School Behaviour and Families by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
Published: 2002-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Clarity regarding statutory procedures in cases of abuse is vital and a keen awareness of the role and function of each professional in the whole scenario is essential. For example, in the UK, most parents will be invited to child protection conferences where their own abusive behaviour to their child is being discussed. Decisions will be made about whether, for example, to place their child’s name on the Child Protection Register.

Case study: Shebana

Shebana was 11 years old and described as having very challenging behaviour with some autistic features. She was also showing very unusual difficulties in learning. At home, her mother, who confided her own learning difficulties at school, despaired at times because she found Shebana very difficult to understand or to deal with. One summer, Shebana and her younger sister and her mother were out in the local park for a special treat. Shebana was, as her mother put it, ‘playing up’, and in anger, her mother lashed out at her. This physical chastisement of Shebana, by her mother, was reported to the Police by a member of the public who felt that the mother’s response had been unusually punitive to the child. Subsequent multi-agency assessments resulted in a child protection conference. Shebana’s mother and her partner were in attendance throughout and were able to give a much clearer picture of the kinds of stresses and difficulties the family were under. The incident in the park had been symptomatic of a whole host of mother-daughter relationship problems. Support, of a very practical kind, was offered to the family as well as focused therapeutic input. Shebana’s teacher played a key role in planning the child protection programme, including regular meetings at school with the mother and partner to discuss any issues relating to their concerns about Shebana.

Good quality up-to-date training is very important in enabling teachers to feel skilled and knowledgeable about child protection matters. Access to high quality consultation and support is also essential for the teacher to feel that an effective approach can be made from the school setting. Recent guidance in the UK has led to core groups being set up following child protection procedures. These enable those most concerned with the child and the parent to develop a coordinated approach to intervention over time. A teacher would normally be an important part of such a core group.

For all of the above there are very clear resource implications for school planning and management, such as the teacher’s time.

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