Scenario: Jock III - Parents High On Drugs

[Isabelly]

Jock III
It is 4:45pm and the Director receives a telephone call from Jock’s mother, Ella. She tells the Director she is trying to contact her mother or sister to come and collect the children. Ella is difficult to understand, she is slurring her words and repeats herself. The Director asks if Ella is okay, to which Ella responds, “Yeah, yeah, okay, not okay whatever.” The Director asks for the location of the twins. Ella laughs and says “In their cot, so they keep quiet.” Ella then says, “Can you ring Mum and get her to get the kids. She’ll do it if you ask. She thinks I’m no good.” Ella then hangs up.
The Director immediately telephones the child protection hotline and provides them with details of her conversation with Ella. The Director is extremely concerned for the welfare of the twins. The Director then telephones Ella’s mother who agrees to collect the boys and keep them with her for a few days. Ella’s mother tells the Director that she and her husband are going to seek custody of the boys and her daughter, Sue, is going to seek custody of the twins.
As the Director is heading down to speak to Jock and Tom’s teachers Pete arrives at the centre.
He bangs on the door and yells out, “Open up. I’m here for my kids.” Pete is obviously drunk or high on drugs. The Director speaks to him through the intercom and tells Pete that Ella’s mother is collecting the children. “No way is that interfering bitch getting them. I’ll kill them first!” Pete bangs and kicks on the door.
Several more parents have arrived to collect their children. The Director rings one of the parents and asks if he will direct the other parents to wait in the car park. She reassures the parents that all of the children are safe and Pete cannot get into the building.
The police are called and arrive 5 minutes later. After a brief altercation Pete is taken to the police station.
By now there are around a dozen parents who have witnessed the whole scene. As the parents file in to collect their children they are all talking about the incident. Some parents ask the Director about Jock and Tom. Other parents comment that Ella is a bad mother and doesn’t deserve to have children.
The Director thanks the parents for waiting until the situation had been resolved and tells them that she can’t discuss the matter. She reassures the parents that all of the children are safe and seem to be unaware of the incident.
Several of the staff later comment to the Director that the children ‘would be better off without Ella and Pete’.
The Director acknowledges that the situation is very stressful and reminds the team that they must act in an ethical manner. It is not up to the team to judge the family, but only to advocate for the best interests of the children. The Director reminds staff not to discuss the incident with other parents.

Question 1: with reference to the code of ethics identify the key ethical principles demonstrated by the director in relation to children.

Answer: director wouldn’t discuss what happened with children to other families. Is this correct

Question 2: with reference to the code of ethics identify the key ethical principles demonstrated by the director in relation to families

Answer: she reassured the family that there children are safe and unaware of the situation. Is this correct

Question: why is it important for the director to remind staff that they must act in an ethical manner?

Answer: to protect the families involved. Is this ok?

[Lorina]

You need to refer to the Code of Ethics:

Code Of Ethics

,
Lorina

[Isabelly]

I had a look at the code of ethics and I’m still having trouble

[Lorina]

Q1 - keeping children safe etc.
- act in the best interests of all children
- create and maintain safe, healthy, inclusive environments that support children’s agency

Q2 - maintaining confidentiality and privacy
- respect families’ right to privacy and maintain confidentiality
- develop respectful relationships based on open communication with the aim of encouraging families’

This should get you started...

,
Lorina