Safeguarding legislation

The UK’s four nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) each have their own child protection system and laws in place to safeguard and protect children.

The government within each of the four nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) is responsible for its own policies and laws.

They each have structured frameworks of legislation, guidance and policy in place to identify children who are at risk of harm, take action to protect those children and prevent further abuse occurring.

The relevant legislation and statutory guidance for each of the nation’s includes:

The statutory guidance in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland highlights how key staff training is.
 
To protect children and young people from harm, and help improve their wellbeing, all healthcare staff must have the competences to recognise child maltreatment, opportunities to improve childhood wellbeing, and to take effective action as appropriate to their role.
 
Further information can be found under Child Protection Resources.