Unit 054-Duty
of Care
Definition of Duty of Care
 What
does Duty of Care mean to you?
*discuss in groups and come up with
a definition (1.1)
 Definition
“Is a regulation to ensure that children and
young people do not experience
unacceptable risk that will cause them
harm”
 This
duty is more important when we are
working with younger children and those with
special needs.
 Duty of care is owed not only to children , but
also to their parents and families, who expect
carers to use their expertise to care for their
children.
 All those working in childcare must comply with
written obligations set out in agreement they
have with the scheme or service, contracts with
parents or with relevant legislation.
 Failure to comply with any of these makes it
easy to prove that there has been a breach of
duty of care
Conflict/Dilemmas
5 key areas where conflict/dilemmas may arise:
1.
Opportunities for children and young people
to manage risks
2.
Discrimination and equal opportunity
3.
Dealing with challenging behaviour
4.
Recognising and reporting signs of abuse
5.
Observation/assessment of children
*Discuss why each of these points will cause
some conflict or dilemma (evidence for 2.1)
Where to get help and advice
from
 Line
manager
 Workplace safeguarding officer
 SENCO
 Ofsted
 Local authority development worker
 Social services
 Websites
 Early years’ forums
The Statutory Framework for the Early Years
Foundation stage requires childcare settings to
have procedures in place for dealing with
complaints from service users and for summary
records of these complaints to be made available
to Ofsted during an inspection and upon request to
all service users. Not all complaints will fall within the
remit of Ofsted to investigate but the
setting should investigate and respond to them all
in the same way. It is good practice to respond
openly to complaints as no one ever gets it right all
the time.
Good Practice when dealing with
Complaints
•Clarity – ensure that you Complaints Procedure is clear and
understandable by all Staff and Users.
 •Respect – listen and take every complaint seriously who ever has
made it.
 •Recording – log concerns, investigations and outcomes, of formal
complaints.
 •Support – provide support to enable staff and users to make
complaints, assist them in communicating either verbally or written.
 •Time – respond appropriately, a minor complaint can be sorted out
there and then, more serious cases the complainant must be told what
will happen and when.
 •Fairness – ensure that the investigation process is fair
 •Reflecting – learn from the complaint and make necessary changes.

Role play scenarios
Learner 1- The person making the complaint
Learner 2-The member of staff receiving the
complaint
For those watching consider the following questions
 How did the member of staff handle the situation?
 Did he/she follow correct procedures
demonstrating good practice?
 Comment on communication and body
language.
 Any ways the member of staff might improve
practice?