Welcome to the Creating Safety pages which provide guidance on child protection and safeguarding for individuals and organisations involved in delivering artistic, cultural and creative projects for or with children and young people in Scotland. Creating Safety pages should be a guide and not be used as a substitute for legal advice.
There is extensive evidence to the benefits that children and young people get from taking part in creative activities. With the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law in 2024, a child’s right to engage in these activities is now legally protected, with a focus on keeping children and young people safe in these settings.
You may be an individual freelancer working with children and young people, a small, medium or large-sized organisation or a company employing staff and volunteers to work with children and young people. The work may be a one-off activity or a project that will run indefinitely.
Whatever the context, the overall aim will be to create the safest possible environment for children and young people, where they can feel safe and comfortable, are treated equitably and with respect, and where they are given freedom to have fun and develop their independence and creativity.
Developing a child protection, safeguarding and wellbeing ethos in your organisation and across its activities is key to creating a culture and environment where children and young people feel confident to approach trusted adults if they are worried or have concerns about their own, or another child’s, safety. Following the advice in Creating Safety will help you do this.
This is the fourth edition of Creating Safety, first published in 2011 and then reviewed in 2014 and 2019. It has, once again, been produced in partnership with Children in Scotland, the national charity whose vision is that all children have an equal chance to flourish.
These Creating Safety pages do not provide a step-by-step guide – every project, situation and, indeed, child is unique, so processes need to be tailored to individual circumstances. These pages have been developed to provide you with key information, plus some templates to help you develop and put in place processes that are proportionate to your planned activities. There are also links through to additional resources and organisations where you can find more in-depth or specialist information.
The pages are broken down into four main sections:
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Setting the scene
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Creating your policies and procedures
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Implementing your policies and procedures
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Other relevant information, templates and resources
Please make best use of these pages to meet your needs – you may be starting from scratch and want to work through all the different parts, or you may be reviewing what you have already got in place and just dip into particular sections.
Either way, thank you for taking the time to make sure that children and young people can take part in the activities you provide in the safest way possible.