Children's Needs – Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...

Introduction 9The Government-commissioned report on early intervention provides muchevidence ‘to suggest that the first three years of life create the foundation in learning howto express emotion and to understand and respond to the emotions of others’ (Allen 2011,p.5, paragraph 15). There is an emphasis on early intervention packages whichhave a proven track record, and a recommendation that a new, Early InterventionFoundation is created.Past governments have also sought to respond to the needs of vulnerable familieswith the aim of improving the wellbeing of children. The Children Act 1989recognised that to promote children’s welfare, services may need to address thedifficulties that parents experience.Parents are individuals with needs of their own. Even though services may beoffered primarily on behalf of their children, parents are entitled to help andconsideration in their own right...Their parenting capacity may be limitedtemporarily or permanently by poverty, racism, poor housing or unemployment orby personal or marital problems, sensory or physical disability, mental illness orpast life experiences...(Department of Health 1991, p.8)Under the Children Act 2004 ‘a children’s services authority in England must haveregard to the importance of parents and other persons caring for children in improvingthe well-being of children’ (Section 10(3) of the Children Act 2004).The National Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Servicesstressed the importance of providing support to parents and the need for collaborationbetween adults’ and children’s services.In addition to meeting the general needs of parents from disadvantagedbackgrounds, it is important to consider the more specialised forms of supportrequired by families in specific circumstances, such as support for parents withmental health difficulties or disabilities, or with substance misuse problems. Goodcollaborative arrangements are required between services for adults, where theadult is a parent, and children’s services, in particular, where children may beespecially vulnerable.(Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills 2004,p.69, paragraph 3.4).The needs of vulnerable children were addressed in the Department of Health’srevised code of practice which provides guidance to doctors, relevant hospital staffand mental health professionals on how they should proceed when undertakingtheir duties under the Mental Health Act 1983. The code of practice notes thatpractitioners should ensure that:children and young people are provided with information about theirparents’ illness;