There are a numbers of policies with the UK that affect the safeguarding of children and young people.
The United Nations brought in the Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989 which sets out the rights of children. Included in these rights are the right to an education, the right to privacy and the right to be protected from physical harm, abuse and exploitation. The rights apply to all children and ensure that they are protected and looked after in an appropriate way.
There is also the Children Act of 1989. This act was brought in to ensure the welfare needs of children were being met and specific responsibilities and duties were given to local authorities.
Local authorities were charged with identifying those children who are in need and helping to safeguard them as well as being given the
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There is a Childrenâ€TMs Commissioner for Scotland who has the duty of safeguarding the welfare of children.
There is a similar act in Northern Ireland. The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 is similar to the one in England and Wales, although has its own guidance. It is an offence in Northern Ireland to not report a crime; this can be applied to those crimes which affect children such as child abuse and neglect.
Working Together to Safeguard Children is government guidance that is regularly reviewed- most recently in 2015. It sets out the legal responsibilities and duties of services, including the Local Authority in regards to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. It also provides guidelines for monitoring the effectiveness of the services that are being provided to those who are in need of them. The childâ€TMs welfare and their safeguarding is the most important thing and is the centre of the legislation. The updated version clarifies anything that has been found to be unclear in the previous version- Working Together to Safeguard Children