Assessment task – TDA 3.2 Schools as organisations (continue) Summarise the laws and practise affecting work in schools Data Protection Act 1998: This act is a way for people to control information about themselves. It mentions that personal information should only be kept for intended purpose and only what you need it for. It should be kept securely onsite for example locked away or password protected. Also this information is to be classed as confidential and is not to be shared unless asked permission first.United Nations Convention on Rights of the Children 1989: The UNCRC was brought up and introduced in 1989 and was signed by Britain in 1991.
It is made up of 54 articles and only 7 of them relate to schools. These include: * Article 2- Freedom from discrimination- That children have the right to be protected from harm and all forms of discrimination. * Article 3- Best interests of the child- Everything that is done within the school is done for the best of the child and that their interest is the most important. * Article 12- Self expression- That all children should be able to express their views and opinions freely, which should take in considerate the child’s age and maturity.* Article13- Receiving and sharing information- Children should have the right to receive and share information as long as it doesn’t damage others.
* Article 14- Freedom of religion- Children should have the right to freedom of religion, although they should also be free to look into their beliefs. * Article 28- Equal right to education- That all children are education equally despite their race, colour or background and should be educated according to their individual needs. * Article 29- Education should develop the child’s personalities, talents and abilities- That children should learn to live peacefully and respect the environment as well as other people around them. Also they should be encouraged to develop their personalities, talents and abilities to the fullest.
Education Act 2002: This act focuses on governance and staffing and looks towards improving the quality of education as a whole. It also looks at the people in the education service to see if they have the right skills and training necessary to ensure children are safe and are getting the right education as well as being protected from harm.Children’s Act 2004 & 2006: The children’s act 2004 looks to improve and integrate children’s services, promote early change, provide strong leadership and bring together different professionals in order to achieve positive outcomes for children and their families. The children’s act 2006 was introduced to help improve the wellbeing of each child. They believe a good start in life is essential for children if they are to fulfil to their best potential and the high quality early childhood services will result in better out comes for children. The children’s act 2006 puts more responsibility on local authorities to: * Reduce inequalities and improve the wellbeing for young children * Make sure that there is enough childcare to enable parents to work * Provide parents with information on childcare* Make sure that the local childcare providers are trained * Introduce early years foundation stage for under-5s * Improve the regulation system for childcareFreedom of Information Act 2000: The concept was first put in 1997 and passed in 2000.
It was then introduced in 2005 to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector. It is to allow individuals and corporations to get reasonable access to information while minimizing the risk of harm. Schools have a duty to give advice and assistance to anyone that requests information held by a school and this must be done in writing. However there are some cases in which schools need to protect confidential information as well.
Human Right Act 1998: This act gives individuals rights and freedom. These right not only impact matters on life and death, but they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life e.g what you say and do, your right to a fair trial and other basic entitlement etc. It is also designed to make sure that there are no inequalities and that all children have the same entitlement to education in schools.
This act also mentions the restraint pupils act which enables staff to use such force on the students as reasonable for the circumstance to prevent a student from doing or continuing to do any form of offence, causing personal injury to someone else, causing damage to others property and prejudicing the maintenance of good order and discipline in the school. Although this act doesn’t have to be followed and it is up to the school if they put it in their policy or not.The Special Educational Needs Code Of Practise 2001: This practise applies to any setting or school that receives government funding. It helps people with learning difficulties and gives these children increased rights. Each child is an individual and should be taught based on their strengths and needs. The SEN are not only there to help the people who need it most but can also offer advise and support to the rest of the people within that setting or school.
Also these children should not be excluded from any aspects of school life due to their learning difficulties and needing extra help, so adjustments should be made so that they can also take part.Disability Discrimination Act 1995/2005: This act helps ensure that people with disability have the rights they need in the society. It helps to ensure that schools have access to for wheelchair users, that they have ramps, disabled toilets and lifts big enough to fit a wheelchair inside to avoid struggle benefitting these people. However if the school was built before this act was introduced then they are not required to have these unless they make modifications to the building.
