SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Protecting Children: A Shared Responsibility

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION AND REMIT OF GROUP

This introductory chapter

Outlines the remit and aims of the Working Group Child Protection Guidance.
Refers the reader to complementary Scottish publications.
Highlights the need for the sharing and communication of information between agencies, while also balancing the need for confidentiality and openness.
Reinforces the welfare of the child as being paramount in making decisions about them and their need to be consulted.

This Guidance has been prepared by a Working Party (Annex A) set up by the then Department of Health at The Scottish Office with the following remit:

"To prepare updated guidance for health professionals on their roles and responsibilities inrespect of child protection in the light of organisational c) Act1995. hanges within the National Health Service and local authorities and the introduction of the Children (Scotland"

This is one of a series of new national guidance documents being prepared by The Scottish Executive and child protection agencies to clarify and restate the roles and responsibilities of individual professionals working with children, inter-agency Child Protection Committees and their constituent bodies. The core guidance is Protecting Children - A Shared Responsibility: Guidance on Inter-agency Co-operation (1998), (a summary overview is attached at Annex B), which complements The Scottish Office Scotland Children Regulation and Guidance Volumes 1-4 (1997) issued on the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and these should be read in conjunction with this document. Guidance for EducationStaff produced by The Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) will be forthcoming.

The core guidance states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration when his or her needs are considered by Courts, Children's Hearings, local authorities and others and that the child's views, taking appropriate account of age and understanding, should be taken into account where major decisions are to be made about his or her future.

Health professionals' involvement in child protection, working alongside families and staff from other agencies, highlights the importance of sharing information and communication but also makes the balance between confidentiality and openness a key issue.

This guidance aims to:

provide accessible information for health professionals in Scotland both for those who may very rarely have contact with an abused child or children and their families, or for staff who have had more experience or where this is a primary area of responsibility.
provide a framework for Health Boards and Trusts as they develop strategies for assessing the risk of child abuse and neglect in their population as the basis for support and surveillance by health services and multi-agency prevention of child abuse.
clarify the role of health service organisations and individuals in inter-agency collaboration.
assist Boards to commission local health services to provide the full range of prevention, investigation, support, treatment and long-term follow-up for the physical and mental health needs of children and their families, when child abuse is suspected or confirmed.
outline the role of health services in identifying potential abusers as part of pre-employment screening.
highlight the need for child protection training to be available for all staff.

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