Promote the Wellbeing and Resilience of Children and Young People

1.1 explain the factors that influence the wellbeing of children and young people There are many factors that influence the wellbeing of children and young people. Some of these are evident in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

A child should have the ability to have secure and nurturing attachments that offer emotional warmth and security from a care giver. This will offer security and safety to the young person. As well as secure attachments, the young person will benefit from having positive relationships with wider family and friends, these relationships can have a huge impact on the young person’s self-esteem. The young person should live in an environment that is clean and secure and that is fit for purpose. They should be allowed to have plenty of rest and sleep in a comfortable environment. Diet and exercise will also contribute to the overall wellbeing of a young person.

1.2 explain the importance of resilience for children and young people Resilience is important to young people in order to grow and reach their full potential, it allows the young person the power to overcome difficulties, the skills and ability to comfortably communicate and the power to turn away from negative thoughts, feelings and emotions. It will allow a young person the confidence to adventure out of there comfort zone and explore new things.

1.3 analyse effective ways of promoting wellbeing and resilience in the work setting In our setting we promote well-being effectively through the use of sport and other physical activity. We have access to gyms and swimming facilities through local leisure centres and actively encourage young people to partake. For many young people this is effective as it allows young people to have a good feeling about them through positive self-image, however the problem with this arises when young people come into the home who do not have a positive self-image. Choices are promoted within the home; young people are encouraged to partake in a YP meeting once per week. In this meeting young people will choose their activities for the week, they will have a choice in the menu and are encouraged to choose healthy menu ideas. There are conflicts in interest in this area to be addressed and there can be issues develop when the young person’s choices are not appropriate. Young people are encouraged to take calculated risks that fit with their levels of understanding and responsibility.

This can have positive impacts on a young person’s development if they succeed but these needs to be carefully balanced between what the young person wants and what they are capable off. Should the young person fail due to the activity they are undertaking been too challenging this will have a detrimental effect on their levels of resilience. 1.4 describe ways of working with carers to promote wellbeing and resilience in children and young people As a care team we take responsibility of working together as a team around the young people to plan undertake initiatives that promote wellbeing and resilience of children and young people. Planning and implementing these plans will take place in bullet meetings and staff meetings. This, for example, will be witnessed through the planning and implementation of the young adult’s independence plans. These plans will develop resilience as the young adult is working towards developing skills for his future. As the staff team make the plans, we will draw upon individual specialties within the team to ensure the plan is developed to the best it can be.

2.1 explain why social and emotional identities are important to the wellbeing and resilience of children and young people A person who has developed a positive self-concept with a strong social and emotional identity through positive reinforcement, strong relationships with peers, teachers and caregivers and strong / well balanced social backgrounds generally develop higher levels of resilience leading lower levels of depression and anxiety related issues later in life and generally become higher educational achievers, however, those of whom may have endured bullying from peers, regular negative feedback or taunting from teachers or unbalanced childhood or those who reside in a geographical area that struggles with poverty and deprivation may lead to a lowered self-worth and decreased levels of resilience.

2.2 explain how to support children and young people to identify with their own self-image and identity Young people should have positive relationships with primary care givers, education staff and peers as this leads to higher levels of self-worth, high self-esteem and a positive self- image. This positive outlook on life may lead to that person becoming more approachable and popular individual. Structure, routine and boundaries should be put in place and positive reinforcement is to be used, this allows an understanding of the young person’s position within their society and leads to a more settled and well balanced individual. Positive and dependable role models allow the young person to model the behaviours of well-balanced, well behaved and already resilient individuals.

Positive encouragement offered to young people may lead to higher levels of self-esteem and enables the young person to develop an optimistic attitude about learning new skills and having the ability to keep trying when things become challenging. Regular attendance to education should be encouraged, ‘Schooling may be vital in enabling children to make the best of adverse circumstances like being in care, both through offering opportunities for academic success to compensate for the “failure” in family life and in affording access to alternative supporting relationships — with teachers and with peers ….. schools also offer opportunities for children to learn coping styles and gain a sense of self-worth’. (Bortland et al, 1998)

2.3 demonstrate how to encourage children and young people to recognise and value their own abilities, talents and achievements

2.4 demonstrate how to support children and young people to be involved in decisions and have as much control as possible over their lives

2.5 explain how goals and targets identified as part of the planning process contribute towards building the self-esteem of children or young people By setting goals and targets that are realistic and achievable their self-esteem will be developed through accomplishments. Staff should be involved in the planning process to ensure that young people do not set goals that are outside of their capabilities and where the goals are unrealistic the staff member can support the young person to make goals that are easier to achieve leading up to their main aim, however, the young person should take a lead role in the planning as without this role they are less likely to buy into the plan. Outcomes for the child will be the driving force behind continuation of efforts and with the continuation of their efforts there will be achievements and with these achievements self-esteem will be developed.

3.1 demonstrate work with children or young people in a manner that is open, trustworthy, respectful and reliable

3.2 explain how a solution focused approach will encourage children and young people to have a positive outlook on their lives Solution focused approaches assist a young person to have the ability to look at a problem that they encounter in their life and have the skills to develop a solution to overcome the problem and move on. As a young person travels into independence they will enter into the world where difficulties and struggles, barriers and challenges will be a part of everyday life, this could be with employment, relationships, finances etc. As a young person leaves care, many will not have the support of family to depend on and will require the skills and abilities to find solutions to their problems. Possessing this skill will lead to a more positive outlook on life as they will have the self-esteem, the resilience and the confidence to evaluate the situation and focus on a solution.

3.3 support and encourage children and young people to respond positively to challenges and disappointments. For young people, especially those in care, disappointment can be enough to stop a young person in their tracks. They may find it difficult to overcome and without a positive outlook they may just settle for disappointment and accept failure. It is important from as early as possible to show the young person that failing at something at first is not a barrier to achieving. The old saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed try and try again. It is important to educate a young person that while it may be disappointing to not achieve first time, or get what they want first time or have a failed relationship first time that this does not mean it is over.

I do this by supporting the young person and showing them in my role that I do not give up. I will offer encouragement and clarity to keep them on track and offer support when it is needed; however, I do this while maintaining enough space from the young person to allow them the independence to find solutions to their own problems. 3.4 demonstrate ways to encourage and support children and young people to express their feelings, views and hopes

3.5 support children and young people to reflect on the impact of their own actions and behaviour When a child does something that is unsafe or untoward it is important to explain to the young person the implications of their actions. In our service we use restorative practices to show the young person how their actions have affected others. On occasion this has become to much for the young person to handle so there is always additional support for the young person who has done wrong through counselling or other methods.