Workingwith Families

Nathan Loynes

Learning Objectives

1. Contrast family privacy policy with promoting welfare policy including the ‘ten principles of’ and S.17 of The Children Act 1989.

2. Introduction to The Human Rights Act 1998, in particular Article 8; Right to Family Life.

3. Introduction to Data Protection Act 2000.4. Debate the concept of ‘confidentiality’ and

record keeping.

Last Time

• We explored ‘parenting’. In doing so we used what might be called a ‘bottom up’ approach: We based our presentations of the research that we read.

• In this session we shall use an alternative method a ‘top down’ approach: We will come up with some ideas before we undertake the research.

In your groups

• Spend 10 minutes discussing why those who work with children and families must be mindful of ‘freedom’ and ‘privacy’.

• Can you have ‘freedom’ without ‘privacy’; can you have ‘privacy’ without ‘freedom’?

• Make a list of your reasons. (You will need this list later)

Entick v Carrington [1765]

A leading case in English law establishing the civil liberties of individuals and limiting the scope that the ‘state’ can interfere in ‘private life’

The Details

• In 1762, the King's Chief Messenger Nathan Carrington, and three other King's messengers, went into the home of writer, John Entick "with force and arms" and seized Entick's private papers. Entick was arrested. The King's messengers were acting on the orders of Lord Halifax "to make strict and diligent search for . . . the author, or one concerned in the writing of several weekly very seditious papers”. Entick sought judgment against Carrington and his colleagues who argued that they had acted upon Halifax's warrant. A jury returned a special verdict finding that the defendants had broken into Entick's home "with force and arms”.

Perhaps summarised by: An Englishman’s home is his…

However,

As English law has proceeded in a ‘liberal’ tradition protecting an individual’s right to freely make business contracts and hold property, some individuals in society have not had the same equal rights before the law, significantly because they did not hold property.

Did you know:

• There has been a long tradition in England that only very wealthy males had the right to vote.

• The situation was ‘improved’ by the Reform Act 1832 giving 1 in 7adult land owning males the right to vote.

• This increased to all men aged over 21 and wealthy women in 1918.

• Both men and women aged over 21 could vote by 1929.

• The voting age was reduced to 18 in 1969.

Do you think that we take our ‘rights’ and ‘freedoms’

for granted…?

At around the same time, over the last 150 years

E-X-P-A-N-S-I-O-N Of The Welfare State

Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942) : The Beveridge Report.

The ‘state’ needs to do more to help people!

The ‘state’ interferes with our freedoms and privacy!

Where do you stand?

• Over the years, one can see how each side of the state debate has gotten in front but then slipped behind again.

• This can usually be seen in the balloon like expansion of the services followed by contraction (cuts) in services.

• However, in general there has been an increase in legislation, policy and powers relating to state intervention into family/private life.

The Children Act 1989

Read excerpt 1: The 10 Principles of the Act.

Discuss and write of the pack whether you think the principle ‘protects’ privacy or ‘invades’ privacy?

What about s.17 The Children Act 1989

It shall be the general duty of every Local Authority

to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area

who are in need; and so far as is reasonably consistent

with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs.

Read Excerpt 2:

The Daily Mail, 2013, “Social Workers to Meddle in Every Family Home”[what do you think?]

The Human Rights Act 1998

Read Excerpt 3: Making Sense of Human Rights.What are1. Absolute Rights2. Limited Rights3. Qualified Rights?

What is Article 8 about?What is a ‘public authority’?

Confidentiality

Read the Stephen King quotation on the front of today’s pack: What do you think it means?“No one likes to see a government

folder with his name on it.”

Confidentiality

• Read excerpt 4 – Information sharing, confidentiality and consent.

• List the seven golden rules for information sharing? (try to summarise each one into five words).

Consent to information sharing

• What is consent?• Why is consent important?• Can children give consent

For next time: Read Excerpt 5: Thompson (2009), Written Communication

1. Why is written information important?2. Why is ‘working from memory’ difficult?3. How do written records make us accountable?4. What does Thompson write about ‘relevance’?5. What does Thompson write about ‘fact and

opinion’?

Summary

1. Contrast family privacy policy with promoting welfare policy including the ‘ten principles of’ and S.17 of The Children Act 1989.

2. Introduction to The Human Rights Act 1998, in particular Article 8; Right to Family Life.

3. Introduction to Data Protection Act 2000.4. Debate the concept of ‘confidentiality’ and record keeping.

Final thought

When I worked as a Social Worker the head of children’s services said to me, “If it isn’t written down recorded – then it never happened”.What do you think this means?

(Do you agree?)