Glossary

A

Actions, behaviours or situations that increase the risk of harm or abuse could include:

• asylum seeking
• criminalisation
• different types of bullying
• domestic abuse
• female genital mutilation
• forced marriages
• hate crime
• homelessness
• human trafficking / modern slavery
• learning disability
• mental ill-health
• radicalisation
• self-neglect
• sexual exploitation
• substance misuse.

Active participation is a way of working that regards individuals or children and young people as active partners in their own care or support, rather than passive recipients. Active participation recognises each individual or young person’s right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life, as independently as possible. For children and young people, this will depend on their age and stage of development.

Advocacy – the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 defines advocacy services as:

“services which provide assistance (by way of representation or otherwise) to persons for purposes relating to their care and support”.

Advocacy supports and enables people who have difficulty representing their interests to exercise their rights, express their views, and explore and make informed choices. It could include:

• self-advocacy
• informal advocacy
• collective advocacy
• peer advocacy
• citizen advocacy
• independent volunteer advocacy
• formal advocacy
• independent professional advocacy.

Additional support needs could be physical, emotional, psychological, social or learning.

Aggressive behaviour can cause physical or emotional harm to others. It may range from verbal abuse to physical abuse. It can also involve harming personal property. In the context of security in the work place, this relates to aggressive behaviour from members of the public rather than individuals.

B

Best interest decision occurs if someone does not have the mental capacity to make legal, healthcare, welfare or financial decisions for themselves. It is one of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The decision can only be made after an assessment has deemed the individual does not have capacity. Strict principles and codes of practice should be followed to carry out the assessment as set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

C

Carers would include any person over 18 who provides or intends to provide care or support to another adult who needs care. This includes emotional, as well as physical, care and support. A person who is paid to provide care or does so as a voluntary worker is not considered a carer.

The Codes of Conduct and Professional Practice should include:

• the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care
• the NHS Wales Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers in Wales
• the Code of Practice for NHS Wales Employers
• any additional practice guidance issued by NHS Wales or the regulators of health or social care in Wales, such as the practice guidance for residential child care workers registered with Social Care Wales.

D

Digital competency may be known as digital literacy or information communication technology.

Duty of candour as set out in:

Openness and honesty when things go wrong: the professional duty of candour – Explanatory guidance for social care professionals registered with Social Care Wales.

E

Employer – in the case of foster carers or adult placement / shared lives carers, this would be the agency. In the case of personal assistants, this would the person employing them to provide care and support.

F

Factors that can contribute to falls would include:

• balance problems
• muscle weakness
• poor vision
• long-term health conditions, such as heart disease, dementia or low blood pressure, that can lead to dizziness and brief loss of consciousness
• environmental factors,

Such as:

• wet floors
• dim lighting
• rugs or unsecured carpets
• clutter
• reaching for storage areas
• going up or down stairs
• rushing to get to the toilet or answer the door.

Factors that affect the health, well-being and development of individuals may include:

• adverse circumstances or trauma before or during birth
• attachment
• autistic spectrum conditions
• dementia
• family circumstances
• frailty
• harm or abuse
• injury
• learning disability
• medical conditions (chronic or acute)
• mental health
• physical disability
• physical ill health
• placement disruption
• poverty
• profound or complex needs
• sensory needs
• stability
• social deprivation
• substance misuse.

Factors that may affect the health, well-being and personal, physical, social and emotional development of children and young people may include:

• adverse circumstances or trauma before or during birth
• attachment
• autistic spectrum condition
• family circumstances
• harm or abuse
• injury
• learning disability
• medical conditions (chronic or acute)
• mental health
• physical disability
• physical ill health
• placement disruption
• poverty
• profound or complex needs
• sensory needs
• stability
• social deprivation
• substance misuse.

Factors that can affect nutrition and hydration can include:

• Culture and religion
• Individual preferences and habits
• Physical factors – positioning, oral hygiene etc.
• Psychological factors – depression, eating disorders etc.
• Income, lifestyle and social convention
• Advertising and fads
• Family and peer group influences
• Ethics, morals and political beliefs
• Neglect.

H

Hand washing technique using current national and international guidelines.

Holistic development – a holistic approach to child development that focuses on every aspect of the child, such as their mental, physical and emotional well-being, and how these factors work together towards the child’s overall well-being. Rather than focusing strictly on academic achievements or individual elements of development in isolation. The importance of the holistic approach is that children learn different things, such as walking, talking, fine motor skills and so on, at different stages. It ensures a child-centred, individual approach.

I

The individual is the person you support or care for in your work. This could be a child or an adult.

J

A job description is a list of the responsibilities you have, the duties you are expected to carry out in your work and who you report to. Approved adult placement / shared lives carers, foster carers and personal assistants may not have a job description. They will, however, have a contract, placement agreement or agreement that sets out how they are expected to carry out their role.

K

Key relevant legislation that relates to health and safety would include:

• the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
• The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
• The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).

Key legislation and standards related to infection prevention and control. You can find these at Public Health Wales' website - infection prevention and control.

L

Legislation, national policies and codes of conduct and professional practice that relate to the safeguarding of individuals:

• adults – In Safe Hands: Implementing Adult Protection Procedures in Wales (July 2000)
• adults – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• adults – Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse 2010
• children – The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• children – Children Act 1989 and 2004
• children – All-Wales Child Protection Procedures 2008
• children – Working Together under the Children Act 2004
• generic – Data Protection Act 1998
• generic – Human Rights Act 1998
• generic – Mental Health Act 2007
• generic – Mental Capacity Act 2005
• generic – Equality Act 2010
• generic – Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
• generic – Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
• generic – Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) 2015 Act.

Lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision, for example:

• people who work from home
• people working alone for long periods
• people who work outside of normal working hours
• health and social care workers visiting other premises.

Legislation and national policies (for ‘section 1: principles and values (adults)’) to include:

• Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014
• Equality Act 2010
• Human Rights Act 1998, and associated conventions and protocols such as:
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• UN Principles for Older Persons (1991)
• Declaration of Rights of Older People in Wales (2014)
• Mental Health Act 1989, Code of Practice for Wales (2008) and the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010
• Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated Code of Practice
• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• Welsh Language Act 1993, Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and More than just words: Strategic Framework for Welsh Language Services in Health, Social Services and Social Care (Welsh Government, 2012).

Legislation and national policies (for ‘section 2: principles and values (children and young people)’) to include:

• Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014
• Equality Act 2010
• Human Rights Act 1998, and associated conventions and protocols such as:
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• the Welsh Assembly Government’s Seven Core Aims for children and young people (2000)
• Welsh Language Act 1993, Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and More than just words: Strategic Framework for Welsh Language Services in Health, Social Services and Social Care (Welsh Government, 2012).

O

Others would include colleagues, other workers or professionals, and families or carers you may come into contact with when caring for and supporting an individual.

P

Personal care routines would include personal hygiene, bathing, cleaning teeth, menstruation.

Personal plans set out how the care of an individual will be provided. They are based on assessment information, and care and support plans. They will cover the personal wishes, aspirations, and care and support needs of the individual.

They provide:

• information for individuals and their representatives about the agreed care and support, and the way in which this will be provided
• a clear and constructive guide for staff about the individual, their care and support needs, and the outcomes they would like to achieve
• a basis for on-going review
• a means for individuals, their representatives and staff to measure progress and whether the individual’s personal outcomes are being met.

Planning process would include identifying goals or outcomes and enabling individuals to take part in activities, as well as monitoring, reviewing and evaluating plans.

Policies and procedures are formally agreed and binding ways of working that apply in many settings. Where policies and procedures do not exist, the term includes other agreed ways of working.

Positive approaches are based upon the principles of person-centred care:

• getting to know an individual
• respecting and valuing their histories and backgrounds, and understanding:
• their likes and dislikes
• their skills and abilities
• their skills and abilities their preferred communication style and support structures
• understanding the impact of their environment upon the individual and using this to identify ways to support people consistently in every aspect of the care they receive
• developing good relationships is fundamental, and positive approaches should be used at all times. They are essential when someone is stressed, distressed, frightened, anxious or angry and at risk of behaving in such a way that is challenging to their safety and / or the safety of others.

Positive approaches involve working with an individual and their support systems to:

• try to understand what someone is feeling and why they are responding in the way they are
• where possible, make any required changes, and intervene at an early stage to try and prevent difficult situations
• understand what needs to be planned and put into place to support the individual to help them manage distressed and angry feelings in a way that reduces behaviour that challenges restrictions
• Positive Approaches: Reducing Restrictive Practices in Social Care (2016)

R

Restrictive practices are a range of activities that stop individuals from doing things they want to do or encourages them do things they don’t want to do. They can be obvious or subtle. They should be understood as part of a continuum, from limiting choice to a reaction to an incident or an emergency, or if a person is going to seriously harm themselves or others.

• Positive Approaches: Reducing Restrictive Practices in Social Care (2016)

Reflective practice is being able to reflect on actions and learn from them to improve practice.

S

Safe practice to ensure security in the work setting to include:

• lone working
• advising of whereabouts
• access to work settings
• dealing with incidents of aggressive behaviour.

Significant life events would include important changes in an individual or a child or young person’s life, both positive and negative.

For individuals with some conditions, they may be changes and disruption to their routines. For some, they may be the onset of a deteriorating condition such as sensory loss or dementia. For some, they may be a sudden change to their lives such as stroke, accidents, loss and bereavement. For others, it may be a crisis affecting them.

For some children or young people, they may be changes and disruption to routines or the onset of a deteriorating condition such as sensory loss. For some, they may be a sudden change to their lives such as loss and bereavement. For others, it may be a crisis affecting them.

T

Tokenism is the practice of making only a cursory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing.

Transitions could include:

people or children and young people moving into or out of the service provision

• births
• deaths
• marriages
• employment
• redundancy
• retirement
• transferring between years in schools or colleges
• transferring between education establishments
• physical changes, such as the onset of puberty
• moving into adulthood
• becoming a carer.

Unacceptable practices would include:

• sexual contact with an individual or child using the service or a family member
• causing physical harm or injury to individuals
• making aggressive or insulting comments, gestures or suggestions
• seeking information about personal history, where it is neither necessary nor relevant
• watching an individual or child or young person undress, where it is unnecessary
• sharing the worker’s own private or intimate information, where it is unnecessary
• inappropriate touching, hugging or caressing
• concealing information about individuals or children and young people from colleagues. For example, not completing records, colluding with criminal acts
• accepting gifts and hospitality in return for better treatment
• spreading rumours or hearsay about an individual or child and young person, or others close to them
• misusing an individual, child or young person's money or property
• encouraging individuals or children and young people to become dependent or reliant for the worker’s own gain
• giving special privileges to 'favourite individuals or children and young people'. For example, spending excessive time with someone, becoming over involved, or using influence to benefit one individual more than others
• providing forms of care that will not achieve the planned outcome
• providing specialist advice or counselling, where the worker is not qualified to do this
• failing to provide agreed care and support for, or rejecting, an individual or child or young person. For example, due to negative feelings about an individual or child or young person
• trying to impose the worker’s own religious, moral or political beliefs on an individual or child or young person
• failing to promote dignity and respect
• any practices specifically prohibited in relevant legislation, statutory regulations, standards and guidance
• Professional boundaries: A resource for managers (2016)

Underlying causes could include:

• chronic or acute pain
• infection or other physical health issues
• sensory loss
• an acquired brain injury or other neurological condition
• communication difficulties
• environment
• fear and anxiety
• unhappiness
• boredom
• loneliness
• unmet needs
• demands
• change
• transitions
• recent significant events, such as the death of a family member
• past events or experiences
• abuse or trauma
• bullying
• over-controlling care
• being ignored.

Workplace would be a setting in which care and support is provided, such as residential child care, the individual’s own home, foster care and so on.

Worker would be the person providing care and support or services to individuals.