Child Protection Guidance 2021

National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 Part 1: The context for child protection 26 Version 1.0 September 2021 1.121 Appropriate pre- and post-qualifying training should provide essential preparation for lead agencies. Frameworks should be subject to review and improvement. It should be noted that revised guidance on child protection for health professionals is integrated within this Guidance, rather than sitting alongside it in a separate publication. 1.122 A trauma-informed approach is necessary across the workforce involved in child protection (NES 2018). A knowledge of child development and the impact of trauma within investigative processes are central to Joint Investigative Interviewing skills. They are central to the new Scottish Child Interview Model and requisite training, which has been developed by Police Scotland and Social Work Scotland. 1.123 Transitional support. There is a need to ensure sufficient planning, continuity and consistency of support for good transitions. 1.124 Flexibility. The GIRFEC approach promotes provision of the right help at the right time. Families benefit when there is sufficient flexibility to allow a step-up or step-down in the intensity of provision without excessive delays or fractures in support. 1.125 Connected planning. Child protection is not just about investigative and planning stages and methods. When children are accommodated or have to move for their own safety, emotional safety and resilience is more likely if significant relationships in the child and young person’s life are recognised and valued. Once accommodated, there are times when the level of professional attention may diminish. Immediate risk is alleviated. A robust approach to assessment and support of foster and kinship placements, and a step-by- step approach to assessment and support for re-unification, ensure that child protection investigation and planning are part of a safely connected sequence of options. 1.126 Co-ordinated planning. More children are coming into the care and protection systems in early years and remaining longer (Complexity in the lives of looked after children and their families in Scotland; 2003 to 2016) . The complexity and close connections between child protection, children’s hearings and permanence processes can be confusing for families unless co‑ordination of planning and engagement of key professionals is reliable, accessible and purposeful. Child protection planning is the first step in enabling safety for a child, the process must be followed through to conclusion to enable future legal stability with the child staying at home; returning home; or living with kinship, foster, residential or adoptive carers. 1.127 The interconnection of processes is graphically illustrated in this Child Protection and Permanence System Map which shows essential steps, decisions and options, including appeals. https://www.celcis.org/knowledge-bank/search-bank/child-protection-and- permanence-system-map A simplified version can be found at: https://www.celcis.org/application/files/4215/1264/7053/CPP_System_Map_Simple.pdf