Act4us



	Every Child Matters - Change for Children The course is designed as an introduction to the Children’s Act 2004, the underpinning legislation for the UK Government’s initiative: Every Child Matters – Change for Children. This initiative is a direct result of an in-depth review into child protection in the UK, after several notorious child abuse cases. Learners will examine the rationale of Every Child Matters and its aim of ensuring that every child and young person achieves the 5 key outcomes, to make them happy, healthy and safe. They will be introduced to key UK child protection agencies, and explore the roles they play in the common assessment framework and child protection duties. The course aims to provide learners with the skills they need to implement Every Child Matters into their everyday work. Through facilitated discussion and group-work they will discover how to identify a child who is being abused. They will explore the possible reasons for abuse to enable them to identify quickly children most at risk and who the abuser might be. Practical advice will be given on what to do should they identify abuse, who can help, and how they and their organisation fit into the ECM framework.
	Learning Objectives By the end of the course students will be able to: Identify key legislation impacting on Child Welfare in the UK; Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of Every Child Matters; List the five desired outcomes for children and young persons; Identify circumstances in which these may not happen; Identify the different types of abuse; Demonstrate an understanding of the differences between high and low level indicators of abuse; List options open to them should they identify that a child is failing to meet an outcome; Place their learning into context within their own organisation; Demonstrate an understanding of the Human Rights Act and how it relates to child protection issues; Demonstrate an understanding of how child abuse and domestic violence may be linked