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CS20 Enable children and young people to understand their health and well-being

Overview

This standard is about the practitioner helping children and young people to understand their situation in relation to their health and well-being. This will be done during the normal course of the practitioner’s work, and may not be achieved in a one off session. The practitioner needs to develop rapport and a respectful, trusting relationship with the child or young person, and this is achieved by involving them in discussing their situation. They are then in a position to explore with them what they feel about the situation, and what they would like to happen to them. This will also include those who are involved in their care, e.g. parents and family members, but the child or young person is central to this process. Users of this  standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

  1. the legislation which relates to working with children and young people including
    1. confidentiality and information sharing
    2. the provision of services
    3. children’s rights
    4. anti-discriminatory practice
    5. child protection
  2. the statutory and professional standards and codes of practice for your area of work and how to interpret and apply these
  3. how to manage your responsibilities as a professional with organisational and contractual requirements
  4. the nature, extent and boundaries of your work role and its relationship to others in your own and other organisations
  5. the roles of other practitioners working with children, young people and families and how they relate between and across agencies
  6. the importance of working within your own sphere of competence and when you should refer to others
  7. the ethics concerning consent and confidentiality, and the tensions which may exist between an individual’s rights and the organisation’s responsibility to individuals
  8. the law and good practice guidelines on consent, including capacity issues and consent in childhood
  9. the rights of individuals to make decisions for themselves and to take risks in the context of their own lives
  10. how to deal with issues of confidentiality and who has the right of access to information and images that have been recorded
  11. how to communicate effectively with children and young people, and those involved in their care
  12. the importance and methods of establishing rapport and respectful, trusting relationships with children and young people and those involved in their care
  13. the benefits of day to day contact in establishing effective relationships
  14. the importance of working in a facilitative and enabling way and how to do this
  15. the importance of focusing on the child or young person as an individual
  16. the ways in which those involved in the care of the child or young person should be involved in communication in order to deliver the most effective outcome for the child or young person
  17. the benefits and methods of supporting children and young people and those involved in their care to communicate with each other through a partnership based approach
  18. the ways in which communication can be modified and altered for different needs, contexts and beliefs, including the age, understanding and communication preferences of the child or young person and those involved in their care
  19. the ways in which children and young people communicate by behaviour, as well as through language, and how different forms of behaviour can be interpreted
  20. the effects of environments and contexts on communication (particularly institutional settings)
  21. how babies, children and young people see and experience the world in different ways and the implications of this for the way in which you seek to help them understand their health and well-being
  22. the different ways in which babies and children form attachments and how these may change over time
  23. how to support children and young people with a developmental difficulty or disability, and their families, parents and carers
  24. the type of communication and relationship difficulties that can occur, and what to do to overcome communication and relationship difficulties
  25. the information and guidance that is available for children and young people and those involved in their care, and how to access this
  26. other professionals, networks and agencies that are available to support children and young people and those involved in their care, and how to access these
  27. how to motivate and encourage children and young people to achieve their full potential and how to empower and encourage parents and carers to do the same
  28. the value of self-directed play and recreation in helping children and young people to understand themselves and the world around them as well as helping them to promote their health and well-being and realise their potential
  29. the possible impact of this work on yourself, and how to access counselling, supervision or other support when required
  30. the key government policies relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
  31. the main issues and debates relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
  32. the framework for the assessment of children and young people’s needs
  33. the main trends and changes relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
  34. the main conditions affecting children and young people in your area of practice
  35. child development, including emotional, physical, intellectual, social, moral and character growth, and how they all affect one another
  36. the impact of transitions on child development, e.g. puberty, changing or leaving school, family illness or bereavement
  37. how to recognise signs of possible developmental delay, disability, or undiagnosed health conditions, and who to refer the child or young person to for further investigation and diagnosis
  38. the role of parents or carers in promoting the health and well-being of children and young people
  39. different parenting approaches, backgrounds and routines and the implications for helping children, young people and their families to promote their health and well-being
  40. the diversity of children and young people’s family, caring and social networks, and the impact of these on their health and well-being
  41. the contributing factors that increase the risk of harm to children and young people and the triggers for reporting incidents or unexpected behaviour
  42. health promotion strategies and programmes for children, young people and families
  43. national and local policy and guidelines for individuals’ records, their storage, retrieval and transfer, and confidentiality of information
  44. the information recorded on individuals’ records; how to access and use this information; and your responsibilities for maintaining records
  45. evidence based practice, and its role in improving services
  46. sources of authoritative information on children’s health and well-being, including evidence based information
  47. how to use theory and experience to reflect upon, think about and improve your practice
  48. how to evaluate your own competence and determine when further support and expertise are needed
  49. how to draw upon your experience and others’ perspectives to challenge your thinking and assess the impact of your actions

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

  1. communicate with the child or young person and those involved in their care in a way that is appropriate to their age, understanding and preferences
  2. observe the child or young person’s behaviour and note any unexpected changes or concerns
  3. discuss with the child or young person their views on their health and well-being and help them:
    1. to achieve an understanding of the nature of their needs and help them prioritise them
    2. to identify their health goals and preferences
  4. consult with the child or young person, and those involved in their care, on their view of the support they need to understand and manage their situation and promote their own health and well-being
  5. explain clearly to the child or young person and those involved in their care the options that are realistically available to them
  6. provide the child or young person, and those involved in their care, with any available evidence based information about the effectiveness, benefits and risks of the different options
  7. enable the child or young person to take an active part in decisions affecting them
  8. demonstrate active listening throughout the communication process and respond sensitively to any issues raised by the child or young person or those involved in their care
  9. support the child or young person and those involved in their care to communicate with each other through a partnership based approach
  10. provide relevant information about the people, organisations and written resources that can assist them in understanding and promoting their health and well-being
  11. provide clear information on how to access the support that they need in order to meet their needs
  12. assist the child or young person and those involved in their care to highlight in any communication the key issues in relation to their health and well-being
  13. encourage them to pursue ways to understand and promote their own health and well-being and discuss any anxieties they have about this
  14. make records that are clear, comprehensive, and accurate, and maintain the security and confidentiality of information

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB4 Enablement to address health and wellbeing needs
CS20 Enable children and young people to understand their health and well-being
Final version approved June 2010 © copyright Skills For Health,
For competence management tools visit tools.skillsforhealth.org.uk