In Wales, the Children Act 1989 outlines when to initiate care proceedings and the duty of local authorities to safeguard and promote children’s welfare.
Much of the Children Act 1989 applies to both England and Wales. As of April 2016, Part 3 of the Act (which refers to support for children and families provided by local authorities) has been replaced by Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
The Children Act 2004 strengthens this by encouraging partnerships between agencies and creating more accountability. A number of sections have been amended, repealed or replaced by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 contents, including the requirements for the establishment of local safeguarding children boards in Wales.
The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 provides Wales with its own framework for social services by:
Provisions in the Act include:
The Welsh Government adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as the basis for all policy relating to children and young people in 2004 (Welsh Government, 2019; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 1989).
The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 requires the Welsh government to:
(Welsh Government, 2019).
The Children's Commissioner for Wales has produced a framework to help children's services put children's rights at the centre of decision making (Children's Commissioner for Wales, 2021).
Working together to safeguard people is the statutory guidance in relation to Part 7 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. This Welsh Government guidance covers the protection of adults and children. The volumes that cover safeguarding children are:
This guidance, first published in 2019 by the Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board, provides a common set of child and adult protection procedures and practice guides for every safeguarding board in Wales.
The Procedures relating to children and young people at risk of harm are divided into six sections, covering:
The procedures contain ‘pointers for practice’ which provide information on how to complete safeguarding tasks. They have been designed to enable frontline practitioners and their managers apply the legislative requirements and expectations of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
The All Wales Practice Guides on safeguarding children, which forms section 6 of the procedures, provides guidance on specific issues for practitioners working with children and young people:
(Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board, 2021).