National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Workforce Subgroup: April 2026

Attendees and apologies

Co Chairs

• Stuart Allardyce, Director of Lucy Faithful Foundation Scotland
• Michelle McCargo, Renfrewshire Council & Social Work Scotland

Members

• Alison Deighan, Practice Reporter, Scottish Children’s Reporter
• Catriona Scobbie, Safeguarding Lead Officer, Education Scotland
• Louise Skinner, Aberdeenshire Council, National Child Protection Learning and Development Group
• Neil Whitham, Public Protection, Learning and Development Advisor, Clackmannanshire and Stirling & National Child Protection Learning and Development Group
• Nina Koruth, clinical lead on the Trauma Responsive Social Work Services, National Social Work Agency
• Ranald McTaggart, Head of Practise Development, Children and Young People Centre for Justice
• Sharon Glasgow, Protection Children Policy and Practise Advisor, Social Work Scotland
• Stuart Bain, Chief Officer, Employer Team, COSLA

Apologies

• Giles Moffatt, Survivor Representative 
• Anna Donnelly, Social Work Scotland 

Also in attendance

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government
• Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection

Secretariat

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome and Introductions

Co Chair welcomed members and new attendees and invited participants to introduce themselves.

CELCIS Practice Leads Programme Pilot

Scottish Government provided an update on the development of the pilot and invited views from the group

Key points raised included:
•    A longer lead-in period could be beneficial to ensure leadership buy-in and consider how the training will be embedded within organisations and it was noted that in response to stakeholder feedback the pilot start date had been pushed back by a number of months. 
•    Current capacity issues and wider operational pressures may limit engagement and it is important to emphasise that the pilot is a supportive offer and the importance of local areas co-developing proposals with Child Protection Committees (CPCs) was emphasised.
•    Challenges around funding sustainability was highlighted and the need to embed the pilot approach within existing support offers.
•    Health partners highlighted the need to situate this work within the broader safeguarding and risk landscape.
•    Need to ensure clear and transparent communication that demonstrates the pilot has been developed by the workforce group, co-developed with Child Protection Committees.

There was agreement that:
•    The course should reflect Scottish processes.
•    The group should be involved in decisions on pilots, including transparent selection criteria and timelines.
•    Ongoing local decision-making and senior leadership engagement will be key.
•    Clear evaluation criteria should be developed, including how change will be measured beyond March.

CELCIS Engagement Report

Co-chair proposed reconvening in late May to further discuss the CELCIS Engagement Report and consider recommendations. CELCIS confirmed the report remains in draft and welcomed feedback from members prior to finalisation.

CELCIS summarised the background leading to the report:
•    Workforce development was identified as a priority by the CSAE group.
•    Phase 1 involved initial engagement and hypothesis testing, including the recommendation to for a pilot of the Practice Leads Programme and establishment of the subgroup.
•    Phase 2 focused on in‑person and online engagement sessions to test the findings of Phase 1. A total of 351 practitioners and managers from police, social work, education, health services, and third sector organisations were involved, allowing for a wide range of professional perspectives to inform and validate the findings.

CELCIS summarised the key findings from the feedback provided by participants which are captured in the report:
•    Identification of and responses to CSAE vary across Scotland and universal services, including education, report uncertainty about how to respond to concerns, particularly in complex cases. Thresholds for action vary, affecting consistency and participants reporting that the voice of the child is often lost or insufficiently heard.
•    Practice challenges were also identified, including practitioners feeling unclear, from a GIRFEC perspective, what addressing CSAE looks like where there is no clear disclosure.
•    There is a need for more skills-based training and workload and system pressures limit access to quality learning and development. A number of participants indicated a national strategic approach to learning and development is required, using a tiered framework.
•    However, evidence of good practice and strong commitment to improvement was also identified.

Discussion points by the Group included:
•    It was felt the findings broadly align with existing understanding across sectors.
•    There was a suggestion that training should be targeted to different workforce groups and levels of involvement, across prevention, disclosure, intervention and recovery.
•    It was queried whether the report sufficiently differentiates training needs for professional groups (e.g. teachers) and this requires further scrutiny.
•    Existing good practice and related work should be mapped to avoid duplication and strengthen alignment. Learning from previous successes in CSE training should also be considered. It was note that there are examples of effective training models (e.g. Barnardo’s Lighthouse) which could inform future development.
•    The was uncertainty from practitioners, particularly outside social work, about how to engage with children who were at risk but had not yet met a threshold. It was also agreed that there is a need for clearer response pathways for children where there are CSAE concerns.
•    Gaps were noted around SCRA thresholds, third sector representation, cultural considerations, faith groups and independent schools.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Workforce Subgroup will take place on 20 May 

Actions

•    co-chairs to meet with SG to discuss the role of the group
•    CELCIS and Co-chairs to review the pro forma
•    members to submit comments to CELCIS within one week
•    CELCIS to review transcripts and strengthen content relating to education, CSA/CSE distinctions and cross-cultural issues
•    CELCIS to consider including further positive practice examples and case studies where possible
•    CELCIS to circulate updated report to members
•    co-chair to engage third sector organisations on the report
•    Group to reconvene on the report on 20 May