Values of care: Flashcards
What do we mean by ‘values of care’?
● Values of care are clear guidelines that inform and improve practice so that staff working in health and social care/childcare settings can provide effective care to service users.
● Offer guidance on legal requirements.
● The aim of applying values of care is to improve circumstances of service users and to meet their specific individual needs.
What are the 3 Values of Care in Health and Social Care services:
Promoting equality and diversity
Promoting individual rights and beliefs
Maintaining confidentiality
What are the 9 Values of Care in Child Care services:
Making the welfare of the child paramount
Keeping the child safe and maintaining a health environment
Working in partnership with parents/guardians
Encouraging children’s learning and development
Valuing diversity
Ensuring equality of opportunity
Using anti-discriminatory practice
Maintaining confidentiality
Working with other professionals
How can pracitioners Promote Equality and Diversity in HASC settings?
●Care workers should always use non-discriminatory
language and not be patronising to the individuals
they are caring for. For example, use a patient’s
name rather than referring to them as ‘dear’, or
allowing a care home resident to choose what they
want to wear rather than telling them.
●They should challenge discrimination, such as racist
or sexist remarks made by a staff member or another
individual.
● Care should meet an individual’s specific needs; for
example, providing assistance with mobility such as a
Zimmer frame, helping someone to take a shower or
helping them to get dressed.
●A trip out for residents of a care home should be
somewhere that has wheelchair access and a hearing
loop system.
How can pracitioners Promote individual rights and beliefs in HASC settings?
Care environments, such as hospitals and residential
care homes, could provide access to a prayer room
or transport to church, for example, to support
individuals’ religious beliefs.
In health care the right to choice of a pregnant
woman could be supported by asking her whether
she wants to give birth at the hospital or at home.
* Providing a menu with vegetarian, gluten free, halal
and kosher options caters for all types of dietary
needs and provides choice for all.
How can pracitioners maintain confidentiality in HASC settings?
It would not be appropriate for care staff to chat in a
corridor about one of the residents in a care home,
or to leave a resident’s personal file lying around
in the lounge.
● Documents containing personal information
should be filed away in a locked cabinet or in
password-protected electronic records.
Information should only ever be shared on a ‘need
to know’ basis with practitioners involved with the
individual’s care.
How can practitioners Making the welfare of the child paramount in child care environment
● Child care environments should use a child-centred
approach where the child’s needs, such as being
healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, come first.
● A child must never be humiliated by being publicly told
off or made fun of and should not be verbally abused or
smacked.
Keeping children safe and maintaining a healthy
environment
● A safeguarding procedure should be in place and all
staff should be DBS checked.
● Staff should wear lanyards for identification.
● Health and safety procedures and legislation should
be followed, for example having regular fire drills,
risk assessments and first aiders available.
● There should always be an appropriate staff to child
ratio.
● A bullying policy should be in place.
Working in partnership with parents/guardians
There should be a two-way relationship between
parents/guardians and the care setting. Parents and
practitioners need to listen to one another and value
one another’s views to achieve the best outcomes for
the child. Parents have the right to play a central role in
making decisions about their child’s care, and successful
relationships between practitioners and parents will
have a beneficial impact on children’s wellbeing.
● A child care environment should welcome parents
and guardians by having open days or evenings where
they can meet staff and look around the setting.
● Daily diaries can be kept by nursery staff to keep
parents/guardians informed of progress.
● Information sessions could be provided on topics such
as potty training, dealing with tantrums or picky eaters.
● Awards certificates could be sent home.
● Parents/guardians could be invited in to discuss
behaviour or other issues.
Encouraging children’s learning and development
● Activities should be stimulating and interesting
for the children and suited to their developmental
progress.
Valuing diversity
● Displays, toys, resources such as books and DVDs, and
food should reflect different cultures, beliefs and needs.
● Celebrate a range of festivals with all the children,
for example Diwali, Christmas, Chinese New Year.
● Welcome signs should be in different languages.
● Meeting individual communication or mobility needs shows all children are valued.
Ensuring equality of opportunity
● Children’s individual needs should be met, whether those
are cultural, religious, to do with mobility, dietary or
communication.
● Staff should be aware of, and follow, the equal
opportunities policy.
● Activities should be accessible to all with adapted
resources if required or one-to-one support if required.
● All areas should be accessible to all; this may require
adjustable tables to accommodate wheelchairs, and
ramps to ensure physical access.
● All children should be treated fairly with no favourites.
Anti-discriminatory practice
● Staff should be good role models by using non-
discriminatory language - no racist or sexist comments.
● Discriminatory comments or behaviour should be
challenged.
Maintaining confidentiality
● Information should be shared on a need-to-know
basis only.
● Children’s personal information should be kept secure in
a locked filing cabinet or in password protected electronic records.
● It is important that staff do not have conversations
about the children where they can be overheard.
● Such conversations should take place privately.
Working with other professionals
● Sometimes it is necessary to work with other practitioners
or agencies that support children. The school nurse, a
health visitor or a social worker are examples.
● Information should be shared openly but sensitively.
