Unit_2_Tda_3.2_Task_3-4

Support Teaching & Learning Level 3 Unit 2 TDA 3.2 Task 3-4 Legislation is put in place in schools to promote equality and to eliminate discrimination. Here are just a few examples. Children Act 1989 Children Act 2004 (Children's Services) Regulations 2005. The Children Act 1989 aimed to ensure that the welfare of the child was paramount, working in partnership with parents to protect the child from harm. The Act was intended to strengthen the child’s legal position; to give him/her equal rights, feelings and wishes; and to ensure children were consulted and kept informed. The Children Act 2004 aims to further improve children’s lives and gives the legal underpinning to ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ (2004). The Children and Young Person Act 2008 has also been introduced. Its main purpose is to effect the recommendations set out in the White Paper ‘Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care’ and "forms part of the Government's programme to ensure children and young people receive high quality care and support." The Act includes provisions in relation to the well-being of children and young people and private fostering. It has a particular focus on older young people in care and those making the transition from care. www.sefccymru.org • Equality and diversity legislation 2011 The Equality Act is the most significant piece of equality legislation to be introduced for many years. It is there to strengthen protection, advance equality and simplify the law. Ninety per cent of the act came into force on 1 October 2010. The rest of it includes Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), which comes into effect in April 2011. The Equality Act brings together, and significantly adds to and strengthens, a number of previous existing pieces of legislation, including race and disability. One of the key changes is that it extends the protected characteristics to encompass: • age • disability • gender reassignment • marriage and civil partnership • pregnancy and maternity • race • religion or belief • sex • sexual orientation. The act also makes explicit the concept of ‘dual discrimination’, where someone may be discriminated against or treated unfairly on the basis of a combination of two or the protected characteristics. The main provisions of interest to local government are contained within the PSED, which comes into effect in April 2011. The Government’s consultation on the implementation of the duty closed in November 2010. The consultation focused primarily on transparency and accountability. Key aspects of the PSED are: • a general duty to: (i) eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation; (ii) advance equality of opportunity; and (iii) foster good relations • specific duties to: publish data, assess impact, set equality objectives; report progress at least annually • new transparency on data to drive culture change • Duty applies to listed public bodies and those discharging public functions (in respect of those functions), for example, third-sector bodies when discharging public functions • Clarification that procurement and commissioning can be used to drive equality. www.idea.gov.uk Every Child Matters The death of Victoria Climbié exposed shameful failings in our ability to protect the most vulnerable children. On twelve occasions, over ten months, chances to save Victoria’s life were not taken. Social services, the police and the NHS failed, as Lord Laming’s report into Victoria’s death made clear, to do the basic things well to protect her. Over the past few years, we have seen that progress is possible: _ In education, last year we saw our best ever results in all key stages. _ there are 500,000 fewer children living in households with relative low income than in 1997. _ Since 1997 the reconviction rate for young offenders has reduced by 22 percent. _ The Government’s teenage pregnancy strategy has produced a ten percent reduction in conception rates among under 18 year olds since 1998. _ many of the measures put in place now, including Sure Start and measures to tackle low income through welfare to work and tax credits, will only see their full dividends in years to come.