Actor Paul Brannigan to speak at Highland Child Protection event on Child Neglect

The Actor Paul Brannigan will be visiting Highland on Thursday 30th March 2017 to speak at a Highland Child Protection Committee event on Child Neglect. Paul, star of films including the Angels’ Share (2012) and Sunshine on Leith (2013) will be speaking about his own personal childhood experiences of neglect, and how receiving the right help and support at the right time helped him turn his life around to become a successful actor.

This event will launch Highland Child Protection Committee’s year on Neglect which aims to continue to improve the knowledge and skills of practitioners across statutory and third sector organisation, and raise public awareness of child neglect.

Detective Chief Inspector Vince McLaughlin, Chair of Highland Child Protection Committee commented: “Neglect is often cumulative and can be extremely harmful to children and young people long term so it is crucial we are able to identify and respond to it as early as possible. We are committed to working in partnership with agencies and local communities to ensure we are able to identify and work with neglect effectively.”

Neglect occurs when a child’s basic needs are not being met. This may be in relation to access to adequate food, housing and health care. It can also be due to a lack of supervision or a child’s educational needs not being met. However, children may also experience neglect when they are exposed to parental issues such as domestic abuse, mental ill-health and substance misuse. Neglect can be complex and may be difficult to identify and evidence where child protection measures are required.

The Chair of the Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, James Dunbar said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with the Child Protection Committee to help sponsor today’s event as it is a key role of the partnership to help achieve improved outcomes for children, families and communities affected by substance misuse across Highland.”

Bill Alexander, Director of Highland Council Care and Learning said: “Over the next year, Highland will be working in partnership with the NSPCC to develop further tools to help our Social Care, Education and Health professionals assess neglect most effectively. These will sit alongside our existing processes to ensure that children and families continue to receive the support they need proportionately, and at the earliest possible opportunity.”

This event will also see the launch of a new Highland Child Protection Committee logo developed by a Highland pupil. Throughout January and February 2017, Highland schools have been taking part in discussions about child protection and what it means to children of different ages in order to develop a logo which is easily recognisable across Highland communities. The winning logo came from 9 year old Bodhan Campbell from Plockton Primary School. Bodhan will be presented with his prize by Paul Brannigan at the event on 30th March.

This launch event will involve a group of 90 Young people, Practitioners, Managers and Members from the Highland Council Care and Learning Service, NHS Highland, Police Scotland and Third Sector agencies. This will be followed by a Conference for 160 front line practitioners on the topic of Child Neglect on Friday 31st March 2017 in Inverness.

If anyone is worried about a child or young person where neglect might be an issue, speak to a Teacher, Health Visitor, Social Worker or Police Officer.