National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Workforce Subgroup: May 2026

Attendees and apologies

Co Chairs

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

Attendees

• Alison Deighan, Practice Reporter, Scottish Children’s Reporter
• Catriona Scobbie, Safeguarding Lead Officer, Education Scotland
• Jillian Taylor, Child Health Commissioner & Chief Nurse, NHS Forth Valley
• Louise Skinner, Aberdeenshire Council, National Child Protection Learning and Development Group
• Kerry Watson – Survivor Representative
• Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive,  Children First
• Mike Smith, T/Detective Superintendent, National Sex Offender Policing Unit, Police Scotland
• 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

• Angela Latta, Deputy Chief Social Work Adviser and Deputy Chief Executive, National Social Work Agency 
• Anna Glinski, Deputy Director (Knowledge and Practice Development), Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse
• 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.

Minutes and Actions from Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed without amendment.

All outstanding actions were confirmed as complete:

• co chairs met with Scottish Government and members of the group are now part of an panel to assess practice leads proposals
• CELCIS and co chairs reviewed of the practice leads pro forma ahead of it being circulated to CPC Scotland
• members provided feedback which has been incorporate to an update of the CELCIS report

Update on Practice Leads pilot 

Expressions of interest are currently being sought for the pilot, with submissions due in June. A multi-agency panel, including subgroup members, will assess proposals.
Members highlighted the importance of adapting the model to the Scottish context and the need for effective and consistent communication across sectors. Concerns were raised regarding limited awareness among some Child Protection Committees and health colleagues.

Stakeholder Engagement Report

CELCIS provided a summary of the workforce engagement report comments and provided an update on changes to the report following feedback from the group. This included addition of definitions shared within stakeholder sessions and expansion of the ‘limitations’ section. Comments suggesting spotlighting good practice were considered but not included as there was insufficient evidence to endorse specific approaches.  

Members also highlighted wider systemic issues, including workforce capacity, funding constraints and the challenges of implementing change. Members also noted publication of the Glasgow Child Protection Committee’s Learning Review report into Family C, and reflected that its findings demonstrated the complexity and challenges facing the workforce in recognising the signs of CSAE.

The group agreed that outputs to the National CSAE Strategic Group should focus on high-level priority areas, rather than a detailed action plan, and identify areas requiring further development and implementation planning.

It was agreed that recommendations should reflect the themes identified above, include consideration of pre-qualification training, highlight the importance of a public health approach (distinct from standalone campaigns) and recognise dependencies on wider workstreams and ongoing national reviews.

The group emphasised the need to clearly articulate implementation challenges and system barriers.

The group considered gaps in stakeholder engagement during the preparation of the CELCIS workforce report, noting engagement with the third sector was limited and there was no direct engagement with faith and belief organisations. Members recognised that these gaps were largely due to timing and capacity constraints

It was agreed that development of the report would proceed in line with the current timetable and the report will continue to be treated as a draft to allow refinement.

It was agreed a summary paper would be developed for the National CSAE Group to outline key themes and proposed areas for action which would highlight the complexity of this issue and resource implications; identify links to other national workstreams (e.g. national review, data subgroup); seek direction on priorities and next steps – including which of the recommendations to prioritise; and include a recommendation that further engagement would be requirement to develop actions –includes with the National CSAE Strategic Group itself as well as other stakeholders.

Next steps for the group

The group considered its future role given the conclusion of this second phase of its evidence gathering work. It was agreed that the subgroup’s work is not complete but that further progress is dependent on outputs from other national workstreams.

It was agreed that the subgroup would propose pausing formal meetings over the summer period and would consider reconvening in future subject to the views of the National CSAE Strategic Group. 

Actions 

• Scottish Government to share Practice Leads information with the Child Health Commissioner & Chief Nurse to circulate with Health colleagues
• co-chairs to draft paper and circulate for members for comment by 1 June
• health representative to consider whether report needs to be strengthened to ensure fully representative of sector
• CELCIS to seek the views of third sector organisations and faith and belief groups