Edinburgh and the Lothians Multi-agency Child Protection Procedures - Plain Text Web Version
1. Introduction
These procedures describe responsibilities, expectations and actions for all involved in protecting children from significant harm in City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian.
Everyone has a role in making sure children are safe, whether in private, public or on-line spaces. The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in action to ensure children's safety.
Child Protection is everyone's responsibility. Professionals working with children and adults must work together to share information, assess and analyse needs and risks, and plan and deliver services jointly in a co-ordinated manner. In doing so, professionals can reduce the risk of harm to children and promote their welfare.
These procedures align with themes in the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021, which reflect changes in legislation, standards and policy, developments in practice as well as findings from research, Significant Case Reviews/Learning Reviews and Inspections.
Effective use of these procedures requires collaborative leadership from chief officers and senior managers across all services. This requires sufficient resources to deliver effective Child Protection services, supporting the workforce and ensuring they have access to high quality learning and development opportunities.
These procedures may be complemented by individual agency procedures or guidelines where more detail about specific processes is required. Generic terms for roles have been used throughout, as it is recognised that different areas may have designated roles with specific responsibilities.
