This critique is based on the role play of a case conference constructed for the purpose of reviewing a child protection issue. Within this report I will evaluate the role play of a multi-agency meeting. The conference was called in relation to a claim made by a teacher that Edwin, the child, made an inappropriate gesture by placing the teacher's hand close to his genitals. The conference will determine whether the child needs a child protection plan and whether he or she is at risk of significant harm. As several agencies participated, I will evaluate the roles of the most significant members and make specific reference to interprofessional working. For further research I will also look at various legislation, policies and issues related to supervision. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When evaluating the role-playing game as a whole it became clear that overall it was disorganized and unfocused. In addition to the positive aspects, many weak points also emerged during the conference. From the beginning, when the President has administered the conference, the confidentiality clause must be read aloud to ensure that each professional and parent is aware of the “conference process” and to “Ensure that confidentiality is emphasized” NYSCB . (2012). It is important for parents to be aware of this, although they themselves are not bound to confidentiality. As we continue with the conference it is considered professional to raise your hand when you want to contribute to the conference. This allows the president to maintain order and direction. With this I noticed that the majority of the group failed to do so, unfortunately allowing for a clearly disorganized atmosphere at certain points. Another important aspect of the meeting that was not demonstrated was the delivery of each agency's specific reports. Since the social worker is one of the most important agencies, he should have submitted a report to the president before the conference and given him time to review it with the family. Without these reports it became clear that some information was not being distributed between agencies and parents, therefore creating confusion and communication problems. For example, when the social worker said that Edwin's behavior was due to his father's drinking and his mother's “mental health”! this was incorrect as the mother has a “history” of mental health and has received treatment for it. However, positives were taken from the conference as the social worker decided that the child should not attend the conference. As the child has a full legal right to attend a conference and under section 22 of the Children's Act 1989 it is established that the emotional state and wishes of the child must be respected, however, opinions are “divided as to how such participation can be best done so that the child's voice is heard without harming him in the process” (Wilson, K 2002). The importance of professionals getting to know children as individuals and considering how they feel about the situation is extremely important for safeguarding purposes. It was highlighted that between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008 there was a terrible “failure of all professionals to see the situation from the child's perspective and experience” Dfe, (2010). Within the conference all different agencies had the opportunity to contribute. A clear example of good practice was the way the president asks the elementary school teacher if “troy, the younger brother has any unusual behavior.” It was avery positive approach as at the end of the conference it was decided that the conclusion constituted significant harm under the Children Act 1989 “Being able to live with brothers and sisters where they are also looked after is an important protective factor for many looked after children” Department for Childhood, School and Families. (2010). Another aspect that stood out to me was the lack of professional language used. This was demonstrated, for example, when the social worker referred to the father having a “drinking problem”. This was incorrect as it should have stated that the father was known to demonstrate alcohol abuse. Using the correct language within the conference allows you to maintain that level of formality and professionalism as well as respect. Another aspect of the conference that demonstrated poor practice was, once again, the lack of professionalism. This was due to the social worker not addressing the father by his name and referring to him as “the dad,” causing the President to ask the social worker numerous times to address him by his first name. Examining the practice of social workers it is clear that they “must be very alert to the potential risk of abuse and neglect of children” and “this should be routine practice” DfE (2010). Throughout the conference several agencies continued to refer back to specific issues with the child. These consisted of references to Edwin's lack of social skills, eating habits and that he was "a loner". With this information, attention continued to be distracted from the overall well-being of the child and focused primarily on his or her protection. While assessing a child who may be in a protection case and at risk of significant harm, it is vital to investigate “the complexity of child welfare in humanitarian and development contexts, the areas shown should be seen as a series of areas to assess , which should be selected based on the context” McCormick, C. (2011). In terms of planning the evaluation, each agency should have planned and researched information relevant to the conference. This mainly involves the social worker, the police, the child psychologist and the substance abuse worker. Since the child had global developmental delay, the child psychologist should have had individual sessions with the child. This would serve to monitor his behavior and development. Global developmental delay occurs when a child has not reached two or more milestones in all areas of development such as motor skills or social and emotional skills. Talking to your child about the child protection conference and making them aware of what might happen. Not talking to the child “This assessment serves the function of confirming developmental delay… it fails to analyze what this means for (the child) in terms of care, safety and wellbeing needs (IMRHealth) Brandon, M (2010). Considering the overall health and well-being of the child, a social worker must know more about the child and the family. Since the conference was called for reasons of sexual abuse, a social worker should investigate this issue by speaking with both parents and the child. child and all family members. Children who have been or may have been sexually exploited are victims of sexual abuse and require careful and special evaluation. A child who may be “at risk of sexual exploitation should always activate agreed local procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of the child”. DfE (2010). Given that alsothe police were involved in this case conference, they are primarily attending a conference to "hold a large amount of information relating to conviction history, non-conviction information and incident-based information" from the Leeds Safeguarding Children Board. (2013). In this case, looking at the conference, the police were not very involved in the agenda. When the police were called due to a noise disturbance, it became clear that they didn't have much concern in terms of violence or abuse. Furthermore on one occasion the Police forgot the dates on which the disturbance was committed which is unprofessional and should have had a clear and precise report in front of them. Working in a multi-agency context has its strengths and weaknesses. One positive aspect is that in successful multi-agency case conferences the information would be distributed across other agencies allowing there to be a clear structure. The saying that two heads are better than one has a huge role to play within a conference as people will be able to hear other agencies' points and see other aspects, which may not have been recognized before. Being between other agencies and working together has also shown that “multidisciplinary working in children's services has increased considerably since the Children Act 2004” Unwin, P (2012). It also gives agencies the ability to build relationships with each other. This will allow agencies and families to gain mutual security, allowing them to feel safe and in reliable hands. However, there are also some downsides to holding a multi-agency conference. This would be because it sometimes becomes too complex and information overload. This could create confusion for other agencies and force them to dispute incorrect information. Local safeguarding children committees are vital to ensuring that children are safe and are not at risk if there is significant harm. The referral would be due to suspicions of neglect or abuse. Finding out whether a child has suffered or is being sexually abused can involve many observations. Obviously this can happen if the child says something to someone else, but also if they have “disturbed behaviours, including self-harm, inappropriate sexualised behaviour, sexually abusive behaviour, depression and loss of self-esteem” DfE (2010). Sexual abuse suffered as children can unfortunately extend into adulthood. This is why it is important for agencies and professionals to help and provide interventions with these children before they reach adolescence or adulthood. This could help prevent further harm to the baby. Fortunately, if the child has a non-violent parent or carer who trusts the child's judgment and believes them, then the child's “ability to cope with the experience of sexual abuse” DfE (2010) will be strengthened with their support . With the support of others it will also allow the child to understand the abuse. Furthermore, a large percentage of adults who sexually abuse others have also been sexually abused. However, it would be wrong to assume that all children and adults who have been sexually abused will then abuse themselves. With drug and alcohol abuse by parents it is expected that at least 1% of children are born to women with drug addiction. Many women abuse drugs and alcohol during pregnancy, which can lead to tragic and unfortunate circumstances. This could range from the effects of developing as a fetus to miscarriage. After giving birth, many women tend to feel “remorse and sadness about the actual or potential consequences of substance abuse.” This canthen lead to motivation to stop drug addiction with the help of professionals and agencies. An unfortunate side effect of parental drug abuse impacting a child is that "lack of structure often means children are left to gain greater self-confidence" NA (2013) forcing them to grow up faster than necessary. Another aspect of guardianship that shows signs of poor professional conduct is abuse in general. One of the most famous child protection cases where they failed to see any signs of abuse within a child was the story of Baby P. An example of the professionals not seeing any signs of his injuries was when a social worker visited and failed to see the “wounds on Peter's face and hands after he was deliberately smeared with chocolate to hide them” Doyle, J et al, (27 October 2010). Because the social worker failed to see these horrific marks, this led to Baby P's death. Questions are asked: Why didn't the social worker ask the mother to remove the chocolate? If there is any suspicion of abuse, great attention should be paid to every aspect of the child. Doctors, lawyers, police and social workers all contributed to the record of errors, which ultimately led to Baby P's death. Another poorly handled feature of the case study is that after Baby P's hospitalization, the pediatrician said she was unable to carry out an examination of the child as he was “miserable” and “irritable” Doyle, J et al, (27 October 2010). With the pediatrician failing to see the already sustained injuries of his "broken back and fractured ribs" Doyle, J et al, (27 October 2010), this sadly added to Baby P's death which it appears could have been preventable . The main reason for Baby P's death was due to the mother's boyfriend who the authorities did not see, was living there and was abusing Baby P. With the failure of Baby P's case, this led Ofsted to place emphasis on the safeguard and to strengthen further assessments. include direct contact with any child. Looking at Baby P's case it was highlighted that all the different agencies failed to implement the common assessment framework of case preparation, discussion and delivery. One thing within the conservatorship that is of great importance is staff training. As social workers have to work with some very damaged and vulnerable children, this means that they “must be adequately equipped for such demanding tasks” Department of Health (2002). As the name of social workers has been diminished over the years, their specific training will give them a chance to overcome the bad press they usually receive and transform their status into a positive one. This is, however, secondary to the need to safeguard all children. For future best practice recommendations it should be mandatory that all social workers are tested on how they “demonstrate their knowledge of human growth and development, in particular the development of children and other vulnerable groups” Department of Health (2002). They should also improve their communication skills enabling them to interact with the child effectively. Another aspect that could perhaps be improved within social workers is their skills and ability to “work confidently and effectively with other professionals”. Department of Health (2002). Some of the main aspects of training with social workers are training in case conferences, BID (best interests determination) groups, board meetings (2010)..