Child protection legislation and guidance in Wales

Legislation

Children Act 1989

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of April 2016, Part 3 of the Act (which refers to support for children and families provided by local authorities) has been replaced by Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

Children Act 2004

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 A number of sections have been amended, repealed or replaced by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 contents, including the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.

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 provides Wales with its own framework for social services by:

• giving individuals a stronger voice and more control over the care and support they receive
• encouraging a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention.

Provisions in the Act include:

• Establishing a National Adoption Service.
• Strengthening powers for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Introducing a National Outcomes Framework for setting out what children and families can expect from social services.

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).

Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011

The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 requires the Welsh government to:

• have due regard to the UNCRC in all its functions, including when developing or reviewing legislation and guidance
• be responsible for making sure people in Wales know about the rights of children and young people as set out in the UNCRC.

(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).

Policy and guidance

Working together to safeguard people

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:

• Volume 1: Introduction and overview (Welsh Government, 2019)
• Volume 2: Child Practice Reviews (Welsh Government, 2019)
• Volume 5: Handling individual cases to protect children at risk (Welsh Government, 2019)
• Volume 7: Safeguarding children from child sexual exploitation (Welsh Government, 2021).

Wales Safeguarding Procedures and Practice Guides

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:

• safeguarding principles and effective practice (section 1)
• the duty to report a child at risk of abuse, neglect and/or harm (section 2)
• responding to a report of a child at risk of harm, abuse and/or neglect (section 3 part 1)
• decision making and initial child protection conferences (section 3 part 2)
• planning and intervention for children on the child protection register (section 4)
• safeguarding allegations/concerns about practitioners and those in positions of trust (section 5).

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:

• child criminal exploitation (CCE)
• abuse related to cultural or religious beliefs
• child trafficking
• domestic abuse
• neglect
• online abuse
• harmful sexual behaviour
• home education
• children who go missing from home or care
• child sexual exploitation (CSE)

(Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board, 2021).