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Minister for Children and Young People praises “ambitious” University child welfare conference

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Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell, opened the University of Stirling and Scottish Government Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) conference by podcast today.

Ms Campbell announced that new legislation formed with expert information from the event “would increase the pace of change, enable consistency across the country and also generate debate” into the issues surrounding child welfare.

The Scottish Government has announced plans for legislation and policy development which will require a major shift in services involved in the welfare of children and young people.

The Government will consult on the Children and Young People Bill which includes embedding the GIRFEC approach into legislation. This approach is based on prevention, appropriate early intervention, child-centred service delivery and support for parents to build their confidence and capacity.

The consultation will take place later this year and new legislation will be introduced to parliament in 2013.

Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell said: “Making Scotland the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up is an aim we all share. To achieve that, we need deeply rooted rights for children and young people, support for their wellbeing, and ways of working across children’s services which ensure their voice is at the heart of everything we do.

“The Getting it right for every child approach makes a huge difference by placing the child at the centre and enabling services to work together to meet the needs of the individual child, and to ensure improvements in their general wellbeing.”

This is the second annual GIRFEC conference delivered jointly by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Government. 

The conference provides an opportunity for practitioners, managers and those involved in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to explore key aspects of implementing the GIRFEC approach.  Examining how outcomes for children and young people might be improved is enabled by considering the latest messages from research, theory and service developments.

Jo Smith, lecturer and practitioner in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, said: “We are delighted to be holding our second GIRFEC conference at the University of Stirling. It is a great opportunity for multi professional learning across a wide range of agencies and practitioners and a chance to reflect on the key principles of the GIRFEC approach in supporting children, young people and their families.”

Duncan Helm, senior teaching fellow in the School of Applied Social Science, added: “Stirling has a national and international reputation for research and learning in the field of child welfare. In partnership with the Scottish Government, our annual GIRFEC conference brings together experts from academia and practice to consider the latest messages from service users, researchers and practitioners. It’s an excellent event for mobilising knowledge and informing the development of best practice.”

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