Evaluate the regulation of care provision

When children and young people are being cared for by other people in a school, nursery, foster care etc. there are rules and regulations that have to be followed. And all health care providers who have main contact with the children or young person, will need to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the setting will need to be inspected by the local authority and also by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Criminal Records Bureau (CRB 2002)

The Criminal Record Bureau CRB was launched in 2002 and was set up so that a wider range of employers could access information about their employees criminal record history and make a safer decision about whether the individual will receive the job or not. ). They allow the employers to check if the applicant has had any criminal convictions, if they are barred from working with children or vulnerable adults, whether they are on the sex offenders list and if the police hold any other relevant pieces of information about the person. From November 2010, those who work with children and young people regularly will need to be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Agency (ISA). Health and social care Level 3 book 2 BTEC National Beryl Stretch, Mary Whitehouse (2).

The CRB allows the children In the service to remain safe because if the individual has a Criminal Record that could put the children and young people in any form of harm then the individual will not get employed. On the other hand, the Criminal Records Bureau has weaknesses, CRB checks have to be frequently checked and updated, because when an individual starts their job, they may not have a criminal record at the time, but may commit a crime sometime after that. The children could potentially be at risk. Criminal Records Bureau only show what has been found, some health care providers may have committed a crime but may have not been recorded. The CRB checking system has been taken further with safeguarding vulnerable groups Act (2006). A result of this, adults who have less contact with children also have to undergo a CRB check. This has resulted in controversy. Office for Standards in Education (OFTSED)

OFSTED is a government department that inspects any setting that provides care, education, this includes schools, nurseries, day cares, child-minders, crèches and out of school care. A strength about OFSTED is that when members of OFSTED come to inspect the health care setting, they are able to see how the service users behave in the health care setting. For example in a school the inspectors can speak to the students as well as teachers. This allows the inspectors to get students perspectives of the school and how they are finding their education. When a school gets inspected the school will be able to receive feedback as to how they can improve their education system. One weakness about OFSTED is that the inspection is not always honest. OFSTED give the school or health care setting notice that they will be visiting on a particular date, this then gives the health care setting to prepare for the inspection, allowing the health care setting to get better results on their inspection. OFSTED would need to do unexpected visits to the health care setting, that way the inspectors will be able to get an honest view about the setting. General Teaching Council for England

This is regulated for teachers. They have a professional Code of Conduct and Practise for Registered Teachers, which sets standards by which all teaching staff should be measured. One strength of the General Teaching Council for England was that Head teachers currently have a responsibility to check that prospective teaching staffs are registered with the GTCE and have the relevant teaching status, this ensures the child and young people’s safety at school. One weakness of the General Teaching Council for England is that it was abolished 1st April 2012. General Social Care Council (GSCC)

One strength about the GSCC is that it is the regulatory professional body specifically for social care workers, which has codes of practice that set guidelines for individuals who work in social care. There is a register for the individuals who are qualified to work in this sector. Social workers who show inappropriate behaviour that is threatening to children or young people can be removed from the GSCC register. This protects the children from any threatening situations and keeps the children and young people safe. Conclusion

To conclude I feel that the quality of the provision for looked after children is up to standard, because in each regulation there are different procedures to follow if the health care provider is putting the child in harm’s way.

Reference
1.)http://www.churchsafe.org.uk/what-we-do/crb-disclosure-checks/what-is-crb.html