A duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could forseeably harm others. It’s a requirement to exercise a reasonable degree of attention and caution to avoid negligence which could lead to harm to others. For me as a childminder it basically means I have a duty of care to protect any children in my care from significant harm; this will be achieved using the standards that I have learned from the many courses etc.
that I have attended. All my risk assessments, policies, daily checks, who to contact should you suspect the child may be at risk etc. are proof that I carry out my duty of care. All children have the right to be kept safe and as a childminder it is my duty to ensure that the children in my care are not exposed to any dangers whilst in my setting. We as humans have a duty of care to one another through our interactions.
Babies and young children are more vulnerable and our duty of care to them is therefore greater. Vigilance and attention keeps young children safe as they develop: * More robust immune systems * Communication skills which enable them to talk about the harm others may be imposing on them * Empathy – the understanding of how their actions can hurt or upset others * The ability to predict and cope with possible dangers.
My responsibilities under the duty of care are to do everything reasonable within the definition of my job role to keep the children in my care safe and out of harm’s way. “Duty of Care” means providing care and support for children by complying with legislation and also within my policies and procedures. A negligent act could be unintentional, but careless, or intentional that results in abuse or injury. A negligent act is breaching the duty.