Legislation to Safeguard Child Rights in the UK

Legislation to Safeguard Child Rights in the UK Steven Howells CYP Core 3:3 1.1 Because the well – being of all children and young adults is so important, organizations in the United Kingdom and around the world have created policies and legislation’s to ensure a structure of security. This structure ensures that everyone in an educational environment is safeguarded. Some of the main policies include: The Children’s Act 1989 – This policy was designed to make all the laws that relating to children and young adults less complicated. It also brings many organizations and authorities together to ensure that children receive the assistance they require. The Children’s Act 2004 – This Act is an update that was put into place after the death of Victoria Climbie. The information was reviewed by multiple services and yet they failed to work together which resulted in this child’s suffering, and eventually her death. Rules and regulations were put into place to allow services to share the information accordingly to ensure that anyone under the age of 19 years old who may be at risk could be helped and not overlooked. Children and Young Persons Act 2008 – This Act changes the structure of the care system. It pushes services to provide the best care as quickly as possible to children and young people. It also enables children and young adults to be capable of achieving the same as a child who is not in care. Sexual Offences Act 2003 – This policy covers a large scale of offences, but is designed to cover against, sexual offences or rape in the United Kingdom or in some circumstances abroad. Adoption and Children Act 2002 – This act was put into place to ensure that children were going to homes that hold the best intentions for them. It also gives a more reasonable approach to single people and unmarried couples who would like to adopt and provides more assessments to ensure the child is going to the best home for them, but to also ensure that a family is adopting a child best suited to their current environment (i.e. if a family already has children, they will not be put at risk by putting a child with history of severe mental illness in the same home). United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 – â€Å"Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is an integral component of protecting their rights to survival, growth and development† UNICEF, (2011) The Education Act 2002 – The policy was designed to create a structure for anyone in educational services to help with safeguarding. The helps protecting children and young people by ensuring a safe place to study. It also helps protect children and young people by identifying anyone who could be / already at risk in a school environment or at home. Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 – The act covers many areas of protecting victims of crimes. It also covers new rules and regulations to give bailiffs the power to use forcible entry to property if a child or vulnerable person is at risk of death. Vetting and barring scheme – After the conviction of Ian Huntley in 2003, further examination into Huntley’s past showed that he had been had been investigated and charged for other offences. But because of the structure of the original checks, he passed and was allowed to work in a school environment. Afterwards, the structure of the checking system was changed in order to ensure this would never happen again. The new checking system now covers every offence, investigation and charges to ensure that individuals with any form of criminal record and/ or any possibility of committing an offence can no longer work in an environment where there is a risk to children, young adults or adults who are vulnerable. 1.2 Child protection is only one piece of a larger concept of safeguarding. The health and safety of children and young people is paramount. It protects those who are young and vulnerable nearly every form of mistreatment like being neglected raped or abused mentally or physically. It helps to prevent those who could later suffer results of impairment of any form from the hands of mistreatment. Risk assessments to ensure a safe home and place of study are part of this. Making sure that schools are governed correctly and a structure of policies, rules and regulations are put in place and kept up to date. Ensuring any safeguard issues are dealt with properly, ensuring all staff are up to date with all aspects of training and also promoting the best development for all its students.The development of the children can include tests like the CAF to ensure that children receive any additional learning required, or other tests that ensure health and well – being of its students. 1.3 Every School and local authority has their own policies concerning child protection. All of them put the same ideals into action which are: â€Å" Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being. â€Å" In order to make the community aware of child protection issues, campaigns and other similar methods are used. All communities have to be monitored to ensure that all targets and policies are met, also to ensure that all issues are being dealt with appropriately. It keeps a healthy communication with local services to ensure the best methods are used to benefit students. Also to report any signs of cruelty, neglect or abuse. This creates a better success rate of child development. If everybody knows what methods work best for a single / group of student(s), there I more chance for students to progress rather than regress in development. External health and safety management teams are put into place as another form of monitoring. This time they monitor the buildings and the possibilities of risks. Also health services visit to make children aware of what is healthy and unhealthy. To summarise, every student is protected by a large structure formed from all the acts that are implemented by the government. They all follow these acts to achieve this structure. When this structure is followed correctly there is less chance for a student to be at risk of many outcomes ( i.e. risk of harm, risk of being neglected or risk of failing to progress in development). 1.4 If a child is being neglected, abused or worst case scenario has died as a result of either, the child welfare officer should be notified in order in order to find out what happened to prevent this from happening again. They will access every aspect in order to achieve the most accurate of reports. When the report is finished, it will be reviewed and from this the government will decide what went wrong, why it went wrong, how they will improve their service in order to make it better. This in my opinion is the wrong approach to take because to me it seems like the government want to wait for it to happen and then study why it happened. I believe there is many forms of serious child abuse that are not considered as neglect or abuse due to the current status of the country. The government believe that just because a child lives in a home with a water supply, fridge – freezer and oven they have what they need. But this does not include food or clothing which should be included wh en raising a child. 1.5 All personnel must keep confidentiality in accordance of the Data Protection act 1998 (See TDA Section 4). This keeps all information private and helps to safeguard everyone who attends or work’s at the school. In order to keep full confidentiality, all staff are only permitted to discuss personal details, circumstances, or school work connected to their own child(ren). A parent will be able to discuss their children’s work and grades but will not have access to them. The only information that is shared is when a child has reached the age to attend secondary school. The secondary school will require information that is relevant in order to help the student maintain progression through this phase.

Reconstruction Era of the United States Essay

92. In 1865 an appointment was held between representatives of an African American community in Savannah, Georgia and Edwin Staunton, Secretary of War, and Major General Sherman concerning topics of the freedman in Georgia. Land was set aside, 40 acres, and a mule that could no longer be used by the Army to establish a community of their own. 1. Black leaders believed that owning land was essential to freedom because by them owning their own land they would be able to support themselves by themselves. 2. Blacks understand their relationship to the national government as the Civil War drew to a close as being dependent upon their freedom. Q: Why 40 acres and a broken down mule? Do you believe they deserved more/less land? Did they not deserve a more useful mule? 93. The committee on behalf of the freedmen sent a letter to Andrew Johnson in 1865 concerning keeping the land, which had been set aside for them after the war, which had been rumored to be given back to the previous owner. 1. It was important for the petitioners to obtain the land on Edisto Island as opposed to land elsewhere in the country because there was a legal agreement made that should be adhered to. 2. The relationship between owning land and freedom to them is not having to rely on anyone else and being able to feel equal to the white men. Q: What similarities does this have to the Native Americans? 94. The Mississippi black code of 1865 was rules and regulations on which African Americans had to adhere to. 1. I think that the state of Mississippi required all black persons to sign yearly labor contracts but not white citizens because the vagrant law only applied to freedmen and it was a way of regulating work for the plantations. 2. The basic rights that were granted to the fomer slaves were the right to marriage, ownership of land, and involvement in the court system but only if it was not dealing in all white cases. The basic rights that were denied to them by the black code were the right to vote, own firearms, and marry/cohabitate/ fornicate outside of their race. Q: Do you feel as though the freedmen were really free since these rules and regulations were bestowed upon them? 95. This was a sharecropping contract between Thomas J. Ross, a land owner, and 8 freedmen. The contract set the rules, regulations, and remunerations for sharecropping Ross’s land. 1. The contract limits the freedom of the laborers in that they are still under the power of the land owner, with essentially the same rules as being a slave except they were getting paid in the crop for their work. 2. The benefits for the freed people of the sharecropping arrangement the security of land to work and half the harvest, the risks of the sharecropping arrangement would have been the chance of little crop and still being dependant on the Whites. Q: Do you feel as though sharecropping as a whole, with the good and the bad, was a good idea? 96. During the Reconstruction period Elizabeth Staunton demanded the idea of equality for women. In her essay she expressed ways that men and women are equal but not seen as being so, she also believed that women should be able to vote. 1. Stanton defined the â€Å"social revolution† the United States underwent after the Civil War as because it went deep down to the very foundation of society. 2. Stanton believed that industrial freedom within the family could be established by first changing the laws and public opinion. Q: How do you think that women felt not having any rights even after the Civil war that once again established freedom for all. 97. Frederick Douglass gave a speech, Composite Nation, in Boston in 1869 concerning rights for Asian-Americans. He condemned anti-Asian discrimination and called for equal rights for all Americans. 1. What Douglas meant by the term â€Å"Composite Nation† was that everyone in the nation came from different places to form one nation. 2. He believed that people should be allowed to move freely from one country to another because he felt as though we were allowed to travel to other countries why couldn’t other races? Q: Do you think that Douglas would have the same views for current times? 98. Robert B. Elliott delivered a speech to Congress in 1864 concerning a bill that he supported, that later became the Civil Rights Act of 1875. 1. Elliot defended the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Bill by saying that the bill would settle the political status forever. 2. Elliott referred to the â€Å"cornerstone speech† of Alexander H. Stephens in making his argument because it showed how much progress had been made. Q: Why did all the states not follow the Civil Rights Bill?

Kerouac’s America: Jazz and Life on the Road Essay

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road portrays the entire spectrum of American experience- from the migrant worker to the deranged artist to the Midwestern farmer. All of these discordant figures he blends together into one tapestry, creating a picture of the United States that, even if sometimes bleak, is always sympathetic. Kerouac’s vision of America is best reflected through his observations on jazz and life on the road. Jazz has often been called the only truly American art form and its place in On the Road is appropriately significant. When Kerouac writes of be-bop jam sessions he describes these events as decidedly more violent, more passionate, and more alive than the typical concert. In one instance, a saxophonist’s solo drives Dean Moriarty into a trance, â€Å"clapping his hands, [and] pouring sweat on the man’s keys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (198). Sal and Dean use jazz as a means of breaking through the staid conformity of 1950s America, feeding off its infectious energy. Having grown intolerant of dull, prosaic experience Sal proclaims, â€Å"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (5). On the Road itself is the product of such a creative frenzy, full of wild run-on sentences and disjointed syntax. The urgency apparent in Jazz is also at the root of Sal and Dean’s travels across the country. They roam from coast to coast oftentimes without any concrete motivation besides the joy of the ride and an innate restlessness. They seek to somehow transcend the physical world through drugs or sex or non-stop conversation, but never quite reach the â€Å" ‘IT,’† of which Dean speaks to Sal. Jazz does allow them to approach something near this quasi-religious transcendence and thus, they enshrine jazz musicians as saints, or even gods. In one instance, Dean adamantly refers to the blind pianist George Shearing as â€Å" ‘Old God Shearing! ’† and to his empty piano seat as â€Å" ‘God’s empty chair† (128). The Jazz clubs operate as secular churches for Sal and his companions, places where spirituality can be revitalized and restored. The â€Å"Beat† figures portrayed in On the Road do not seek to destroy social and religious traditions, as many would suggest, but rather to restore some of their soulfulness, their purity. Jazz, at its best, serves as medium to help usher in this new paradigm. Kerouac asserts that, in a way, America’s true religion is its music. Nowhere in On the Road is the American scene painted as well as on Sal’s first experience with life on the road. That initial experience, as well as those that follow it, lends Sal a deeper insight into a set of truly American types. He meets with drifters, farm boys, and migrant workers hitching a ride on the back of a pickup truck. The feeling of easy camaraderie between the fellow hitchhikers is nowhere to be found in contemporary America- the farm boys’ call â€Å" ‘sroom for everybody’† recalls a much different time (22). Kerouac’s America moves not only at the break neck pace of a Charlie Parker saxophone solo, but also slows to the pace of characters like Mississippi Gene whose â€Å"language [is] melodious and slow† (23). Whereas life in the city is characterized by loud jazz played late into the night, life on the road is filled with slow, melodious voices like that of Mississippi Gene. Mississippi Gene also brings out the dark side of life on the road, telling Sal that he’ll â€Å" ‘folly a man down an alley’† if he ever needs money (23), though most of the characters Sal meets are described as â€Å"grateful and gracious† (28). By hitchhiking, Sal is able to form genuine bonds with folks just struggling to get by, and this sense of egalitarian fellowship pervades his journey. The road not only allows Sal to meet people he might not ordinarily come in contact with, but also to gain more knowledge of himself. When Dean cries out at the beginning of one journey that â€Å"we should realize what it would mean to us to understand  that we’re not really  worried about anything,† one senses that traveling, for Sal and Dean, is as much about letting go of yourself as it is about getting to your destination. Sal, however, never seems to achieve this letting go, weighed down by a cry of â€Å"What gloom! † (52). But there are moments in which he approaches that ecstatic state Dean refers to as â€Å"IT,† as in a conversation on one cross-country trip with Dean, where Sal describes â€Å"our final excited joy in talking and living† (209). But of course, On the Road portrays experience much more varied than pure wide-eyed ecstasy. The aforementioned dark side of life on the road looms everywhere in the novel and extends further than just the possibility of being mugged or assaulted. There is also the problem of too much freedom- the possibility that one will roam so much that one will permanently lose one’s center. Dean’s New York apartment contains â€Å"the same battered trunk stuck out from under the bed, ready to fly,† suggesting that no matter where he goes, his soul is always on the road (250). One begins to wonder if Sal and Dean’s journeys are motivated as much by an attempt to escape themselves as to see the country. But though the trials of the road leads Sal at a one point to lament that he’s â€Å"sick and tired of life† (106), he also â€Å"figures the gain† of traveling above its inevitable losses. Here, Kerouac subverts business terminology like â€Å"loss† and â€Å"gain,† and gives them a spiritual import, illuminating the central thrust of On the Road- Americans should start thinking about spiritual profit rather than just economic dominance. Accruing such spiritual profit involves taking risks and being able to embrace the freedom to travel uncharted physical, mental, and spiritual territory. This underlying principle of freedom is at the root of both jazz and life on the road, whether one is exploring a landscape or the nuances of a musical phrase. In On the Road, Jack Kerouac wrote of an America that celebrated these freedoms.

King Sejong the Great of Korea, Scholar and Leader

Sejong the Great (May 7, 1397–April 8, 1450) was king of Korea during the Choson Kingdom (1392–1910). A progressive, scholarly leader, Sejong promoted literacy and was best known for developing a new form of writing to allow Koreans to communicate more effectively. Fast Facts: Sejong the Great Known For: Korean king and scholarAlso Known As:  Yi Do, Grand Prince Chungnyeong  Born: May 7, 1397 in Hanseong,  Kingdom of JoseonParents:  King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong of JoseonDied: April 8, 1450 in Hanseong,  JoseonSpouse(s): Soheon of the Shim clan, and three Royal Noble Consorts, Consort Hye, Consort Yeong, and Consort ShinChildren: Munjong of Joseon, Sejo of Joseon, Geumseong, Jeongso, Jeongjong of Joseon, Grand Prince Anpyeong, Gwangpyeong, Imyeong, Yeongeung, Princess Jung-Ui, Grand Prince Pyeongwon, Prince Hannam, Yi Yeong, Princess Jeonghyeon, Princess JeonganNotable Quote: If the people prosper, how can the king not prosper with them? And if the people do not prosper, how may the king prosper without them? Early Life Sejong was born under the name Yi Do to King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong of Joseon on May 7, 1397. The third of the royal couples four sons, Sejong impressed all of his family with his wisdom and curiosity. According to Confucian principles, the eldest son—named Prince Yangnyeong—should have been the heir to the Joseon throne. However, his behavior at court was rude and aberrant. Some sources claim that Yangnyeong behaved this way purposefully because he believed that Sejong should be king in his place. The second brother, Prince Hyoryeong, also removed himself from the succession by becoming a Buddhist monk. When Sejong was 12 years old, his father named him Grand Prince Chungnyeong. Ten years later, King Taejong would abdicate the throne in favor of Prince Chungnyeong, who took the throne name King Sejong. Background to Sejongs Succession to the Throne Sejongs grandfather King Taejo overthrew the Goryeo Kingdom in 1392 and founded Joseon. He was assisted in the coup detat by his fifth son Yi Bang-won (later King Taejong), who expected to be rewarded with the title of crown prince. However, a court scholar who hated and feared the militaristic and hot-headed fifth son convinced King Taejo to choose his eighth son, Yi Bang-seok, as successor instead. In 1398 while King Taejo was mourning the loss of his wife, the scholar hatched a conspiracy to kill off all of the kings sons besides the crown prince in order to secure Yi Bang-seoks position (and his own). Hearing rumors of the plot, Yi Bang-won raised his army and attacked the capital, killing two of his brothers as well as the scheming scholar. The grieving King Taejo was horrified that his sons were turning on each other in what became known as the First Strife of Princes, so he named his second son, Yi Bang-gwa, as the heir apparent and then abdicated the throne in 1398. Yi Bang-gwa became King Jeongjong, the second Joseon ruler. In 1400, the Second Strife of Princes broke out when Yi Bang-won and his brother Yi Bang-gan began to fight. Yi Bang-won prevailed, exiled his brother and his family, and executed his brothers supporters. As a result, the weak King Jeongjong abdicated after ruling for just two years in favor of Yi Bang-won, Sejongs father. As king, Taejong continued his ruthless policies. He executed a number of his own supporters if they became too powerful, including all of his wife Wong-gyeongs brothers, as well as Prince Chungnyeongs (later King Sejongs) father-in-law and brothers-in-law. It seems likely that his experience with princely strife and his willingness to execute troublesome family members helped encourage his first two sons to step aside without a murmur and allow King Taejongs third and favorite son to become King Sejong. Sejongs Military Developments King Taejong had always been an effective military strategist and leader and continued to guide Joseon military planning for the first four years of Sejongs reign. Sejong was a quick study and also loved science and technology, so he introduced a number of organizational and technological improvements to his kingdoms military forces. Although gunpowder had been used for centuries in Korea, its employment in advanced weaponry expanded markedly under Sejong. He supported the development of new types of cannons and mortars, as well as rocket-like fire arrows that functioned in a similar way to modern rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Gihae Eastern Expedition Just one year into his reign in May 1419, King Sejong dispatched the Gihae Eastern Expedition to the seas off Koreas east coast. This military force set out to confront the Japanese pirates, or wako, who operated out of Tsushima Island while harrying shipping, stealing trade goods, and kidnapping Korean and Chinese subjects. By September of that year, the Korean troops had defeated the pirates, killing nearly 150 of them, and rescuing almost 150 Chinese kidnap victims and eight Koreans. This expedition would bear important fruit later in Sejongs reign. In 1443, the daimyo of Tsushima pledged obedience to the King of Joseon Korea in the Treaty of Gyehae in exchange for what he received as preferential trading rights with the Korean mainland. Marriage, Consorts, and Children King Sejongs queen was Soheon of the Shim clan, with whom he eventually would have a total of eight sons and two daughters. He also had three Royal Noble Consorts, Consort Hye, Consort Yeong, and Consort Shin, who bore him three, one, and six sons, respectively. In addition, Sejong had seven lesser consorts who had the misfortune of never producing sons. Nevertheless, the presence of 18 princes representing different clans on their mothers sides ensured that in the future, the succession would be contentious. As a Confucian scholar, though, King Sejong followed protocol and named his sickly eldest son Munjong as Crown Prince. Sejongs Achievements in Science, Literature, and Policy King Sejong delighted in science and technology and supported a number of inventions or refinements of previous technologies. For example, he encouraged the improvement of a moveable metal type for printing first used in Korea by 1234, at least 215 years before Johannes Gutenberg introduced his groundbreaking printing press, as well as the development of the sturdier mulberry-fiber paper. These measures made better-quality books much more widely available among educated Koreans. Books that Sejong sponsored included a history of the Goryeo Kingdom, a compilation of filial deeds (model actions for followers of Confucius to emulate), farming guides meant to help farmers improve production, and others. Other scientific devices sponsored by King Sejong included the first rain gauge, sundials, unusually accurate water clocks, and maps of the stars and celestial globes. He also took an interest in music, devising an elegant notation system for representing Korean and Chinese music, and encouraging instrument-makers to improve the designs of various musical instruments. In 1420, King Sejong established an academy of 20 top Confucian scholars to advise him called the Hall of Worthies. The scholars studied the ancient laws and rites of China and previous Korean dynasties, compiled historical texts, and lectured the king and crown prince on Confucian classics. In addition, Sejong ordered one top scholar to comb the country for intellectually talented young men who would be given a stipend to retreat for one year from their work. The young scholars were sent to a mountain temple, where they read books on a vast array of subjects that included astronomy, medicine, geography, history, the art of war, and religion. Many of the Worthies objected to this expansive menu of options, believing that a study of Confucian thought was sufficient, but Sejong preferred to have a scholar class with a wide range of knowledge. To aid the common people, Sejong established a grain surplus of approximately 5 million bushels of rice. In times of drought or flood, this grain was available to feed and support poor farming families to help prevent famine. Invention of Hangul, the Korean Script King Sejong is best remembered for the invention of hangul, the Korean alphabet. In 1443, Sejong and eight advisers developed an alphabetic system to accurately represent Korean language sounds and sentence structure. They came up with a simple system of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be arranged in clusters to create all of the sounds in spoken Korean. King Sejong announced the creation of this alphabet in 1446 and encouraged all of his subjects to learn and use it: The sounds of our language differ from those of Chinese and are not easily communicated by using Chinese graphs. Many among the ignorant, therefore, though they wish to express their sentiments in writing, have been unable to communicate. Considering this situation with compassion, I have newly devised twenty-eight letters. I wish only that the people will learn them easily and use them conveniently in their daily life. Initially, King Sejong faced a backlash from the scholar elite, who felt the new system was vulgar (and who likely did not want women and peasants to be literate). However, hangul quickly spread among segments of the population that previously did not have access to enough education to learn the complicated Chinese writing system. Early texts claim that a clever person can learn Hangul in a few hours, while someone with a lower IQ can master it in 10 days. It is certainly one of the most logical and straightforward writing systems on Earth—a true gift from King Sejong to his subjects and their descendants, down to the present day. Death King Sejongs health began to decline even as his accomplishments mounted. Suffering from diabetes and other health problems, Sejong became blind around the age of 50. He passed away on May 18, 1450, at the age of 53. Legacy As King Sejong predicted, his eldest son and successor Munjong did not survive him by much. After just two years on the throne, Munjong died in May 1452, leaving his 12-year-old first son Danjong to rule. Two scholar-officials served as regents for the child. This first Joseon experiment in Confucian-style primogeniture did not last long, however. In 1453, Danjongs uncle, King Sejongs second son Sejo, had the two regents murdered and seized power. Two years later, Sejo formally forced Danjong to abdicate and claimed the throne for himself. Six court officials formed a plan to restore Danjong to power in 1456; Sejo discovered the scheme, executed the officials, and ordered his 16-year-old nephew burned to death so that he could not serve as a figurehead for future challenges to Sejos title. Despite the dynastic mess that resulted from King Sejongs death, he is remembered as the wisest and most capable ruler in Korean history. His accomplishments in science, political theory, military arts, and literature mark Sejong as one of the most innovative kings in Asia or the world. As shown by his sponsorship of Hangul and his establishment of the food reserve, King Sejong truly cared about his subjects. Today, the king is remembered as Sejong the Great, one of only two Korean kings honored with that appellation. The other is Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo, r. 391–413. Sejongs face appears on the largest denomination of South Koreas currency, the 10,000 won bill. His military legacy also lives on in the King Sejong the Great class of guided missile destroyers, first launched by the South Korean Navy in 2007. In addition, the king is the subject of the 2008 Korean television drama series Daewang Sejong, or King Sejong the Great. Actor Kim Sang-kyung portryed the king. Sources Kang, Jae-eun. The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism. Paramus, New Jersey: Homa Sekey Books, 2006.Kim, Chun-gil. The History of Korea. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 2005.King Sejong the Great and the Golden Age of Korea. Asia Society.Lee, Peter H. William De Bary. Sources of Korean Tradition: From Early Times through the Sixteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.