Supporting vulnerable young people

21 May 2014 03:34 PM

New guidance for those working with disabled children and young people.

The Children’s Minister today launched new child protection guidance to improve support for professionals working with disabled children and young people.

The Child Protection and Disability Toolkit has been developed by the Scottish Government and WithScotland in response to requests for greater guidance on early intervention when child protection issues arise.

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People, said: “We know that the vast majority of families affected by disability provide safe and positive environments for children to grow up in. However, research has shown that disabled children are more likely to suffer abuse and that it is more likely to go undetected or unreported. We have listened to professionals who have said that identifying signs of abuse can be very challenging when working with disabled young people, particularly when there are communication difficulties.

“Research we commissioned from the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde reflected this difficulty. It is a stark reminder of how vulnerable young people with disabilities can be if those working with them are not able to spot the signs of abuse and – just as importantly – know how to ensure the young person’s views are fully reflected when addressing them.

“This is why we made action in this area a priority and why I set up a Ministerial Working Group on Child Protection and Disability in 2012. The commitment we made was to provide better support to those working with children in families where one or more members has a disability. The culmination of this work is a resource for those who are working to support and safeguard families.”

The toolkit is a resource for practitioners and managers working in child, family and disability services and will complement existing child protection guidance. Members of the Ministerial Working Group will demonstrate the toolkit at the University of Stirling on Wednesday.

Beth Smith, Director of WithScotland, said: “WithScotland was set up as a national resource to help support professionals working with children at risk of harm and abuse. The development of the toolkit, in partnership with the Ministerial Working Group set up to look at the issue, is integral to our work and we are really delighted to be able to offer this invaluable free resource on the WithScotland website to practitioners across Scotland.”

Norman Dunning, Chair of the Ministerial Working Group, commented: “Our ambition from the outset has been to provide practical assistance to those who work in both child care and disability fields with no presuppositions as to what that might look like. We have taken a broad view of the effects of disability on child protection – a priority must be what we know to be the enhanced risk to disabled children, but we are also aware of the effects on families where parents or other members are disabled both actual and sometimes misperceived.

“The development of the toolkit advances the Ministerial Working Group’s aims and objectives and we’re delighted to be able to produce such a comprehensive training resource for practitioners in Scotland.”

Notes To Editors

The toolkit includes information on research, a set of training and resource materials designed to help professionals understand the issues and good practice guidance to supplement the Scottish Government National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2014). It also contains sections such as ‘myth busters’, case studies as well as a DVD in which disabled parents speak of their experiences.

Disability Toolkit at WithScotland website