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Protecting Children and Young People: Framework for Standards

Introduction

All children and young people in Scotland have the right to be cared for and protected from harm and to grow up in a safe environment in which their rights and needs are respected. The welfare of children is paramount.

Every adult in Scotland has a role in ensuring all our children live safely and can reach their full potential. Parents and carers have the most important role to play, whether living with their children or not. Other family members contribute greatly to a child's well-being. However, even happy children who are well cared for by their families sometimes need the support of other adults around them, for example, at times of family stress or illness, in the absence of a parent or when playing or doing other things outside their homes. Neighbours and members of communities play a vital role in protecting and supporting children.

As children grow and extend their horizons beyond their homes, organisations such as schools and youth groups have a particular role in safeguarding children and preventing harm occurring. They also educate children about risks and how these can be managed.

Duties to protect children are enshrined in law for some agencies, particularly the police and social work. However, everyone involved in working with children has a fundamental duty of care towards them. Agencies such as health and education as well as the police and social work services must recognise and manage the risks children face. They can also provide additional support or help to children who have been harmed to help reduce longer-term negative effects.

This Framework for Standards for child protection has been developed for children and young people, their parents and for all adults and agencies that work with children in Scotland. It is a means for translating the commitments made to children in the Charter into practice.

It sets out what each child in Scotland can expect from professionals and agencies to ensure that they are adequately protected and their needs are met.
It also sets out what parents or other adults who may report abuse and neglect can expect.

The statements in the Framework take account of:

• the views of children and young people as expressed through the Charter; ¹
• the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC);
• evidence of what works in protecting children including the findings from the Scottish Executive's review of child protection "It's Everyone's Job to Make Sure I'm Alright"; ²
• current research findings and evidence from the reviews of deaths of children;
• consultation with key stakeholders; and
• current legislation.

This Framework provides a basis for all agencies to develop effective safeguarding measures. Through raised awareness, good practice and robust systems and procedures, staff will be supported to ensure the care and protection of children. The Framework is being issued as part of a wider package of developments on quality assurance and standards which includes the Charter and proposals for multi-disciplinary inspection.

Further work will be done over the next 2 years to progressively describe different levels of performance, provide examples of evidence and how to get it. The overall package will inform the development of the inspection programme and will be reviewed in the light of developments and experience at the end of the 3-year child protection reform programme.

How this will work

This Framework for Standards forms part of a set of materials and activities which will be further developed, working with agencies, professionals and others, during the years 2004/2005. The overall package will include:

• Protecting Children and Young People: The Charter;
• this Framework for Standards;
• supporting materials which describe a level of performance against which existing practice can be reliably evaluated or measured; and
• supporting activities to assist in the implementation of standards across all agencies.

The Executive will work closely with agencies to support, draw together and share good practice across Scotland - both within individual agencies and between agencies.

This Framework for Standards has four main functions:

• it makes clear what children and their families can expect from those professionals and agencies responsible for the protection of children reflecting the commitments made to children in the Charter;
• it sets out the practice required from those agencies and professionals to deliver against those commitments;
• it provides a framework for agencies' own evaluation of their performance; and
• it will help inform the development of multi-disciplinary inspections of child protection services.

Who is this for?

The Framework is for children and their families. It is particularly for those children who, at some time in their lives, face difficulties which require the awareness, support and engagement of adults and professionals.

It is for all staff and agencies involved in the protection of children, both directly and indirectly. By that we mean Local Authorities, Police Services, Health Boards, Children's Reporters and agencies in the voluntary sector.

It applies to all staff and volunteers working with children or any adults who are parents or have significant contact with children. Examples include professionals working in criminal justice, adult mental health or drug and alcohol services.

If in doubt, agencies and professionals should assume that this Framework applies to them. They will need to determine, individually and collectively, individual responsibilities for contributions to meeting its requirements. These responsibilities or contributions will vary from child to child according to their circumstances, the child's needs and their relationships with professionals.

How will the Framework be used?

It will be used by agencies and professionals to help:

• reflect on practice and deliver the commitments made in the Charter;
• avoid duplication of effort;
• identify ways in which outcomes for children can be improved; and
• help to plan, as single agencies and jointly, for those improvements.

Implementing and developing the Framework for Standards will require considerable work within and between agencies to ensure we:

• all learn from and understand existing practice;
• identify what more needs to be done to deliver the level of services outlined in the Framework; and
• secure individual and collective responsibility and ownership for the further elements of the overall package to be developed.

The experience of agencies and professionals in seeking to assess their services against this Framework, together with the implementation of change and improvement, will itself provide the basis for much of this work.

The overall package will inform the development of future inspection of services, and agencies and professionals should be able to demonstrate that standards are being met.

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