullying rules children are rewarded for good behaviour within the school, this promotes good behaviour and encourages the children to behave and to understand what is good and bad behaviour. St Mary’s R.C. have strategies for dealing with bullying and bad behaviour. They quote that ‘All incidents of unacceptable behaviour and bullying will be investigated’. The following is a list of actions available to staff depending on the perceived seriousness of the situation. The emphasis is always on caring, listening approach. Strategies to follow for bullying and bad behaviour are;

Discussions at length with the victim. This will require patience and understanding. Remember - Listen, believe, act.

Parents will be informed of all serious incidents and will be partners in dealing with the issue. (Both the bully and those being bullied). Parents will be regularly encouraged to report all forms of bullying/harassment. This policy is available to all parents by request.

Identify bullying or bad behaviour. Obtain them with the details and ask them to tell the truth about the situation and how they feel and why they are doing it. Obtain witnesses if possible. Determine the perceived seriousness of the situation.

Discussions with the bully or pupil with bad behaviour. Confront them with the details. Make it clear that bad behaviour and bullying is not acceptable at St Mary’s.

If they own up then follow the procedure outlined below and the Discipline policy.

If they do not own up, complete and Incident record form and advise a member of the management team. Member of management team will investigate further.

St Mary’s staff promotes good behaviour and make it more noticeable than that if they were to misbehave as they may think that is the best way to get attention from staff and pupils. If a child receives more attention for misbehaving they might think this is how they get more attention and their behaviour may get worse. A behaviour book is kept in the school office for a record when meetings with parents take place. This ensures that the parents are involved in the child’s education, parents feel their children are being cared for and closely monitored and this makes them aware of what goes on in the school ground and how the child behaves. When I was on work placement I came across a form of bullying as a young girl hit two other girls, I informed the teacher of the class and she immediately challenged the bully. The teacher followed the procedure and made sure the whole class knew what bullying was, the teacher made the child aware of what she had done wrong. The teacher explained what to do; to say sorry, make her aware what she had done was wrong, the punishment and the record was made which followed to a letter being sent home. Policies can be found for good behaviour, self-discipline and anti-bullying. Templates of these letters are given to each teacher in order for them to ‘act immediately and in a rapid and unambiguous way’ and to ‘act consistent’ in their methods of challenging bullying. Children who bully other children are disciplined but treated fairly and praised when they do good to promote them to keep doing good and to follow the policies and procedures of equality. Children who are bullied are recognised and are given help and so the policies and procedures help them to feel safe within the school grounds and try to re-build their self-esteem and self-confidence. The school has a weekly ‘special assembly with certificates and merit awards where they celebrate the success of pupils’, this encourages good behaviour within the school.

Health and Safety Policy

This policy is very important and is regularly updated to effectively protect the children and staff within the school. The school’s health and safety policy is available to anyone who it may concern and every teacher understand and implement the policy to ensure they protect the children. Although everyone is responsible for implementing the policy and procedures there should be one named person who is in charge of ensuring everyone is implementing the policy and procedures. In St Mary’s R.C. this is the head teacher Mr Tim Baxter, he quote ‘The aim of our school is to create an atmosphere of carefulness both in and out of school, this is for all users of the school, children, school staff, parents and the community.’, there are also aims that need to be met in any health and safety hazard:

The ability of each individual to protect him/her self

Concern and consideration for the safety of others

Knowledge of what to do in situations

Alertness and control

Cultivation of good habits

An example of a health and safety policy being implemented is practicing as the ‘fire drill’, the drills are carried out at least twice a term so the children understand what to do in case of a fire. This is so that all staff and children are familiar with these procedures, and know their own exit route, place of assembly and roll call procedure.

Another health and safety policy is the accident book to keep minor and major accidents recorded. This shows that the children are cared for and monitored closely. Reoccurring problems can be identified easier and can help prevent them from occurring again. If the incident is more serious or caused by any defect in school or its equipment an accident form is filled. This is given to the parent and a copy is kept in the school office. There are four accident categories in St Mary’s; fatal, major injury, employees resulting in more than three days consecutive absence and other accidents. Any accidents that fall into the first two categories should be reported immediately to: The Health and Safety Executive.

I have included a primary evidence of the accident form that St Mary’s should fill out in case of an accident and forms to send to the health and safety executive. Procedures to follow in the event of an accident are:

Always fill in the accident book for minor injuries (including all bumps on the head, but not minor grazes or cuts)

If a child has bumped their head you MUST contact parent/guardian.

Fill in the accident form, copies of which are kept in the main office, if the parent of guardian had to be sent for to take their child to the family doctor.

Health and Safety Executive (and posted)

Area Education office

For the school file

A copy of the fire drill procedure, the lunch time fire procedure, the fire and bomb alerts and smoking policy is also included in the health and safety policy. Care parking is always included in the policy and does not just entail the staff, this also applied to the parents. There is a lollipop lady outside the school to help protect the children crossing the road at peak times (at the start and end of school). The car parking procedures are not just to protect the service users and care practitioners but to also care for the community and protect neighbours and there is another school (Blaen-y-cwm Primary School) straight opposite. Health and safety legislation is found at the back of the health and safety policy. Following policies and procedures help control the many service user’s and care practitioners who attend the care service. This creates a positive care environment as the service users and care practitioners will feel safe and looked aftered as there is a policy to ensure their safety.

Primary Research

I asked the head teacher whilst on work placement about the policies and procedures within the school. Mr.Baxter told me that the policies are handed to staff when they first start the job and they are asked to read the policies, and if they do not understand they must ask immediately as it is stressed that staff should know and understand the policies and procedures of the school to ensure safety of the children, staff and themselves. The head teacher told me that each year they hold a meeting to amend their policies and procedures to meet every service user’s needs and to hear the thoughts and idea‘s that could improve the policy and procedure system. Training days are also organised throughout the academic year to ensure that the staff are up-to-date with the policies and procedures and any amends that may have been changed. Changed to the police and procedures are highlighted to the staff immediately so they can adapt to the new rules and safeguard the children, staff and themselves effectively. The training days are usually on school days, so the children have a day off school whilst the teachers go on a training course. There are also inset days, where once again the teachers are sent on courses.

Whilst in work placement I witnessed the teacher challenging behaviour and dealt with the situation effectively and immediately. This suggested to me that the teacher is aware and knowledgeable of the anti-bullying policy and implements the policy and procedure efficiently. Furthermore, this show that St Mary’s R.C. primary school portrays a positive care environment image. The secretary asks me to sign a guest book every time I visit to safeguard the children and to keep a database on who enters the school on a daily basis.

Children take part in exercise within school times, sometimes referred as physical education or ‘PE’ but they are also encouraged to take part in extra curriculum activities after school such as the football team, netball team and athletics team. I asked the year 3 classroom teacher about this as she have been there many years and have great experiences with after school curriculum. Mrs.Briggs told me that the school believes this is a great way for the children to make new friends and improve their communication skills, confidence and self-esteem. It can also teach them further skills depending on the activity, for example, football can improve teamwork and problem solving skills and raise self-esteem. I also noticed whilst being on placement the classroom teachers stand outside and welcome all the children into the school and greet their parents/guardians. This can make the child feel more comfortable and important as they may feel they are being recognised as an individual and it makes them feel safe. This is not seen so much in secondary schools as the children and not so dependant on a ‘motherly’ figure. This can create a positive care environment.

Throughout their lifetime in primary school they will learn about many cultures and many celebrations that go on in the world such as; Christmas, New year, Easter and other cultural celebrations such as the Chinese New Year. This is because we live in a diverse society and everyone is an individual who is different. St Mary’s R.C. Primary School recently took place in a ‘Big Beat’ contest which included many schools in Blaenau Gwent. This was based on African drumming and they all had to make up their own piece of music and dance to African themes. They created masks, customized tops and decorated their instruments.

I produced a questionnaire suitable for a teacher to answer and find out about the care setting in which they work. One question I asked was about the fire drill, the teacher replied that the fire drill is one of the best and easiest procedures to follow and the school have no problems at all undergoing fire drills. I also interviewed the same teacher and asked them why do they actually have parent evenings? Mrs.Briggs replied ‘we have parent evenings to let the parent/guardian of the service user know how they are progressing in school. We also inform them about any incidents, behaviour matters or problems that may concern us as teachers’. Mrs.Briggs also went on to talk about how the parent and teacher talk academically to improve the service users’ development and cognitive skills. I also asked why teachers had to follow the policies and procedures? Mrs.Briggs replies ‘ teachers have to follow the policies and procedures to promote and ensure safety of the children and to achieve the best out of all the children. Policies and procedures are rules to follow so every situation is handled properly and not badly’.

During my placement I carried out an activity, the class took part in a nature walk and were split up into two group, then split up again into pairs. This helped the children gain relationships and work as a team as that is what the teacher is trying to empower the children to do. Teamwork is at a very high standard as many of the children were helping others who struggled to do the work. This was very pleasing for the teacher and assistant to see.

Educational trips are also important in St Mary’s R.C. primary school as it enhances the children’s knowledge of the world and cultures. Recently the children went on a trip to Cardiff, and visited castles and sites related to history and work they were doing in class. Some of the school trips are funded such by the government such as the ‘Big Beats’ contest. The teachers try to take part as much as they can but also let the children be individuals and try to let them solve their own problems. There is always a teacher approachable there to help sort out any problems and to ask for help.

Children are spoke to maturely and formally, but also in a kind and friendly way as teachers help the children understand and develop their skills. The teachers promote rights and identity as they do not discriminate against any of the service users, maintain confidentiality between parents/guardians and staff that are entitled to know personal information, empowerment is promoted as the teachers help guide the children make decision by ensuring they know and have the correct information to make the decision and most of all effective communication is used as they communicate effectively to help the children understand work and problems in which the need to complete. If any of the children need help the teacher will speak informally to make them feel more comfortable and to help maintain their self-concept and not to make it negative.

My interview and questionnaire suggests that the school has a positive care environment, and challenges anything they need to challenge. All the children are safeguarded and by this, the teachers implement the policies and procedures and comply with the care value base effectively. This will protect the children from any form of bullying, neglection or unhappiness. Self-esteem and confidence will be raised and concentration on schoolwork will be good. I feel that the policies and procedures are appropriate rules for the development and importance of the service users and is a very positive care environment to work within.

A04

The term ‘legislation’ can refer to; ‘written laws or statute laws that have been passed by parliament.’[13] Legislations are policies in which care practitioners need follow in order to promote the care value base and to implement positive and effective health care. If the policies are not met, there can be complaints made and sometimes action can be taken through court and law. If the policies and procedures are not followed, Acts such as ’The Children Act 1989’ can affect a persons self-esteem negatively and their confidence could be affected negatively. In St Mary’s Roman Catholic primary school, which is currently my work placement, there is a complaints procedure in which the parents can follow if they feel legislation is not being met for their child. ‘Recent regulations introduced under the Education Act 2002 requires the governing body of all maintained schools in Wales, including nursery schools, to establish procedures for dealing with complaints from parents, pupils, members of staff, governors, members of the local community and others. Further advice and guidance on the new procedures can be obtained by contacting the Educational Department on 01495311556’[14]. There are many rights that service users are entitled to;

Maintained confidentiality

Protection of legislation

Policies and Procedures of the care setting

The Care Value Base

Promoting the interests of the service users

Establishing trust between service users and care setting

Not being exploited/anti-discrimination

Safe environment

Recognising identity

Methods of redress

Respecting culture and beliefs

All of these policies have to be met for the service users and care practitioners by the care practitioners and the care environment. If all policies and legislations are met, it will result in a positive care environment in which all service users’ needs and wishes are met.

Legislation is very important as protecting clients’ rights is an area of considerable importance within care work. Different statutes exist to protect the rights and interests of different categories of service users. Legislation is vitally important in schools and action can be taken if any form of discrimination is detected, this is to protect the service user’ rights and identity. By following policies and procedures the service user’s needs will be met;

Respecting rights and identity of service users

Anti-discrimination

Confidentiality

Empowerment

Effective communication

This will create a positive care environment and will give the service users’ increased confidence and high self-esteem as they will feel happy, valued and respected. Some individuals could be effected physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially because of their rights not being maintained by the care setting. Types of Legislation relevant to my service users are;

The Children Act 1989

Data Protection Act 1989

Human Rights Act 1989

The Children Act 1989 consist of duties and responsibilities of Local Authorities and established clear principles to follow. ‘The Act established rights and responsibilities of parents and tried to set a framework for balancing the rights of the children and parents against the responsibilities of the local authority to protect the children from harm.’[15] Key principles for working with children were established. They include: ‘

That children are better brought within their own families

The welfare of the child is always the highest priority

No court order should be made unless it is essential to do so

The child’s race and culture need to be taken into account in order to maintain his or her identity’[16]

This promotes the service users’ rights by not discriminating against them, being in a protected and safe environment, being treated equally and educated, and the child and parent(s) are able to access the service. On the other hand, it could affect a service user as their parents may not know if they are being discriminated against or it may not be detectable. Therefore the service user’s rights and identity will be affected and they will have a negative self-esteem.

In St Mary’s RC Primary School, they have a policy which focuses on bullying and behaviour. This includes ‘The Children Act 1989’ as if legislation is not followed this can be a criminal offence depending on the offence made. The school’s behaviour policy also takes into account respect for other peoples religions and beliefs which is and element of the care value base and follows the anti-discrimination procedure. St Mary’s R.C. bullying procedure quotes:

‘Bullying can be described as being the intention to hurt, frighten or intimidate another person. It can range from social isolation, name-calling, teasing, threats and extortion, through physical assault on persons and/or their property. It can be an unresolved single, frightening incident, which casts a shadow over a child’s life, or series of such incidents… This is also connected to The Children Act 1989’[17]. There are training days planned throughout a year for the care practitioners to attend to make notice of any changes made and how they could promote a positive care environment to the service users. I feel the school promotes this legislation very well as there is no concern of bullying or bad behaviour when I attend the placement every two weeks. Discrimination is rarely seen as all the children are Roman Catholic and are taught ‘treat others as you’d like to be treated’ and ‘give respect, earn respect‘.

‘The Data Protection Act of 1984 and 1998, Access to Personal Files Act 1987, and Access to Health Record Act 1990 made it a legal requirement to keep service users information confidential. The 1998 Data Protection Act establishes rights to confidentiality covering both paper and electronic records. This Act provides people with a range of rights including:

The right to know what information is held on you and to see and correct information held on you

The right for you to refuse to provide information

The right to confidentiality - that information about you should not be accessible to unauthorised people.’[18]

There is a great strength to this as confidentiality is very important and effective within a care environment. Trust will be built with the care practitioners and the service users self-esteem will increase and they will feel valued and respected as their rights and identity is confident. On the other hand, If the service users confidential and personal information is accessible by unauthorised people, this may affect the service users self-esteem as they could feel embarrassed and uncomfortable with unauthorised people knowing their personal details. I feel that St Mary’s promote this legislation effectively as nobody can access a pupils records unless they are authorised to do so. The only way an unauthorised person can access a service users file’s is only by permission from the parent and the person who is in charge of all the data and feel the teacher need to know some information. No information or personal details about a service user is left around in St Mary’s school which show that it is safe and inaccessible to unauthorised people. This is a responsibility the school need to follow as it is a policy produced by the Blaenau Gwent School Council.

‘The Human Rights Act 1998 is the most recent addition to equality law in the UK. It is important in relation to a care environment because it entitles people resident in the UK to seek redress for infringements of their human rights by a ‘public authority’. A ‘Public Authority’ is any organisation that has a public function or operates in a public sphere. The legislation covers all kinds of care homes, hospitals and social services departments. The key principles of The Human Rights Act include:

Freedom of expression

Right to life

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

Right to education

Freedom from slavery and forced or compulsory labour

Freedom from unfair discrimination’[19]

There are many strengths to this as in a social care, establishments need to incorporate the principles of the Act into its policies and rules: How to make decisions, staffing and personnel procedures, how to run the establishment and also the manner of relating to the public. There are also weaknesses as people can break these legislations easy, such as freedom to thought, conscience and religion; in today’s society influences are more persuadable such as joining a specific religion. St Mary’s have a policy where children who attends that school has to be Roman Catholic, this could be seen as taking a persons right’s away from them as they may want to go to that pacific school but can’t attend as they may not want to be Roman Catholic.

If there are any problems or complaints to be made by a parent or family member of the service user, there should be many ways to complain and tackle the problem. In St Mary’s I have found three ways in which a parent can complain if they are not satisfied or if something is bothering them. Within current legislation there has been growing awareness that service users need mechanisms to make their voice heard. This can be linked to the consumer movement, which began in the 1970’s to ensure organisations were more accountable for their actions and to provide ways in which injustices could be addressed and put right. Within social care and discrimination law there are clearly defined procedures for service users. ‘Here are three ways in which a complaint can be made:

Local complaint procedures

Formal and legal avenues of challenge

Tribunals

Local Complaints Procedure

Agencies must have their own complaints procedures as required by the Care Standard Act 2000, but they are also accountable to the complaints procedures in the local authority. In local authority, complaints follow a 3-stage procedure which is;

Attempts are made to resolve concerns at a local level with the social worker or team manager.

The complaint must be written and is dealt with by the local authority’s designated complaints officer.

An independent person leads and chairs a panel, which may require people involved in the complaint to attend a hearing.

There are also conditions about who can make a complaint, complaints must relate to a ‘qualifying individual’. A qualifying individual is someone for whom the local authority has power or a duty to provide social services.

If a parent wishes to make a complaint in St Mary‘s they can also contact the school direct to try and sort the situation. Firstly depending on the seriousness of the situation, they should contact the school. They should ask to speak to the teacher or headmaster and try to sort the situation. This could work for the service user and resolve the situation, but not all situations can be resolved through the school. If the situation is not resolved, legal action can be taken.

Formal and legal avenues of challenge

If the local complaints procedures have not resulted in the problem being resolved there are other legal options for the service user. These include:

The commissioner for the local administration (Ombudsman)

Default powers

Judicial review

Civil action for damage/negligence

Whistle-blowing procedures

A person with a complaint can approach the Commissioner for Local Administration. The Ombudsman looks at the actions of the local authority to see whether there has been maladministration. Maladministration is where the local authority had handled a situation dishonestly or inefficiently and this has caused an injustice to the service user. The Ombudsman can make recommendations about compensation but often it takes a long period for an investigation to be carried out. The process is free and the Ombudsman has powers to access information from local authorities. The recommendations made by the Ombudsman are not legally binding on local authorities, although in practice most accept them as such.

If a parent is still unhappy and still wants to complain and go further, Judicial review could be another option. A decision can be challenged in court but the courts are limited in that they look at the process followed rather than the content of the decision. The courts identify if the process followed was legal, rational and reasonable. As from October 2000 the courts also have to check if the local authority has followed the requirements of the Human Rights Act.

Tribunals

Tribunals are special courts put in place to administer specific areas of civil law and there are currently over 2,000 different tribunals administering legislation. Examples are rent tribunals and employment tribunals, which hear cases where either a tenant or an employee feels that have been treated unfairly. People are encouraged to state their own case for themselves. There are appeal mechanisms for some but not all tribunals. There are advantages to this system as it does not take as long for a tribunal to hear a case as it would do so for a court to be heard. However, it is not always clear why a tribunal has made a particular decision. Some tribunals have the power to award compensation.’[20]

All of these complaint procedures apply to St Mary’s Roman Catholic primary school as they are accessible to do by any service user or parent, and a situation is likely to be sorted using one of the three complaint procedures. Firstly, if there is anything that bothers a parent they should contact the school straight away and try to resolve it there, but it’s not always done that easy, so the other two complaint procedures should get the service user and parent an answer.

Bibliography

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fdad/cms/stopdiscrimination/

http://stmarysrc.bg.digitalbrain.com/bg/schools/stmarysrc/

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=communication+cycle

St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus

www.google.com/socialandcuturaldiversity

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cultural-diversity-in-the-classroom.html

Collins Health and Social Care – Edexel – Walsh /Stephens/ Chaloner - 2005

St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus - Complaints

St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus – Consent Form

Blaenau Gwent Schools Information for Parents/Carers/Guardians School Year 2012/2013

AS - Health and Social Care - Edexcel by Neil Moonie - 2005

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fdad/cms/stopdiscrimination/

[2] http://stmarysrc.bg.digitalbrain.com/bg/schools/stmarysrc/

[3] http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=communication+cycle

[4] St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus

[5] www.google.com/socialandcuturaldiversity

[6] http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cultural-diversity-in-the-classroom.html

[7] Collins Health and Social Care – Edexel – Walsh – Stephens - Chaloner

[8] St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus - Complaints

[9] St Mary’s RC Primary School Prospectus – Consent Form

[10] AS Health and Social Care - Neil Moonie Edexcel

[11] St Mary’s R.C. Policies

[12] St Mary’s R.C. Policies

[13] AS - Health and Social Care - Collins by Mark Walsh

[14] Blaenau Gwent Schools Information for Parents/Carers/Guardians School Year 2012/2013

[15] AS - Health and Social Care - Edexcel by Neil Moonie

[16] AS - Health and Social Care - Edexcel by Neil Moonie

[17] St Mary’s Policies and Procedures

[18] AS Health and Social Care - Collins by Mark Walsh

[19] AS Health and Social Care - Collins by Mark Walsh

[20] AS Health and Social Care - Edexcel by Neil Moonie

I will be focusing on the positive care environment using early years. I will obtain policies from the school and will assess how these create a positive environment.

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daniella_amy
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Student
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11639
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43
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AS and A Level
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Healthcare
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I will be focusing on the positive care environment using early years. I will obtain policies from the school and will assess how these create a positive environment.

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