Safe guarding children and young people - e-book

The Level 2 Certificate in Safeguarding Children and Young People is an ideal programme for those who work with children and young people who require specific training in this area. A child may be defined as a young person between the stages of infancy and youth. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) defines a child as an individual aged 0 to 18 years old, but within British Criminal law, a child is considered any person up to the age of 14, although they can be convicted of an offence from the age of 10.A young person may be defined as someone in the first or an early stage of life, growth or development or more specifically an individual between the ages of 14-19. It is important to note that a person’s development depends on a number of genetic and environmental factors and where these are affected in a negative way, so will the young person’s development. Although Safeguarding has not been given a specific definition in law, it may be considered in its simplest form as ‘keeping children safe from harm, such as illness, abuse or injury.’ Following the implementation of the Every Child Matters agenda, the term ‘Child Protection’ has been replaced by ‘Safeguarding’ and is the responsibility of all professionals who work with children and young people.