How to respond to and report a child protection concern (1)
Getting it right for every child & young person in Highland: interagency practice model & child protection procedures 2024
Everyone who works with children or young people has an important role in keeping them safe. Any individual could identify a concern that a child or young person may be at risk from abuse, neglect, exploitation or violence. The concern may arise from a disclosure by a child or young person or from other available information.
When receiving a disclosure from a child or young person it is important to:
- support them to tell their story and listen to what they say
- avoid asking probing or speculative questions or interpreting what they say - just write down what is said as far as possible in the language that they use
- tell them that you can’t keep the information they have shared secret, but the only people you will inform are people that will help them
Concerns about risk to a child or young person should be reported without delay to social work or, in situations where risk is immediate, to Police Scotland.
It is important to record the information that prompted the concern accurately along with any additional relevant information that has been gathered.
Identifying a concern about a child can be distressing and individuals may worry about following the correct procedures. Every organisation and agency should have a designated child protection lead who can be consulted and should have procedures for reporting concerns. In addition, obtaining and recording key information such as shown in the prompts below can assist with the initial risk assessment, safeguarding and reporting of a concern.