Child Protection Procedures

Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders Executive Group (ELBEG), comprises the Chief Executives of the Local Authorities of East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, City of Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders along with the Chief Executives of NHS Lothian, NHS Borders and the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police.

In the Scottish Executive document A Common Approach to Inspecting Services for Children and Young People, October 2005, the Scottish Ministers set a vision for Scotland’s children: "in order to become confident individuals, effective contributors, successful learners and responsible citizens, all Scotland’s children need to be: safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, included, respected and responsible."

We have therefore undertaken to work closely together with other statutory and voluntary bodies and with the communities we serve jointly to deliver services for the protection of children. The Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures for Edinburgh and the Lothians, are evidence of our enduring commitment to deliver high quality services for vulnerable children and young people and to maintaining good professional standards in doing so.

For professionals, this document provides the procedures and processes that will be followed in dealing with child protection concerns. Responsibilities and roles in a shared multi-agency, approach are clear. Likewise, where to seek advice and assistance is clearly sign-posted. The Procedures reflect our collective commitment to interagency collaboration and joint responsibility in this vitally important area of work.

For children, young people and their families, these Procedures set out what can be expected from the professionals who have a responsibility for their protection. They indicate how children and their parents/carers will be consulted, receive help and support in a timely manner, and be treated and kept informed of decisions concerning them. Furthermore, it is expected that professionals will work effectively and jointly and share information with each other when it is necessary to ensure the protection and welfare of children and young people.

The Procedures are clearly and directly linked to the standards set out by the Scottish Executive in Protecting Children and Young People 2004: Framework for Standards.

Therefore, these Procedures contain the necessary actions to be taken by professionals where there are concerns identified that a child or young person may be at risk of harm.

It is important that the Procedures are adhered to. In doing so we can be more confident that our individual and collective efforts will be increasingly effective in protecting vulnerable children and young people across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders Executive Group (ELBEG)

April 2007

These procedures came into effect on 1st June 2007

Please note that the second download below is a tagged PDF, offering higher accessibility to users of screen readers and similar assistive technologies. It is identical in content to the first version, but has a larger file size and may take longer to download.

Child Protection Procedures (PDF) (823 kB)

Child Protection Procedures - High accessibility version (PDF) (7 MB)