Child protection guidance
Guidance for everyone involved in protecting children in Scotland.
National guidance for child protection in Scotland
This guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations for all involved in protecting children and will support the care and protection of children.
- Associated practice practice insights
Topic or practitioner-specific child protection guidance
These pieces of guidance are to support individuals with specific roles or dealing with specific issues in child protection.
- Protecting children and young people: Child Protection Committee and Chief Officer responsibilities
- National guidance for child protection committees undertaking learning reviews
- Child protection learning and development 2024: national framework
- National Risk Framework to Support the Assessment of Children and Young People
- Working with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour: evidence based guidance for professionals working with children and young people
- Criminal exploitation: practitioner guidance
- Child sexual exploitation: definition and practitioner briefing paper
- Child sexual exploitation: a guide for health practitioners
- Age assessment: practice guidance
Other relevant materials
The Scottish Government Child Protection Unit has contributed to the following resources.
- Chief Officers’ Public Protection Induction Resource
- Child Protection Planning Meetings course
- NHS Public Protection Accountability and Assurance Framework
- Public Protection elearning
- Migrants' rights and entitlements - Migration Scotland
- National Referral Mechanism toolkit for first responders in Scotland
- National Child Protection Guidance Children and Families resource (coming soon)
Archive versions
The following publications have been superseded by documents above.
- National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021
- National guidance for child protection 2021: consultation report
- The ‘Pink Book’
- Inter-agency guidance on child trafficking - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- 2014 child protection guidance
- 2014 guidance on protecting disabled children
- 2010 child protection guidance
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