This week I attended Child Protection Training, something that I hope I never have to put into action, but interesting and important to keep up to date.
Two of the most important points of information I came away with is that if a child wishes to confide in me I should at first inform them that I would have to pass the information on. The second point was that I shouldn’t take any pictures of suspected injuries or bruising, this is something that I think many people would consider worth doing. However it is best left in the hand of the professionals who have the correct equipment.
The advice that you should inform the child that the information they are going to give you will be passed on also surprised me. Surely a child may then not confide and this may be the case. But the child still has your trust and may come back and talk to you, and you can still report that a child approached you and wanted to confide.
We all have different opinions and views but when it comes to Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse and Neglect we would probably all agree that this is not acceptable and the care of the child should be central.
If you did have concerns about a child you should report it to police, and social work would rather find your concern unfounded than it not be raised at all.
There is some excellent information on Aberdeerdeenshire Council’s website about Child Protection – what to look out for and how to report your concerns.
I am sure all Council’s have similar sites – but remember if you think a child is at immediate risk you can call the police.
