Child Protection Guidance 2021

Part 4: Specific support needs and concerns 191 National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 Version 1.0 September 2021 4.345 Contextual safeguarding needs to be considered in managing the risks posed to and from the child and other children who may be involved. A traditional focus on child and family and which does not consider the relevance of wider relationships and the location of harm, may not suffice in managing presenting behaviours or reducing contextual risks. 4.346 ‘Cuckooing’. Practitioners should also be alert to reports which may indicate someone’s home has been taken over by intimidation or other means for the purpose of criminal activities. Signs of ‘cuckooing’ might include reports of: • bags of clothing or bedding around the address • increased visitors throughout the day or night • increased vehicles outside the address, including taxis, new vehicles and hire cars • increased anti-social behaviour in the area • disengagement with support services • drug paraphernalia around the address, and the smell of drugs such as cannabis • barricades within and around the address, including weapons Initial assessment and response to trafficking and exploitation 4.347 An assessment should always be comprehensive and follow GIRFEC principles. There are no risk-assessment tools that can predict the risk of trafficking or definitively identify those who have been trafficked. However, an indicator matrix has been developed to assist the recognition of such abuse both within the UK and across borders. The indicators complement and do not replace child protection procedures. Indicators in use across the UK reflect those applied in international texts and trafficking practice handbooks (IOM 2009; UNODC 2018 and Operational Indicators of trafficking in human beings, 2009) and in identification of child sexual exploitation (Hynes 2015). 4.348 If an agency or practitioner has concerns that a child may have been trafficked they should consult the indicator matrix and should always: • contact social work or Police Scotland but not contact carers initially or seek their consent • follow inter-agency child protection procedures • an inter-agency referral discussion must follow 4.349 National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The UK has a responsibility to identify and record cases of child trafficking under the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. The NRM was set up by the Home Office to help victims of trafficking receive support, and to gather intelligence to help interrupt trafficking. Any child suspected of being a victim of trafficking should be referred to the NRM. In Scotland referral to the NRM should follow on from an IRD and Child Protection processes. Only designated ‘first responders’ can make a referral into the NRM For children, local authorities and police (in addition to the Home Office) are the first responders. Referral to the NRM is made online (National Referral Mechanism Toolkit for First Responders in Scotland) .