Creating Safety child protection and safeguarding guidance, developed by Creative Scotland and Children in Scotland, can be downloaded below. In addition, at this time, when many individuals and organisations are moving rapidly to working virtually with participants, we are signposting to guidance about safeguarding and online activities.
As interaction with audiences and participants moves online, we encourage you to revise your processes and policies in relation to child protection and working with vulnerable adults.
Organisations or individuals who plan to use digital tools to deliver their work, livestream events, or deliver online workshops, lessons and courses can access guidance on the following websites:
SCVO – safeguarding and privacy
SCVO – Zoom calling and privacy
Creating Safety provides 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.
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.
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, experience and sound professional judgement to anticipate and respond appropriately to different situations. There are, however, elements of good practice that will help you to minimise risk and create the kind of positive environment described above. It is important to remember that you cannot eliminate risk entirely. Children and young people need exciting and challenging opportunities and an approach which carefully balances the benefits of an activity with the acceptable risks will help ensure they do not miss out.
This is the third edition of Creating Safety, produced in partnership by Creative Scotland and Children in Scotland. It was first published in 2011, updated in 2014 and this 2019 edition provides you with the most up-to-date information available at the time of publishing. This guide is available in print and PDF formats. You can download the PDF below.
To request a free print copy of Creating Safety, email enquiries@creativescotland.com or contact us via our enquiry form.
This publication was produced as joint project between Children in Scotland and Creative Scotland.