UWS Student Teacher Society 3 February 2016 Alan Scott Area Officer The Educational Institute of Scotland

Political Context A number of Inquiries have driven policy –1992 Orkney Inquiry –1996 Dunblane Inquiry –2003 Victoria Climbie –2003 Caleb Ness Inquiry –2005 Soham Inquiry

Dunblane Inquiry Led by Lord Cullen and became more commonly known as the Cullen Report

Soham Inquiry The Inquiry into the Soham murders was led by Lord Bichard and became more commonly known as the Bichard Report

Legislative Framework Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 Education (ASL)(Scotland) Act 2004 Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

Primary Purpose To protect children from abuse and neglect by Responding appropriately where abuse or neglect is suspected Ensuring children's rights are upheld

Responding to Concerns Following concerns raised by practitioners working with children or members of the public the initial information gathering and any decision to launch a formal investigation is undertaken jointly by the police and social work.

Local Authority Child Protection Policies Part 2 & 3 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 sets out powers which allow the establishment of Child Protection Committees. All Councils in Scotland have Child Protection Policies in place. Policy provisions are extensive. Protection-publicationshttp:// Protection-publications

School Roles and Responsibilities Each Council will have their own set of Child Protection Policies. Schools will also set out school based policies. New staff receive training in Child Protection Policies Schools commonly remind staff of Policies at the start of each school session

Reporting Concerns Teachers have an obligation to report any concerns to an appropriate person (usually their line manager) If a pupil raises a child protection issue the teacher should listen and report any concern immediately by following the school/Council policy

Potential Problem Areas for Teachers Failure to report or failure to report quickly Failure to ensure that the matter has been processed appropriately Handling of the initial discussion

Other Problem Areas Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme –Scheme membership –Scheme updates Dealing with convictions –Employer –GTCS