Mutual Respect and Communication in Developing Professional Relationships

1.1 Explain when and how to refer other adults to further sources of information, advice or support

Use appropriate strategies for encouraging and supporting children and young people to understand and respect other people’s:

a) individuality, diversity and differences

1.2 Explain when and how to refer other adults to further sources of information, advice or support

a) feelings and points of view

b) sharing information

c) confidentiality

A good professional relationship involves a proficient interaction with the people that observes a set of limits or boundaries and is regarded to be appropriate under the set of ethical standards as well as for professional improvement. Developing a good relationship is an important aspect for the well-being of a person. This is because the human beings are social animals and they intend to connect deeply with other people and also tend to involve in social groups (Graham & Fitzgerald 2010). An individual’s capacity on to create beneficial connections with others is a greatly paramount step in the way of getting the best out of life. Thus, effective engagement with the children and young people is important. This is because this will help in providing access to their needs and concerns as well as also help to understand their perspectives. However, different skills and approaches are required to be adopted in order to engage with both children and adults because they both have different perception, priorities and attitude towards life and also see the things differently (Kellett 2011).

This requires the development of positive relationships with the children, young people and young adults as a way for effective engagement. It also includes the need for a better process of consultation, improved listening skills and an active participation of children, young people and adults in all the issues which can have an impact on them (Condly, 2006). This process also needs to consider the important key elements of any good positive relationship. These factors include effective communication process, mutual respect and mutual benefit, trust and understanding the differences in values of each and every individual. This study aims to cover several competencies which are required to be developed in order to develop professional relationships with the children, young people and adults. It also aims to cover various strategies and techniques which are required to be developed for the purpose of establishing a professional relationship. This study also addresses the various issues which should be considered in order to avoid communication differences which can act as a barrier in the development of professional relationships with children, young people and adults.

Encouraging and Supporting Children and Young People to Respect Diversity and Differences

These are the various steps which are to be followed in order to develop professional relationships with children, young people and adults.

1.1 In order to refer other adults to further sources of information, advice or support, appropriate strategies could be used for encouraging and supporting the children and young people to understand and respect other people’s:

Respectful and trusting relationships with children and young people help in the development of positive professional relationships with them. This is because trust is the foundation of a good relationship and helps in strengthening the professional relationship. Establishing a rapport with them is also important. They should be provided with the support as and when required. This also involves demonstrating and providing them with the realistic responses and providing answers to their questions, ideas as well as providing them with appropriate suggestions and concerns regarding their issue. Children and young people should be supported so that they can make their choices themselves without the influence of other person’s decision. They should also be encouraged and supported to respect the other person’s individuality, diversity and differences. They need to be provided with proper attention and guidance in such a way that it is fair to them and as well as to the group as a whole (Atkinson, Martin & Rankin 2009).

Communication is also an effective method for engaging with the children, young people and adults and is fundamental in building professional relationships with them. This is because children and young people develop at different stages. For that, good communication skills help in developing better relationships, especially, in the case of young people. This is because the young people acts as an example or role model to the children and plays a vital role in developing and fostering a healthy professional relationship. It also helps in building the confidence in them and helps them to open up completely. Effective communication also helps to avoid confusion or delay (Froh, Sefick & Emmons 2008). Different forms of communication are used in order to meet the needs of children, young people and adults. The various forms of communication which can be used for communication includes the use of body language, sign language, spoken language or a play. This is because communication is a two way process and involves verbal as well as non-verbal communication which involves the use of expressions, signs and body language and is usually considered to be more effective than verbal communication which involves the use of words.

Communication Strategies for Building Positive Relationships with Children, Young People, and Adults

It is important to demonstrate the children, young people and adults to how to adapt to the way of communication. Adaptation to a particular communication style is important because it provides better chances of being understood especially in cases where different audiences require different styles of communication (Lundy 2007). It is also helpful in the context of communication for the children or young people who are at some stage of development and are of a particular age. For instance, children need more reassurance and physical contact as compared to young people or adults. Keeping in mind the context of communication is also very important when dealing with the children or young people and adults in different situations.

However, certain factors act as a barrier in an effective communication. These include differences in the communication between the individuals and act as barrier in an effective communication process, like for example; cultural differences, language, speech, emotional state, communication impairment, sensory impairment and cognitive abilities are all the different factors that act as a barrier in effective communication (Noble & McGrath 2005). Thus, there are various strategies that need to be developed and followed in order to promote the trust and understanding in the communication with children and young people. These include active listening and maintaining an eye contact while communicating, avoiding the use of assumptions, the use of questions for the purpose of clarification and for checking the understanding as well as for summarising and checking the key points. There is a need to develop appropriate skills so that the conflicts and misunderstandings can be resolved constructively (Froh, Kashdan, Ozimkowski & Miller 2009). They should be encouraged and advised to develop relationships with other adults as further sources of information.

Mutual respect is an essential key element in the process of developing professional relationships with the children, young people and adults. This involves developing a feeling of consideration for them or being considerate towards them. This also involves respecting their feelings and emotions and the acceptance of the fact that the other person has different opinions and views to theirs. They also need to be taught about the cooperation and adjustment which helps in building a better professional relationship with each other. Maintaining a good sense of humour is also useful in developing the feelings of comfort with each other.  It is also important to value or tolerate the differences (Froh, Yurkewicz & Kashdan 2009). This is due to the reason that different people have different abilities, personalities and lifestyle and there is a need to accept those differences for building a positive professional relationship.

Understanding the Needs and Concerns of Children and Young People in Developing Professional Relationships

1.2 There is a need to comply with the existing standards, policies and procedures in order to maintain the confidentiality regarding the sharing of information and for protection of data. The setting’s policies and procedures which can be applied for:

Information sharing is a vital element and need to be done in a lawful manner. Seeking the agreement of the concerned person before disclosing any kind of information and also openly and honestly telling them about why, what, how and with who the information could be shared helps in developing positive relationships. It is also required that the children, young people and adults are demonstrated on the method of reporting and recording the information in the form of reports both in a formal and informal way for the concerned audience.

Understanding the legislations, policies and procedures is important for maintaining the confidentiality of shared information. The confidential information requires the consent of parents before it can be disclosed to other people. Disclosing any kind of information regarding the educational needs, or medical information is considered to be a Breach of confidentiality.

Various acts have been passed for maintain the confidentiality and the disclosure of information such as Children Act 2004 and Data Protection Act 1998 (Hamill & Boyd 2002). Data Protection Act provides a framework so that the personal information about the children, young people and adults is shared appropriately and is not a barrier to sharing the information. These are mainly enforced to ensure the safety and well-being of the person who may get affected by certain actions.This can help the children, young people and adults to feel more relaxed and develops a bond of respect and trust with them.

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