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PROTECTING CHILDREN - A SHARED RESPONSIBIITY
CHAPTER 2: EDUCATION LINKS WITH OTHER CHILD PROTECTION AGENCIES
20. Public inquiries in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and research into the operation and effectiveness of child protection systems, have found that, in order to be effective, agencies need to share information and co-operate with each other in planning and delivering services to vulnerable children.
21. Many different professionals in statutory agencies and other organisations have contact with children at risk of harm. These include social workers, police, the Children's Reporter, Procurators Fiscal, medical, dental and nursing staff and other health professionals, teachers, educational and clinical psychologists, community education workers, staff of voluntary organisations and the Armed Services. Many children will need forms of help and support from individual agencies, or several agencies working together. Some children will need protection through action under local child protection procedures, Children's Hearings or Courts.
Child Protection Committees
22. Co-operation in child protection is underpinned by joint agency procedures prepared by local inter-agency Child Protection Committees (CPCs), originally established in 1991. These procedures include:
- guidance as to the circumstances in which it is likely to be appropriate to initiate child protection procedures (i.e. at what point a concern becomes sufficiently serious to require child protection inquiries or investigation)
- information as to whom a referral should be made, including arrangements both for intra-agency referrals and inter-agency referrals (for example directly to the police, the social work service or the Reporter)
- the information required for child protection inquiries or investigation on behalf of the Reporter to be pursued efficiently
- how this information should be recorded, the method by which it should be communicated, and how it should be stored
- the contributions expected of representatives of individual agencies to the investigation process, child protection case conferences and child protection planning
- sufficient information about the requirements of an effective joint investigation by police and social work so that all agencies, including education, may receive referrals from members of the public without compromising any subsequent child protection inquiries or police investigation. Any professional who has regular contact with children should be able to explain to the person making the referral what will happen next
23. These committees have been given the strategic role of developing, promoting, monitoring and reviewing local child protection policies in a joint forum, and allowing agencies to consider sharing resources to ensure their more effective and efficient use. Education, in common with other agencies should be represented on them at a sufficiently senior level to ensure that the CPC can effectively influence the development of local policy and practice in child protection. CPCs also take responsibility for promoting cross agency training on child protection issues. The report of the multi-disciplinary review of child protection entitled ' Its everyone's job to make sure I'm alright' was published in November 2002. It recommended strengthening CPCs and this is being taken forward as part of a three year reform programme for child protection which has been established in response to the review findings.
Social Work
24. The local authority social work services have statutory duties to protect children. Individuals' and other agencies' concerns about child abuse are referred to them for assessment. After assessment, they may convene a multi agency case conference to consider whether the child's name should be placed on the Child Protection Register, and how other agencies should be involved in providing support for the child. It is also open to other agencies, when they feel that insufficient action is being taken, to formally request social work services to convene a Child Protection Case Conference about a child for whom they have serious concerns.
25. When the local authority receives information which suggests that a child may be in need of compulsory measures of supervision, social work services will make inquiries and give the Reporter any information which they have been able to discover about the child. As part of their investigations, social workers will normally seek information from schools on the child's academic progress, attendance and his or her emotional stability and well being.
26. Local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area and, so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of children by their families, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to the children's needs. Some children who have experienced abuse or neglect will need continued support from the local authority, including specialist services and counselling. Some may need to be looked after by the local authority. Where a child is so supported or looked after, the education authority has a responsibility to keep social work informed of any significant developments in relation to the child. Schools should ensure that appropriate information is made available.
Police
27. The police have a general duty to protect the public and to investigate where they believe that a criminal offence may have been committed. In pursuit of these investigations, the police may seek to interview a child at school. Under normal circumstances any such interview should take place with parental consent, or with the parent/carer present. However, where it has not been possible to contact the parent/ carer, or where it is not appropriate because the parent/carer is suspected of abuse, and it is considered necessary to interview the child immediately, the Headteacher, or another teacher acceptable to the child, should be present. The police will refer the case to the Procurator Fiscal where it appears that a prosecution should be considered. The police will give the Procurator Fiscal any information which will assist him or her to decide whether a criminal prosecution should take place. The police shall refer a child to the Reporter if they believe that a child may be in need of compulsory measures of supervision, or if they have committed a crime.
Reporters
28. On receipt of information from any source about a case which may require a Children's Hearing to be arranged, the Reporter will make an initial investigation. The reporter may ask for information from other agencies or arrange for the local authority social work service to undertake an assessment or prepare a social background report. Generally the Reporter will seek a report from the school or nursery directly. In completing such reports, school staff should ensure they provide a full and complete picture of the child's functioning within the school environment. Following this investigation, and where it appears to the Reporter that a child may be in need of compulsory measures of supervision, s/he shall arrange a Hearing to which a representative from the school may be invited. When an invitation is made, it is important that staff be released, where possible, to attend the Hearing. If the Reporter decides that a hearing does not require to be arranged, s/he shall inform the child and any other relevant person, including the person who provided the original information. When a hearing is not arranged, the Reporter may also, if appropriate, refer the case to the local authority so that the child and his or her family can be offered advice and guidance on a voluntary basis.
Procurators
29. The Procurator Fiscal, as the Lord Advocate's local representative, has a duty to investigate the circumstances of any crime or suspected crime brought to his or her attention. He or she acts in the public interest and decides whether to bring criminal proceedings. Where a matter has been referred to him /her, the Procurator Fiscal may interview witnesses. Child protection encompasses effective investigation and prosecution of offences against children. Decisions regarding criminal proceedings against adults or children are taken by the Procurator Fiscal in the public interest, which includes, but is not restricted to, the interests of the child as witness or accused. The gravity of the alleged offences and protection of the public are matters which require to be weighed, but, in all actions concerning children, the Procurator Fiscal will have regard to Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
Health Professionals
30. Health professionals (GPs, hospital and community-based doctors and nurses, and other health care staff) are responsible for the physical and psychological well-being of their patients. They may be the first to see symptoms of abuse or neglect, and should share information about any concerns arising from suspicions of abuse and neglect with the social work service, the police and the Reporter at an early stage. They may also share their concerns with the nursery or school attended by the child. School staff may also seek the advice of the school doctor, nurse or local surgery in relation to injuries sustained by a child. However it should be noted that children and young people who are deemed 'competent' in the judgement of the doctor (generally 12 and above), may themselves give or refuse their consent to medical examination. Inter-agency plans to protect a child and provide support and assistance to families may involve close liaison between school and health staff to monitor the welfare of children.
Voluntary Agencies
31. A wide range of church and voluntary organisations in Scotland work with children to provide a range of services and programmes aimed at preventing or reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect, or at helping families recover from child abuse. Such staff should have been checked for their suitability to work with children through the procedures operated by Disclosure Scotland. These organisations have their own guidelines and practical advice on child protection and organise their own training for adults who work with young people. Children who have been abused or who are at risk of abuse may contact them to talk about problems. These organisations should discuss and share with relevant statutory agencies information they may have about children who may be at risk of significant harm.
32. Some organisations have developed considerable expertise in working with particular groups
- people from minority ethnic backgrounds;
- refugee or asylum seekers;
- people with disabilities;
- people with communication difficulties;
- people with other special needs;
- people at risk of domestic abuse; or
- the children of drug or alcohol using parents.
33. Such organisations can be a valuable source of advice. School child protection co-ordinators should consider involving relevant representatives from such agencies, where they are known to be involved, when considering how most appropriately to respond to identified concerns in relation to a child or children.
Confidentiality
34. Numerous inquiry reports and research findings indicate that, for children to be kept safe from harm, professionals and others should share information on
- a child's health, development and well being;
- a parent who may need help or be unable to care adequately for his/her child;
- those who present a risk of harm to the child .
35. Often, it is only when such information is brought together from a number of sources that the real level of risk to the child becomes evident. Personal information about children and families held by professionals and agencies is subject to a legal duty of confidence , and should not normally be disclosed without the consent of the person concerned. Children are entitled to the same duty of confidence as adults, provided they have the ability to understand the choices and their consequences relating to proposed lines of action. Where consent has not been obtained, however, the law permits disclosure of confidential information necessary to safeguard a child where it is considered in the public interest, or where the welfare of the child or of others is considered to be at risk. Each such disclosure should be justifiable according to the particular circumstances. Through the child protection committees, education authorities should develop protocols making clear to all staff the circumstances in which both they and other agencies will share information, and any limitations affecting such sharing, including where appropriate the impact of the Data Protection Act. Independent and grant-aided schools likewise should have agreed written protocols for dealing with these matters.
36. Within schools, confidentiality is not an option when pupils are at risk. Staff (including those other than teachers) have a professional and moral duty to put the child's welfare first. Information about abuse may be offered in confidence, but the recipient cannot keep such information to him or herself. There is an absolute need for such information to be passed on to the child protection co-ordinator, who will liaise as necessary with the headteacher and external agencies. The member of staff concerned should seek to retain the child's or young person's trust by explaining clearly the need for action and what is likely to happen.
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