Refreshed guidance for child protection

Date: 19th May 2014
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare

The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland has been refreshed to ensure that it is relevant and up to date for local agencies and practitioners.

The refreshed National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland provides a national framework for agencies and practitioners at local level to understand and agree processes for working together to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children. It sets out expectations for strategic planning of services to protect children and young people and highlights key responsibilities for services and organisations, both individual and shared.

It also includes guidance for practitioners on specific areas of practice and key issues in child protection including Child Sexual Exploitation and Internet Safety.

The National Guidance outlines the GIRFEC approach and states that its core principles, enshrined in legislation and practice in child protection, are derived from Articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by the UK Government in 1991 and endorsed by the Scottish Government.

The National Guidance states that the UNCRC should underpin all code and practice in child protection. While not directly enforceable in domestic Scottish courts, the Scottish Government have taken steps in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 by setting out duties on a range of public bodies to report on how they are taking forward children's rights as set out in the UNCRC.