Report a Concern

If you are concerned about the immediate safety of the child:

Take whatever action is required to ensure the child’s immediate safety.
Pass the information immediately to Police Scotland and seek their advice – either by calling 101 or 999

Concerns regarding a child can be raised in many different situations and it is essential that all staff and volunteers know that they must respond and report to any information that is disclosed to them. It is not their role to investigate any potential abuse, but information must be passed on so that the appropriate agencies can make that decision.

Concerns may arise when:

A child or young person makes a direct disclosure
Someone may observe bad practise, neglect or abuse
There may be concerns about a child’s behaviour, appearance, relationships
A third party (sometimes another young person) may disclose information about another child
An adult discloses abuse that happened during their childhood
There may be concerns about a volunteer within your club

No club staff member or volunteer shall investigate allegations of abuse or decide whether or not a child has been abused.

Allegations of abuse must always be taken seriously. False allegations are very rare. If a child says or indicates they are being abused or information is obtained which gives concern that a child is being abused, the information must be responded to on the same day in line with the following procedure.