Child protection

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Renfrewshire child protection committee is reviewing its child protection procedures and wants to find out the views of parents, carers and other members of the public. You can help us by completing this questionnaire. Thank you for your help with this.


Protecting children - a guide for parents and carers

All children have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse. Council staff have clear guidelines and procedures to follow in relation to child protection. This is to make sure that we share the responsibility of protecting children from harm and abuse.

The guide below provides parents and carers with information and advice about child protection and the role of council staff.

• What is child protection about?
• What are we doing to protect children?
• What happens if a child is harmed?
• What can you do?
• The facts

What is child protection about?

• all children have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse

• protecting children from harm is a major priority for Renfrewshire Council

• Education and leisure services staff have clear guidelines and procedures to follow in relation to child protection

• we all share the responsibility of making sure as far as possible, that children are protected from harm and abuse

• children cannot be expected to take full responsibility for their safety and must be cared for by those looking after them

• children have the right to say what they think about things that affect them and must be listened to carefully

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What are we doing to protect children?

Our staff have more contact with children than any other adult outside the family so we have a crucial role to play in the protection of the children in our care. The education service aims to promote equality, tolerance and caring.

Children will be:

• taught to use and trust their own judgement to be safe, aware and confident

• encouraged to speak out if anything frightening or suspicious happens to them

• offered support and comfort when sought

• provided with the means to discuss their concerns in a supportive and caring atmosphere

• enabled to develop into adults who will know the importance of respect and caring for others

• entitled to personal privacy and treated with respect

Children are taught many rules about keeping safe: how to cross the road safely; to be careful near water; to avoid harmful medicines. Pupils are advised not to talk to strangers and taught skills which will help them to stay safe from people who might try to harm them.

We have in place programmes which will:

• encourage children to trust their feelings

• encourage children to tell if they ever feel threatened or frightened

• teach children to say “no” to touching and kissing if they don’t like it

• discuss safe touches and unsafe touches, talk to children about their bodies

• talk about good secrets versus bad secrets

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What happens if a child is harmed?

• education staff are sometimes in a position to notice changes in a child. These changes might be physical injuries or symptoms of possible abuse such as unusual behaviour or signs of distress

• sometimes children will talk to an adult woman they trust about abuse they have experienced

• children may experience feelings of guilt, fear, isolation, anxiety, confusion, anger and helplessness

• we cannot keep secret any allegations or concerns about child abuse even if a child or third person requests this

• we cannot keep information to ourselves that a child may be at risk

• information will be treated with extreme sensitivity and will only be passed onto those professionals who are in a position to protect and support the child and family

• social work and police are the key agencies in protecting children from abuse

• social work, police, health and education professionals will work together with a family to help any child who has been harmed

There are five kinds of abuse. These are:

• physical - unreasonable punishment or cruelty

• physical neglect - failure to look after a child’s development

• sexual - exposure of a child to inappropriate behaviour or images

• emotional - mental cruelty

• failure to thrive - lack of nutrition or proper care which holds back a child’s development

Within Renfrewshire various agencies work closely together to protect children from harm and abuse.

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What can you do?

No one knows your child better than you do. It is good for your child to express his/her feelings and you should encourage them to do this.

It is only natural for a child to feel anxious about all sorts of things when they are growing up.

As a parent or carer you can:

• take an active interest in what your children do, who their friends are and listen to the stories they have to tell, spend time talking with your children

• make sure they know that they must speak out if ever they feel uncomfortable about another person’s behaviour towards them

• encourage them to come straight to you if they ever feel threatened or if they are ever told by an adult to keep a secret that doesn’t sound like a good secret especially if they have been told not tell anyone

• tell them that if they are ever asked to do anything that makes them feel scared or unsafe, whether the person involved is a stranger or even a friend or relative, they should say NO loudly and walk or run away and tell you, or a trusted adult, as soon as they can

• assure them that, when they come to you, you will always listen to them, believe what they are saying, will not be angry and will help them work out what is the best thing to do

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The Facts

• child abuse is a criminal offence

• any child who has been badly treated must be given help to recover

• for anyone who has been abused, the healing process starts when they are able to talk about it and receive counselling. This can happen many years after the event

• the harm done can lead to enormous distress in a young person’s life or in their adult life

• attitudes which excuse or minimise abuse are unacceptable

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