Child Protection
Child Protection
Information and advice for young people
If you are being hurt, treated in a way that makes you feel
scared or unsafe, or you feel very alone or unhappy, please tell
someone about it so they can try to help you. Talk to someone you
can trust, like a teacher or a nurse at your school. They will
listen to you and support you, and talk through what can be done to
help sort things out.
Remember that you can ring ChildLine anytime on 0800 1111
How children are protected from harm in Bedford
If a baby, child or young person has been deliberately harmed or
it is believed they may be harmed in the future the law says that
the local authority (Bedford Borough Council) has to find out what
has happened so that children can be kept safe.
A social worker, sometimes together with a police officer, will
visit and talk to everyone in the family. The social worker will
talk to all children who are old enough to find out how they feel
and what worries them.
If there are a lot of concerns a meeting called a Child
Protection Conference will be arranged. People who know the child
and their family, for example a teacher, a doctor or a health
visitor, will be invited to attend this, together with parents,
their partners, and the children. The conference will talk about
what has happened and what can be done to help. If necessary a plan
will be agreed of all the things people should do to help the child
and the family - this is called a Child Protection Plan. Every
child who has a child protection plan has a social worker who will
see the child regularly to talk about everything that is
happening.
What is A Child Protection Conference?
A Child Protection Conference is a meeting arranged by
Children's Social Care if people are worried about your safety or
there are concerns about how you are being treated by the people
caring for you.
The law says social services must make sure that children are
safe. If it is not safe for a child to continue to live at home the
social worker will see if the child can stay with another member of
the family. If that is not possible the social worker will arrange
for the child to live with a foster carer or in a children's
residential home.
Legal advice
Legal advice for children and young people is available free
from the Children's Legal
Centre. The freephone number is 08088 020 008.