CHCCHILD401A: Identify and respond
to children and young people at risk
Apply ethical and nurturing practices in work
with children and young people
Contents
Protect the rights of children and young people in the provision
of services
Children’s rights
3
Identify and seek supervision support for issues of ethical
concern in practice with children and young people
6
Professional values and ethics
6
Develop ethical and nurturing practices in accordance with
professional boundaries when working with children and young
people
A child-focused practice
Recognise indicators for potential ethical concerns when
working with children and young people
Ethics, children and you
Respond to unethical behaviour of others by reporting to the
appropriate person
2
3
11
11
13
13
15
Responding to unethical conduct
15
Reporting unethical conduct
15
References
16
Additional resources
16
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
Protect the rights of children and
young people in the provision of
services
Children’s rights
As a worker you have a responsibility to promote children's rights. Your
responsibility is extended to include those people around you, such as volunteers
and students, to make sure they promote the rights of the child. Children’s rights
in Australia are defined by international Conventions, legislation, your duty of care
obligations, Codes of Ethics and accreditation principles, which together
determine the obligations of services and their workers in ensuring the welfare,
wellbeing and safety of children and young people are supported and protected
Background information
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a set of 54 Articles
which establish universal basic standards for the care. The Convention on the
Rights of the Child was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in
1989 and was accepted (ratified) by Australia in 1990. When a country ratifies a
UN Convention, it agrees to take on the responsibilities of meeting the standards
set down in that Convention. The Convention presents a view of children as
individuals with their own rights, rather than the property of their parents.
Parents are responsible for protecting those rights. The Convention also sets out
the obligations of governments regarding ensuring the rights of children,
emphasising that any government intervention must have the best interests of
the child as the primary consideration.
An important standard in the Convention is the right to participation. Article 12
states that: 'Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her
own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child,
the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and
maturity of the child.' This means that you, the childcare worker, have an
obligation to ask children in a developmentally appropriate manner, if they agree
to an action affecting them. This does not mean consulting every time you want to
move activities, but certainly to consult when changes will affect their comfort
and expected routines.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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United Nations, Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (1989) The
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Geneva. Available online:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
Equal opportunity legislation
In Australia there are laws which protect the rights of people who may be
discriminated against on the basis of age, race, sexuality, cultural background,
disability or sexual preference. The laws have been introduced to ensure that
everyone is treated fairly. This is to ensure that everyone has the same rights,
opportunities and equal access to services and goods within the community. The
legislation makes it unlawful to discriminate against people, including children and
young people, based on these factors.
For further investigation please go to the following websites.
Australian Human Rights Commission: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/
NSW Anti-Discrimination Board: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/ADB
The above websites provide you with another tool to ensure your work promotes
the rights of children and young people.
Responding appropriately to incidents in the workplace
It is important that affirmative action is considered when responding to incidents
in the workplace. Too often the option taken is to be the bystander when we need
to be actively safeguarding the rights and safety of the child. You should consider:
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immediate reaction
considering outcomes
action plans.
Immediate reaction
This is sometimes called the 'knee-jerk reaction' or 'thinking on your feet'. This
response can actually make us paralysed and we react in a negative way. This
could include fleeing or ignoring the incident. This is the first step you will
encounter and it is important to move through this phase as quickly as possible.
On the positive side, if a child is in danger, say from falling off equipment, then
this response makes you act quickly almost without thinking.
Considering outcomes
This response will enable you to consider your actions and analyse what the
outcomes may be. It gives you the opportunity to consider what the best option is
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
for the child and the staff. You will need a good understanding of legislative
requirements, regulations and policies and procedures for the centre. Your
decisions should be discussed with appropriate staff and, if possible, anyone with
authority that can actively guide you through a situation. Unfortunately this can
take time—which you may not have.
Action plans
Action plans will enable you to rely on the policies and procedures of the centre.
You need to attend regular staff meetings. Becoming a member of a professional
association is highly recommended. In this way you can have regular updates on
new legislation, policies and guidelines. Often there will be accompanying
material to help you to implement changes that maybe necessary. Making
informed decisions helps you act in the most professional way to safeguard the
rights and safety of children.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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Identify and seek supervision support
for issues of ethical concern in
practice with children and young
people
Professional values and ethics
When you choose to work in community services you bring all of your personal
values and ethics to the workplace—and so does everyone else with whom you
work. Everyone is unique and if everyone has different values and ethics, how will
this work in the workplace?
The answer to this dilemma is that a set of professional values and ethics needs to
be established. Professional values and ethics are ones that can be shared by
those who work in community services. In this way we can be guided to act in a
certain way and respond to situations in a consistent way.
Professional values and ethics help all to choose actions which enable them to
fulfil their responsibilities—statutory, legal and regulatory.
Code of ethics
A code of ethics is a set of statements which outline the appropriate behaviour
expected of members of the profession and which reflect the professional values
of the group. Codes do not provide right or wrong answers for conflicts and
problems workers may experience, but rather serve as a framework to inform and
guide the decisions and on the job behaviours of workers.
Early Childhood Association (ECA) Code of Ethics
Children are particularly vulnerable and it is your role as a worker to make
decisions in the best interest of the child. You will have to make decisions on a
daily basis and demonstrate that you are acting in an ethical manner. How do you
know what to do? What can help you make the right decision in challenging
situations? One tool that can help you is the Early Childhood Australia (EAC) Code
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
of Ethics, which takes its direction from the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child. For example, the AEC Code of Ethics emphasises adherence to the following
basic principles, which are similar to those in the UN Convention:
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the well-being of the individual child is of fundamental importance
acknowledge the uniqueness of each child
consider the needs of the child in the context of the family and culture.
The code of ethics plays an important role in children's services as it provides
guidelines on protecting children, taking into account children's vulnerability.
Services should ensure that the code of ethics is reflected in all policies and
procedures. This should provide a guide to daily practice for working with children
which encourages the support of children’s rights by all workers in the service.
This code is for childcare workers in the children’s services industry. For
community service workers the code of ethics relevant to your client service or
profession provides specific guidelines for individual staff behaviour in the service.
However the Early Childhood Australia (EAC) Code of Ethics has some useful
guidelines when dealing with children.
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/code_of_ethics/early_childhood_aust
ralias_code_of_ethics.html
Ethical practice
Ethical practice in child related employment means working in a way that
safeguards the rights and interests of children and young people. It involves a
range of skills and behaviours, such as:
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treating children, young people and parents /carers with respect, even
during difficult situations
respecting the right of children and young people to participate in
decision making that impacts on their lives
maintaining appropriate confidentiality
being consistent in the performance of your duties: for example, avoiding
favouritism or bias towards particular children or young people
not ignoring indicators of harm to children or young people
being guided by relevant legislation and standards, and your professional
Code of Ethics in decision making that impacts on children and young
people
following agency policies and procedures and Code of Conduct
seeking specialised professional advice when needed
maintaining your knowledge and skills.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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Acting reasonably
Ethical practice which promotes the rights of children also involves ‘acting
reasonably’. As a worker you have a wide range of responsibilities and duties to
perform. One of the main responsibilities is to provide for the wellbeing and
development of children while safeguarding the rights of children in your care.
This is what could be referred to as 'acting reasonably'.
A ‘reasonable worker with children and young people’ acts in accordance with:
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relevant policies, regulations and industry standards
reasonable and lawful instructions
his or her skills, training, duties and job description, and
commonsense.
Activity 1
Accountability
In order to carry out your duties and responsibilities effectively you need to have
appropriate knowledge and skills. By completing this course you are developing
your knowledge base and your skills in dealing with situations.
As a worker you can use your knowledge and skills to act responsibly but you also
need to be confident in explaining your decisions and actions to the people to
whom you are accountable. These people include:
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your supervisor: this could be the director of the centre, administrator,
management committee or your employer
your fellow childcare workers
your clients (in this case families).
You are legally accountable for the actions you take on a daily basis and this is
part of your responsibility as a part of your duty of care to children. For example,
if a child was to be involved in an accident, you would be required to explain what
happened and the actions that you took after the accident. You would need to be
able to justify your actions and would be judged on how responsible and ethical
your actions were in the situation. This means you need to think carefully about
the decisions you make and be able to base your decisions on the relevant
regulations, guidelines and knowledge.
Activity 2
Professional ethical dilemmas
Just as we are faced with personal ethical dilemmas we can also be faced with
professional ethical dilemmas. This occurs when you are required to make
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
decisions by considering actions and consequences. For example, you may be
required to stay back and help clean up after a special day at the centre but you
also have another dinner date with your friend. This is similar to making a decision
based on your personal values and ethics but there are more immediate issues
that need to be considered in your day-to-day duties in your workplace.
Drawing of a woman holding up a pair of scales with two different types of values
shown in the scales
Weighing up professional values and personal values
When working in a children's service you will be confronted by situations and
challenges on a regular basis. Children are particularly vulnerable in many
situations and it is your responsibility as a caregiver to make decisions which are
in the best interests of the child while supporting families, other workers and the
community.
Ethical dilemmas are recognisable by the fact that there are at least two sets of
values involved, and you are being asked to decide which is most important. Being
faced with conflicting values usually gives us a sense of confusion and makes us
feel unsure. You need to ask yourself: what is the most important point (ie
obligation, value, need, issue, etc) here?
As a child care worker your primary responsibility is to safeguard the child’s rights,
but sometimes the best way to do this is not always clear. Other workers, carers
or family members may see the situation differently. The situation may not be
clear-cut.
Ethical dilemmas can be roughly categorised in the following ways:
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Competing values – for example, you may be working with a parent/carer
who is abusing drugs. You have to acknowledge your client’s right to self
determination (which would be the case for not intervening) versus the
value of protecting a child from possible risk of harm (the case for
intervening).
Multiple client system –There may be parents/carers and others in the
child’s life who view the situation differently and have conflicting
concerns. To whom does the worker owe the primary obligation? The
answer should of course always be the child, but this is not always
straightforward.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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Value dilemma – This is where your own personal values may conflict
with the action you need to take.
Ethical dilemmas are recognisable by needing to ask the ‘But, what if …?’ question
and the feeling of confusion or tension around how to respond.
Activity 3
Fleet and Clyde (1993) have identified five characteristics of ethical dilemmas.
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Ethical dilemmas are situations where there is competition between two
or more choices in the way we can react in a situation.
To make a decision we usually have to give up on an important choice.
Ethical dilemmas can involve conflict between our personal and
professional values and responsibilities.
Ethical dilemmas may lead to the development of guidelines based on
professional values which can be used in a variety of situations.
Usually time is involved as there has to be due consideration on both sides
of the situation and the way it has to be dealt with.
Activity 4
Activity 5
The following model sets out the steps for resolving ethical dilemmas you may
encounter in your workplace:
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Identify the dilemma, and collect as much information as you can to
clarify the problem.
Apply your professional Code of Ethics and/or your agency’s Code of
Conduct
Determine the nature of the dilemma and seek consultation. When
confronted with an ethical dilemma, it is important to consult with your
supervisor, or, if the dilemma involves your supervisor, with someone
more senior in your service.
Brainstorm possible actions you could take.
Consider the possible consequences of all possible actions and determine
a course of action.
Consider the rights and responsibilities of all the people involved in the
dilemma.
Evaluate the selected course of action.
Implement the course of action.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
Develop ethical and nurturing
practices in accordance with
professional boundaries when
working with children and young
people
A child-focused practice
Activity 6
Activity 7
Barriers to a child-focused practice in relation to
responding to harm
In developing a child-focused practice in relation to responding to harm, we need
to be aware of the possibility of two major barriers in ourselves: our beliefs,
attitudes and experiences on the one hand, and our fears about responding to
disclosure on the other.
It is essential that we develop awareness of our attitudes towards children and
young people, what is ‘abuse’, and how we think society, governments and
individuals should respond to abuse or harm. We need to be aware of our
attitudes towards families from different cultures, different social classes, and
different types, for example, single parent families, gay and lesbian families,
blended families. Also, we need to examine our views on ‘acceptable punishment’
of children, violence within families, and the rights of children in relation to their
parents.
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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Fear of consequences of reporting
Sometimes workers don’t report abuse or harm to children with whom they come
in contact because of fears they may have about the consequences of reporting
for the child, themselves, or their workplace. Sometimes these fears are based on
hearsay from colleagues, friends, etc, or media reports: in some cases, workers
may have had a previous negative experience with the relevant State statutory
body.
A child-focused response to disclosure
Responding to a disclosure of abuse or harm by a child is an important skill that
workers in the children’s services industry need to master. As no two children and
their experiences of abuse are the same, you will need to use your professional
judgement to decide what is an appropriate response to a disclosure by a
particular child. However, there are some responses which are appropriate for all
disclosures.
Activity 8
It is important to remember:
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If a child discloses to you, it is usually because they feel comfortable with
you, and feel they can trust you.
While you may feel uncomfortable with what a child is telling you, they
have experienced abuse or harm.
You need to be honest with the child, and not make promises you can’t
keep.
A child-focused response to suspicions of harm
Often children do not directly disclose abuse or harm. They may refer to it
indirectly (such as ‘I’ve got a friend who………..’), or they are displaying signs of
emotional distress, such as withdrawal, aggression, or crying. It is essential that
we don’t just ignore (‘It’s his age’) or rationalise (‘the parents have just got
divorced’) signs or behaviours that may be indicators of abuse or harm.
As well as a responsibility to ensure that we do not further traumatise a child by
the way we respond to their disclosure, we also have a responsibility to ensure we
do not jeopardise the child or the investigation when responding to a disclosure
or to suspicions that a child has been abused or harmed, or is at risk of harm.
Activity 9
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
Recognise indicators for potential
ethical concerns when working with
children and young people
Quite often, when working with children and young people you will feel like this:
Ethics, children and you
There are the often conflicting needs of the child, the organisational requirements
and protocols and parents which have to be juggled against any decisions you
have to make. The situation may not be clear.
For example, your co-worker is late for her shift. She has been warned that if she
is late again, she is fired. She argues that the children have had so many staff
changes lately, how would you feel making another one happen? On the other
hand, you think, what if something had happened to one of the children when we
were inadequately staffed?
Another example could be that you notice slight bruising on a child known to
Department of Community Services. The mother breaks down and cries, saying
that one more incident and she has been told the child will be put in foster care.
You know the family is close, though operating under stress. But what if there is
then further and more dangerous bruising and you know you could have
prevented it?
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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Ethical concerns are recognisable by this ‘but what if?’ question and the feeling of
confusion or tension around how to respond.
Activity 10a
Activity 10b
All these examples identify potential ethical concerns which could arise when
working with children. However, as a worker your primary responsibility is to
safeguard the child’s rights. Once you have recognised indicators for potential
ethical concerns, this basic fact of the child’s rights and welfare decides your
response.
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
Respond to unethical behaviour of
others by reporting to the appropriate
person
Responding to unethical conduct
Unethical conduct refers to situations where another person is not adhering to
professional ethics and is behaving in a way that puts clients at risk: for example,
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a colleague is overhead gossiping about a client in the pub
a colleague who takes resources meant for the children for their personal
use
two workers having a heated disagreement in front of clients.
Reporting unethical conduct
When you recognise that another worker is acting unethically, your first option is
to confront the worker and discuss the matter with them: however, this may be
difficult if they are your co-ordinator or someone else senior to you. If your
approach is unsuccessful, you may need to report the unethical conduct to
someone in higher authority
When reporting unethical conduct, you need to be clear:
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who was involved
when the incident(s) occurred and who else was present
the grounds on which you believe the conduct to be unethical, and
what other actions you have taken eg spoken to the person.
When considering reporting unethical conduct, you need to access your agency’s
policy and procedures to know who to direct the report to.
Activity 11
Activity 12
Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
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References
Fleet A and Clyde M (1993) What’s in a Day? Working in early childhood, Social
Science Press, Wentworth Falls, NSW
NSW Commission for Children and Young People (2000) New South Wales
Interagency Guidelines for Child Protection Intervention, NSW Government,
Sydney
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Australia's national agency for health
and welfare statistics: Child Protection Australia 2002–03: Child Welfare Series No
34 http://www.aihw.gov.au/
Additional resources
Here are some useful links
NSW Department of Community Services: Protecting children:
http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/preventing_child_abuse_and_neglect/protec
ting_children.html
NSW Commission for Children Young People: Working with children
http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/kids/working.cfm?CFID=3280016&CFTOKEN=185495
41
Community.gov.au: Information on child protection against neglect, violence or
sexual abuse:
http://www.community.gov.au/Internet/MFMC/Community.nsf/pages/section?o
pendocument&Section=Child%20Protection
Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies, Centre for Community Welfare
Training: Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New
South Wales: The Wood Report:
http://www.acwa.asn.au/wood_commission.html
NSW Department of Community Services, 2006, The NSW Interagency Guidelines
for Child Protection Intervention, NSW Government, Sydney. Available from:
http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/interagenc
y_guidelines.pdf
Changing legislation
Children Legislation Amendment (Wood Inquiry Recommendations) Bill 2009.
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/0C23593002B1
ACBCCA25756E0021E66C
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Certificate III in Children’s Services: CHCCDHILD401A: Reader LO 9340
© NSW DET 2010
Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Bill 2009
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/7524D9E23A3
A30FBCA2575AD00199863
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