A new child protection guide for the creative community in Scotland has been launched to reflect important developments in legislation and policy.

Creating Safety (2011), produced as a joint venture by Children in Scotland and Creative Scotland, reflects new national guidance on child protection, the introduction of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, and changing attitudes towards risk assessment.

Since the previous edition was published in 2004, professionals have been encouraged to focus more and more on the benefits of activities, rather than just the risks, and to make judgments based on an understanding of the balance between the two. It is an approach that acknowledges children’s need to explore limits, and take part in a range of exciting and challenging opportunities in order to reach their full potential.

Creating Safety is useful for anyone working with children and young people in creative activities, from large arts or heritage organisations developing policy and procedures for child protection to volunteers or freelance professional artists working with children and young people.  The guide is aimed at for example, a dancer or film-maker setting up a programme of sessions with a youth group, or a storyteller or musician working in an early years setting.

Joan Parr, Portfolio Manager for Education, Learning and Young People at Creative Scotland, said;

“This is a fantastic resource which will prove useful to both individual artists and organisations working with children.  This revised version is a user-friendly introduction to new legislation, with a focus on working in cultural settings. Scotland is leading the way in developing excellent, exciting and meaningful creative activity for young people in education.  Creative Scotland aims to support the highest standard possible for the benefit of the young people of all ages and Scotland itself and Creating Safety is a step towards achieving this aim.’

Marion MacLeod, Senior Policy and Parliamentary Officer at Children in Scotland, said: “Children’s participation in artistic, cultural and creative activities plays an extremely important role in their overall development. Creating Safety has been written to help create environments where risk is minimised, and children have the freedom to unlock their creative potential, both physically and intellectually.

“Creating Safety is not a step-by-step guide. This is because every project, situation, and indeed every child is unique – rules, regulations and procedures on their own cannot compensate for using common sense and sound professional judgment to anticipate and respond appropriately to different situations. There are however, elements of good practice that will help minimise risk and create a positive environment. It is so important to take an approach which carefully balances the benefits of an activity with the risks. This will help ensure children do not miss out on important opportunities.”

Creating Safety: child protection guidelines for Scotland’s arts, screen and creative industries can be downloaded from

http://www.creativescotland.co.uk/showcase/artworks-scotland

and

http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk/creatingsafety

Source: Creative Scotland