t things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their adEach one of us for a moment in our lives will need an advocate of some description. Every individual can act as an advocate whether in professional support or support of a friend. Special training is not needed to be an advocate in most cases, just the ability to be able to communicate effectively in support of someone else. In the early years setting the people needing an advocate could be the children, parents, staff and outside agencies such as social services. There are many reasons for the need of an advocate. A lack of confidence in oneself often creates a need for an advocate. Many people feel unable to communicate effectively and feel they may not be able to put the point across suitably. A fear of other individuals can create a situation where someone may not be able to support themselves and feel the need of support from an advocate. Sometimes it may be a situation of someone being unwilling to speak for themselves and the use of an advocate may be required. It could also be language barriers which prevent someone speaking for themselves. Either not being able to speak the language or have speech problems or hearing impairment are all indicators of the need of an advocate.

In the early years settings the most often represented individuals would be children. Staff and adults need to speak up for children and empower children to speak up for themselves. Children will feel unhappy, angry or worried about things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their adv

eople needing an advocate could be the children, parents, staff and outside agencies such as social services. There are many reasons for the need of an advocate. A lack of confidence in oneself often creates a need for an advocate. Many people feel unable to communicate effectively and feel they may not be able to put the point across suitably. A fear of other individuals can create a situation where someone may not be able to support themselves and feel the need of support from an advocate. Sometimes it may be a situation of someone being unwilling to speak for themselves and the use of an advocate may be required. It could also be language barriers which prevent someone speaking for themselves. Either not being able to speak the language or have speech problems or hearing impairment are all indicators of the need of an advocate.

In the early years settings the most often represented individuals would be children. Staff and adults need to speak up for children and empower children to speak up for themselves. Children will feel unhappy, angry or worried about things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their ad

er individuals can create a situation where someone may not be able to support themselves and feel the need of support from an advocate. Sometimes it may be a situation of someone being unwilling to speak for themselves and the use of an advocate may be required. It could also be language barriers which prevent someone speaking for themselves. Either not being able to speak the language or have speech problems or hearing impairment are all indicators of the need of an advocate.

In the early years settings the most often represented individuals would be children. Staff and adults need to speak up for children and empower children to speak up for themselves. Children will feel unhappy, angry or worried about things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their ad

ng able to speak the language or have speech problems or hearing impairment are all indicators of the need of an advocate.

In the early years settings the most often represented individuals would be children. Staff and adults need to speak up for children and empower children to speak up for themselves. Children will feel unhappy, angry or worried about things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their ad

t things and need to be able to express themselves. Staff in a school is able to teach the children how to express these feelings thus empowering them to help themselves. They may not have the necessary language skills to represent themselves and the use of an advocate would be needed. At home a child has their parent to speak up for them or act as their advocate. Members of staff have the responsibility for this when children spend time in their setting. When children enter into an early years setting they may feel nervous shy and attach themselves to one member of staff. Children may not feel confident enough to speak to other members of staff and only tell their key person their needs. This information could be passed onto other members of staff via that key person, their advocate. An advocate is not bound to pass on information to support an individual, it may be just being there to listen and talk through problems is all that is needed in support. Confidentiality is also to be taken into consideration, does the child want the information passed on to others. Of course if the information needs to be passed onto others in the interests of the child this must be done. It is a childcare practitioner’s duty to work for the best interests of the child, this may involve breaking confidentiality. One example of this happened in my workplace. I work closely with a girl aged 7; she is usually a very happy well behaved child. For a few weeks I noticed her behavior declining. She was getting told off in class and falling out with friends. I tried talking to her and asking her if she was ok and if there was anything worrying her. She talked to me about small problems she was having with friends and I offered her support in working out her squabbles. I was acting as her advoc