Children’s welfare and UK law: understanding our responsibilities

Whilst there are many different roles when it comes to child welfare, the foundations of safeguarding are everyone’s responsibility to ensure children are kept safe and healthy throughout their childhood.

Legally, children are considered to be a vulnerable group, and children under five are particularly vulnerable due to their heightened dependence on others for their essential needs. But what does the law say and how does it protect children? This article aims to explore some of the key legislation around child welfare and what it does to protect children’s rights and ensure they are safe, healthy and happy.

What is the legal definition of “child” and what is safeguarding?

The legal definition of a child varies from country to country, including across England, Wales and Scotland. On a broader level, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child define a child as “every human being below the age of eighteen years”.

For children in England, this definition applies to every person under eighteen years of age, even if they are over sixteen and living independently, in the armed forces or in custody.
For children in Scotland, the statutory guidance indicates that a person is defined as a child if they are under eighteen years old, but this varies depending on circumstance. For example, a sixteen-year-old would generally be considered a child, but if the most appropriate support services were those aimed at adults, allowances can be made in the best interests of the individual.
In Wales, any person under eighteen is considered to be a child in legal terms.

Why is it important?

Legal definitions raise controversial topics when it comes to who we consider to be a child in everyday life. For example, in Wales, a sixteen-year-old early education and care apprentice would be considered to be a child themselves. When we think about the age of criminal responsibility, age to leave home and age of consent the definition of ‘child’ blurs even more.

As early education and care professionals, it is important to understand the full legal context on safeguarding children. A significant part of our role involves engaging with the community and building meaningful partnerships with parents and carers, meaning part of our professional responsibility also involves safeguarding on a wider level, such as older siblings or vulnerable adults.

Every child has a right for their voice to be heard and individual needs to be respected. From the moment they are born, a child is a legal individual and their rights are bound by a variety of international and UK legislation. It can be easy to sometimes consider babies and toddlers to be ‘too young’ to know what they want but it’s essential that we consider their individual rights when it comes to protecting their health and happiness.

Key Legislation

Legislation in Scotland

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 is one of the primary pieces of legislation, setting out the range and scope of local authority support for the care and protection of children.

This is supported by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. which sets out provision for child welfare in Scotland. It gives a broad framework for safeguarding children in the country. This includes the rights and responsibilities of the parent or carer, the welfare and views of the child themselves, the role and responsibilities of the local authority (such as for education and accommodation), children in the justice system and adoption processes.

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) is national guidance providing Scotland with a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting, and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people.

Legislation in Wales

The Children Act 1989 and 2004 are also applicable to Wales but there have been some amendments made to supplement the original legislation for social services and the requirements of local authorities when it comes to child protection.

The Wales Safeguarding Procedures have been designed to enable frontline practitioners and their managers to apply the legislative requirements and expectations of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 came into force on 6 April 2016. The Act provides the legal framework for improving the well-being of people who need care and support. The Act is made up of 11 Parts with Part 7 relating to Safeguarding specifically. It is this legislation that provides the framework for the Wales Safeguarding Procedures.

Accompanying the Act, the Welsh Government has published statutory safeguarding guidance Working Together to Safeguard People.

The aim is to improve person-centred outcomes for adults at risk of abuse and neglect and children at risk. The procedures also recognise other relevant legislation, guidance and protocols. For example, the Domestic Abuse (Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015.

Legislation in England

Children Act 1989

This was reinforced by the Children Act 2004

The key legislation for child welfare in England. This highlights the meaning of ‘parental responsibility’ and the role the local authority can play in protecting child welfare. It also sets out the requirements for childcare.
The 2004 act puts emphasis on the rights of the child and their wellbeing as well as establishing the role of the Children’s Commissioner, working to protect the voice and welfare of children.

Children and Social Work Act 2017

This legislation amends previous acts to further stipulate how we report and review safeguarding matters on a local and national level.

Legislation amendments to local safeguarding partners to replace the local safeguarding children’s board.
This legislation also created the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel who are responsible to reporting on critical and complex national safeguarding incidents.

Conclusions

Legislation for safeguarding children is also there to safeguard the professionals working with young people. Safeguarding child welfare is paramount to our work in early education and care, so it’s crucial to recognise their value and understand our role and responsibilities when it comes to working with children.

The legislation itself can be quite technical and complex so finding accessible online training opportunities and courses like these can be really helpful for understanding the highlights of law and what it means for you. Talk to your line manager about any areas you’d like to improve your knowledge on to find wider opportunities to develop your safeguarding knowledge.

If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999 straight away. If there is a concern, no matter how small, never do nothing - always do something - and share the information with relevant agencies.