The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003
The Need for Action
There are two key developments that the Scottish Executive have introduced that will effect your group:
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The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003
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Protecting Children & Young People: Framework for Standards
The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003
This places certain legal requirements on voluntary groups who appoint paid and voluntary workers to child care positions.
Schedule 2 of the Act defines care positions in a number of ways including
"A child care position is a position whose normal duties include caring for, training, supervising
or being in sole charge of children"
In determining the type of positions that involve “caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children” it is considered that befrienders, care workers, sports coaches, music tutors, life guards, those involved in uniformed groups, volunteer and parent helpers, youth workers and Sunday school teachers are examples of positions that will fall into this definition.
Your group/ organisation will need to decide whether you have child care positions and if you do it is important that you comply with the Act as failure to do so could lead to your group being prosecuted.
The main aspects of the Act are
- It enables the Scottish Ministers to establish and keep the “Disqualified from Working with Children List”
- The List will include individuals who have been referred by statutory and voluntary agencies who are considered by the Scottish Executive to be unsuitable to work with children.
- The List will also include those who have been convicted in the courts of an offence against a child, when the court considers them to be unsuitable to work with children.
- The Act places a legal duty on your organisation, group or club to do three things
- Refer an individual to the List where the grounds for referral are met
- Not knowingly appoint an individual who is fully listed to a child care position
- Remove an individual who is fully listed from a child care position
- An individual working with children, whether paid or unpaid, is to be referred to the list when they have harmed a child or put a child at risk and have been dismissed or moved away from contact with children as a consequence.
- Additionally, a person who harms or puts a child at risk of harm and would have been dismissed had they not resigned, retired, been made redundant or left at the end of a temporary contract must also be referred to the Scottish Ministers.
- Your organisation/ group will have a duty to refer people to the list in these circumstances and failure to do so would be an offence.
- Organisations / groups are required to submit a report to the Scottish Ministers detailing the events and reasons for dismissing or moving the person away from contact with children.
- The circumstances will be considered by the Scottish Ministers and the person may then be provisionally placed on the List whilst there are further investigations. The decision will then be taken as to whether the person should be “fully” placed on the List.
- As well as making a referral to the Ministers it may be appropriate for the organisation / group to report the circumstances to the local social work department so that they can follow up any child protection issues.
- There is an appeal process for those who are placed on the List to safeguard their rights.
- It will be a criminal offence for those who are “fully” on the List to apply to work with children
- It will also be an offence for an organisation / group to knowingly employ a person to work with children if that person is “fully” on the List or to continue to employ them.
- The only way of finding out whether someone is on the “list” is to undertake a Disclosure Scotland check. Organisations / groups will need to ensure that they have procedures in place for ensuring Disclosures are obtained.
Further information on the Act can be obtained from the Scottish Executive website:
www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/pcagfo.pdf