5Principles for children

5 Principles for children

(1) The development and provision of services for children and families should be based upon the fundamental principles that—

(a) society as a whole shares responsibility for promoting the wellbeing and safety of children;

(b) all children should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential and participate in society irrespective of their family circumstances and background;

(c) those who develop and provide services, as well as parents, should give the highest priority to the promotion and protection of a child's safety, health, development, education and wellbeing;

S. 5(1)(d) amended by No. 22/2008 s. 41(a).

(d) parents are the primary nurturers of a child and Government intervention into family life should be limited to that necessary to secure the child's safety and wellbeing, however, it is the responsibility of Government to meet the needs of the child when the child's family is unable to provide adequate care and protection;

S. 5(1)(e) inserted by No. 22/2008 s. 41(b).

(e) every child should be able to enrol in a kindergarten program at an early childhood education and care centre.

(2) Services for children and families should be designed and developed—

S. 5(2)(a) substituted by No. 11/2018 s. 6.

(a) to readily identify risks, harm and damage to the child and to provide for the earliest possible intervention by providers of services to remove or ameliorate the causes of the risks, harm or damage;

S. 5(2)(ab) inserted by No. 11/2018 s. 6.

(ab) to strengthen the capacity and efforts of parents, their families and communities to support the child as early as possible in the child's life;

(b) to accord with the needs of each local community with the active involvement of that community's cultural groups, and to be accessible and responsive to the particular cultures, languages and circumstances of the community and to be properly planned and co‑ordinated with services provided by other local and regional communities;

(c) to give the highest priority to making appropriate and sufficient levels of assistance available to children and families in communities or population groups that are known to have the greatest need;

(d) to promote continuous improvement in the quality of those services, based on the best available knowledge of the needs of children and their stages of development.

(3) The providers of services to children and families should—

(a) protect the rights of children and families and, to the greatest extent possible, encourage their participation in any decision-making that affects their lives;