Children and young people have a fundamental right to be protected from harm. Their protection is a shared community responsibility. Failure to provide an effective response can have serious consequences for a child. Therefore all those who come into contact with children and families in their everyday work, including people who do not have a specific role in relation to child protection, have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The Children’s Act 2004 is the legislative authority for child welfare and protecting children from abuse. Section 11 of this act places a statutory duty on specified agencies to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of children when carrying out their roles. Each children’s services authority in England and Wales must establish a Local Safeguarding Children Board for their area. These new statutory bodies will replace the non-statutory Area Child Protection Committees (ACPC), which bring together representatives from each of the main agencies and professional organisations responsible for helping to protect children from abuse and neglect.

The Department of Health has issued guidance to assist individual healthcare practitioners in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children: What to do if you're worried a child is being abused, 2003. It is aimed at those who come into contact with children and families in their everyday work, including people who do not have a specific role in relation to child protection. Important points from this document are outlined below.

If you work with children and families you must be familiar with and follow your organisation’s procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children in your area. You should also know whom to contact in your organisation to express concerns about a child’s welfare. Remember that an allegation of child abuse or neglect could lead to a criminal investigation so do not do anything that may jeopardise a police investigation, such as asking a child leading questions or attempting to investigate the allegations of abuse.

Any concerns about child abuse or neglect must be referred to social services or the police. If you are responsible for making referrals, you should know whom to contact within the police, health, education and social services to express concerns about a child’s welfare. When referring a child to social services, you should consider and include any information you have on the child’s developmental needs and their parents’/carers’ ability to respond to these needs within the context of their wider family and environment. Similarly, when contributing to an assessment or providing services, you should consider what contribution you are able to make in each of these three areas.

If you suspect abuse, you should communicate with the child in a way that is appropriate to their age, understanding and preference. This is especially important for disabled children and for children whose preferred language is not English. Where concerns arise as a result of information given by a child, it is important to reassure the child but not to promise confidentiality.

Record full information about the child at first point of contact, including name(s), address(es), gender, date of birth, name(s) of person(s) with parental responsibility (for consent purposes) and primary carer(s), if different, and keep this information up to date. Record all concerns, discussions about the child, decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions. The child’s records should include an up-to-date chronology, and details of the lead worker in the relevant agency – for example, a social worker, GP, health visitor or teacher.

Key documents and some of the numerous websites concerned with child protection issues are listed below.

The Change for Children programme is the Government’s approach to the wellbeing of young people from birth to 19 years. The Government’s aim is for every child, whatever their background or circumstances, to have the support they need to: be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve through learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic wellbeing. The website brings together key policies and documents from the programme, including the 2003 Children's Green Paper, Every Child Matters, and the 2004 Children’s Act.
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk

The Department of Health Child Protection Guidance for senior nurses, health visitors, midwives and their managers: “What to do if you're worried a child is being abused” (2003) has been developed to assist practitioners to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics

The Department of Health website provides access to health and social care policy, guidance and publications.
www.dh.gov.uk/Home/fs/en

The DirectGov website provides advice on a wide range of parenting issues including children’s rights and protecting children from abuse. There are also links to other useful contacts.
www.direct.gov.uk/Audiences/Parents/FamilyIssuesAndTheLaw

The Department for Education and Skills website holds social services information relating to children and families.
www.dfes.gov.uk/childrenandfamilies

The Scottish Executive Child Protection websection provides detailed information about the work the Scottish Executive is doing to improve the protection of children and young people in Scotland. This includes a three-year Child Protection Reform Programme, the publication of a Children’s Charter, the publication of a framework for Standards, new guidance for Child Protection Committees, the Protection of Children Act 2003 and guidance on protection for vulnerable children and young people.
www.scotland.gov.uk

The BBC Parenting website discusses child safety issues.
www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/your_kids

Parentline Plus is a UK charity that offers support to anyone parenting a child. The site is packed with information on parenting issues, including child safety.
www.parentlineplus.org.uk

The National Children's Bureau (NCB) promotes the interests and wellbeing of all children and young people across every aspect of their lives. The Bureau advocates the participation of all children and young people in matters affecting them.
www.ncb.org.uk

Children in Scotland is an independent Scottish charity which works in partnership with the National Children's Bureau and Children in Wales. It aims to identify and promote the interests of children and their families throughout Scotland.
www.childreninscotland.org.uk

Children in Wales is the national umbrella children's organisation in Wales. It works in partnership with the National Children's Bureau and Children in Scotland.
www.childreninwales.org.uk

The Children’s Legal Centre is an independent, national charity concerned with law and policy affecting children and young people.
www.childrenslegalcentre.com

Family Rights Group is a registered charity established to provide advice, advocacy and support for families whose children are involved with social services.
www.frg.org.uk

Kidscape is a national charity helping to prevent bullying and child abuse. The site has a comprehensive list of links to regional and national organisations concerned with child protection issues.
www.kidscape.org.uk

Barnardos helps children, young people and their families over the long term to overcome the most severe disadvantages – problems like abuse, homelessness and poverty – and to tackle the challenges of disability.
www.barnardos.org.uk

Childline is a free national help-line for children in trouble or in danger. The website also offers leaflets and information on child-related issues.
www.childline.org.uk

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the UK's leading charity specialising in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. It is the only UK children's charity with statutory powers that enable it to take action to safeguard children at risk of abuse. The NSPCC offers counselling, information and advice for anyone concerned about a child at risk of abuse.
www.nspcc.org.uk

National NEWPIN is a charity which supports parents under stress who cannot break the cyclical effects of destructive family behaviour. It runs a number of local centres that offer long-term emotional support to family members.
www.newpin.org.uk

The Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) website provides information about the organisation and its work. It also provides a gateway to many other sites that provide information on community nursing, public health and primary healthcare. There is a collection of reports, statistics, policy documents and links relating to child abuse and child protection issues.
www.amicus-cphva.org

The Parenting Education and Support Forum is a national umbrella organisation for all those concerned with or working with children, parents and families in the UK. It provides a focal point for information, debate and the sharing of good practice in parenting education and support.
www.parentinguk.org

The National Family and Parenting Institute is a charity established by the government to research, inform and debate parenting and family issues in the UK. There is a comprehensive list of links to other parenting organisations, including specific Scottish and Welsh sites.
www.nfpi.org.uk

NSPCC Inform is a website specifically for researchers, trainers and practitioners working to protect children.
www.nspcc.org.uk/inform