What should I do about unaccompanied children?
A number of venues have asked about children being left unaccompanied at events – how do you protect the children and yourselves; does a representative of the organisation need a disclosure check?
Firstly, have a look at the following briefings by Voluntary Arts Scotland (VA Scotland) and Voluntary Arts Network (VAN) – both give an excellent overview on the legislation, advise on appropriate measures, and offer excellent contacts for more information:
• Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003: gives an introduction and context to disclosures: www.vascotland.org.uk/uploaded/map2877.pdf
• Child Protection, Part 3 – an update: which gives incredibly useful information about measures that can be put in place if a disclosure is not appropriate: www.vascotland.org.uk/uploaded/map6082.pdf
These briefings will help you to establish if the roles you have are ‘child-care positions’ or not. If they are, then a disclosure is needed. Whether a disclosure is needed or not, VAN recommend other measures to put in place, particularly in organisations drawing up their own Child Protection policy.
For more information see
Child Protection Part 1 (www.vascotland.org.uk/uploaded/map1548.pdf) and
Child Protection Part 2 (www.vascotland.org.uk/uploaded/map1549.pdf)
Child Protection Policy: Particularly useful are those mentioned in ‘Child Protection, Part 3’ which highlights the need for a child protection policy (more details in Parts 1 and 2). This is drawn up by the individual organisation.
Minimum Age: And don’t be afraid to give yourselves a minimum age for unaccompanied children (stated in your policy) - this should be agreed in discussion by the staff of your organisation and everyone should be comfortable with the decision.
For more information on Disclosures: www.disclosurescotland.co.uk
If you’re organisation is not-for-profit and the positions are voluntary, then you may be able to obtain a disclosure free from the Central Registered Body in Scotland (CRBS): www.crbs.org.uk
If you’re organisation is based outside of Scotland then contact the organisations mentioned in ‘Child Protection, Parts 1, 2, and 3’ for further advice.