Contemporary Issues in Child Protection Policy : The Role of Decision Making and

Assessment in Policy’s Implementation

Razan Bassam Nweiran

2016
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................ 3
1.3 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................. 4
1.4 Educational Child Protection Policy .................................................................................... 5
2. Literature Review................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 International and National Conventions and the Promotion of Child Rights .................. 6
2.2 Definitions of Child Maltreatment ................................................................................... 6
3. Factors that Influences Operational Procedures .................................................................... 7
3.1 Case Management and Operational Definition ................................................................ 7
3.2 Decision Making and Risk Assessments.......................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Knowledge ................................................................................................................. 7
3.2.2 The Psychological Process ........................................................................................ 8
3.2.3 Organizational and Individual Factors .......................................................................... 8
4. Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 9
5. Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 10
6. Ethics ............................................................................................................................... 10
7. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 10
7.1 Content, Text, Consequences ......................................................................................... 10
7.2 Evaluation Criteria ......................................................................................................... 11
7.2.1 Relevance................................................................................................................. 11
7.1.2 Efficiency................................................................................................................. 11
7.1.3 Effectiveness ............................................................................................................ 12
7.1.4 Impacts..................................................................................................................... 13
7.1.5 Sustainability ........................................................................................................... 14
7.3 Primary Recommendation for Policy Reform ................................................................... 15
7.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 15
References ................................................................................................................................ 17
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 23
Appendix A .............................................................................................................................. 24
Appendix B .............................................................................................................................. 30
Appendix D .............................................................................................................................. 31

2
1. Introduction
1.1 Background

The wellbeing and nurture of children is a paramount concern for every country, culture,
and community. Internationally, notable numbers of children undergo maltreatment, leading to
significant lifelong implications (WHO 2016).

In UAE, child welfare, safety, and protection have been evidently intensifying in many
spheres - political, social and cultural. Legalism, bureaucracy, and procedures are recognized as
key drivers of child protection systems. Governments at both federal and local levels have
developed policy frameworks for child protection and safety as part of community-based change
initiatives.

Knowledge and Human Development Authority has been closely monitoring the safety
and well-being of children as part of its evaluation of the schools. However, policy and research
on child maltreatment are under-researched and under-conceptualized remains in its infancy.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

This paper discusses key factors, in theory and practice, which emerge during the
decision-making process in the operational procedures: the intervention, and implementation
processes. These interrelated forces come together and interact as barriers or facilitators to the
desired implementation and ultimately impact the results intended by the child protection policy.

In order to attain this goal, a review of literature from multiple fields of research was
performed. The analysis of the official document, the Child Protection Policy, focused on
extracting strengths and shortcomings to show the correlation between theoretical knowledge
and the application of the operational procedures. Theories of knowledge, decision-making
process, and risk assessment approach were discussed. The paper mainly focused on using
publications after 1989 as this date is marks the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The paper aims to elucidate the critical role of the decision-making and risk assessment
processes and explore how they affect the operational procedures of interventions in the child
protection policy in an aim to improving and adding greater uniformity of the implementation.
Also, it identifies some gaps in the existing body of literature. A subsidiary intention is
advocating the policy’s thematic domain (Gordon et al. 1997; Thyer 2010). The main conclusion
is that for good child protection work to be accomplished, drafting good procedures in the policy
and informing the workforce what to do is not enough.

3
1.3 Significance of the Study

Children's right to be safeguarded and protected against any form of abuse is a global
responsibility. It is reinforced by the United Nations’ Convention on the Right of the Child
(UNCRC) (United Nations 1989), and UAE Federal Law No. 3 of 2016, issued by the
President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan secures the significance and
potency of this current paper.

Various factors such as growth in child protection regulation and mandatory reporting
of child maltreatment; heightened awareness and reporting accessibility, led to increasing in
the reporting, investigating, and substantiation of child maltreatment (Higgins 2011; Higgins &
Katz 2008). A recent study indicates an increase of child maltreatment reporting (See figure 1).
Forty cases of child maltreatment have been reported in 2012, which increased to 51 in 2013 and
57 in 2015. UAE nationals topped the number of victims (Agarib 2016).
CHILD MALTREATMENT CASE REPORTING

2014-2015

2012-2013

2011-2012

Figure 1: Child maltreatment reporting

4
 Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWC) conducted a survey in 2013 which
indicated the presence of verbal, physical and sexual abuse at home and school (See figure 2).

Figure 2: Major child maltreatment types

(Source Gulf News 2013)

However, the increased demands for the efficacy of child protection provisions in schools
mostly lead to the standard administrative retort of increased policy making. Still the insufficient
consideration to the intricacy of the decision-making and risk assessment processes and the need
of well-trained practitioners remain. The critical need for well-trained practitioners forces itself
too. As Munro (1999) indicated that there can't be an entire precision in the decision-making
process, yet understanding the process and the factors that affect it, improves the praxis.
Consequently better implementation and outcomes are more attainable.

1.4 Educational Child Protection Policy

Policy in child protection field received a forceful momentum with the heightened global
awareness of children's right to have a protected and healthy environment (Price-Robertson et al.
2014). As the Ministry of Education is an agency of the government and guardian of children’s
education, it has the responsibility to facilitate the national and international conventions’
realization. Schools, after the home, are the place where children spend the most time. The
school is also where abuse that has occurred at home is most readily suspected or detected.
Therefore, schools have the responsibility and the critical job in safeguarding the children
through developing and institutionalizing internal policies that breathe life to national policies.

Like with many countries, accurate data on child maltreatment particularly those reported
in schools is hard to come by, which can make it difficult for governments to build a strong
baseline on the subject. Without such a baseline, it is challenging to implement effective

5
evaluation for performance. The looming possibility for the lack of success is identified with key
forces that come together to interfere with the proper implementation to end up having a limited
realization of the policy aims and the government's goals. Mistakes can lead to serious harm to
children. Improving professional judgment, the critical thinking, and reflective skills for
practitioners are a must.

2. Literature Review

2.1 International and National Conventions and the Promotion of Child Rights

In 1989, countries were obliged to seek, allocate, and implement appropriate legislative,
social and educational measures to prevent violence against children (UNCRC 1989;
UNICEF 2011).UAE endeavors have yielded the recent legally-binding ‘Federal Law No.3 of
2016’ on Child Rights, which include specific legislations on the promotion of protection,
prevention and response to all forms of violence to all children up to the age of 18 (ejustice
2016). The efforts of several federal entities and the increased social awareness campaigns have
played roles in shaping the social norms against maltreatment and encouraging people to report
child abuse.

2.2 Definitions of Child Maltreatment

In literature, the various definitions of child maltreatment influence the policies and
procedures. Religious, moral, individual and cultural values of child upbringing affect an
agreement on a definition; what is considered abuse or neglect in one culture or a country would
not be viewed abnormal in another (Wind & Silvern 1992; Hussein 2008; Shanalingigwa 2009).
Also, complex issues arise when analyzing the definitions such the influence of the professional
discipline, political, and cultural factors (Hutchison 1990; Mennen et al. 2010; Price-
Robertson 2012).
Some definitions include the exact nature, causes, and consequence of abuse; others do
not (Shanalingigwa 2009). Mash and Wolfe (1991) concluded that part of the difficulty in
understanding child maltreatment lies in the diversity of definitions.

World Health Organization (WHO) provides a detailed definition of child maltreatment

as it specifies the types and results of the abuse as “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-
treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent… resulting in actual or potential harm to child’s
health, survival, development or dignity”. WHO confirms that any non-accidental act that causes
harm to the child constitutes abuse (WHO 2006, pp. 9- 10).

Terms such as ‘child maltreatment’ and ‘child abuse and neglect’ are often used
interchangeably and broadly presented as ‘child protection’ in research, law and policy making
( AIFS 2015; Price-Robertson et al. 2014 ). Hutchison stressed the importance of child
maltreatment definitions “because of the relationship between research and policy” (1990, p.62).

6
3. Factors that Influences Operational Procedures

3.1 Case Management and Operational Definition

Case management is the mechanism that professionals use to intervene and report
suspected cases. The ambiguity in child maltreatment definitions contributes to a variety of case
management such as underreporting and over-reporting (Hutchison 1990; Herrenkohl &
Herrenkohl 2009). The lack of clarity in the maltreatment definition can confuse the whole
process of intervention and implementation resulting into low rates of confirmation (Socolar et
al. 1995; DePanfilis & Grivin 2005; Herrenkohl & Herrenkohl 2009).

3.2 Decision Making and Risk Assessments

Several studies seek to explain the complexity of decision-making and risk assessment
and their impact on the quality of intervention (Kondrat 1992; Walmsley 2004). This critical
process which occurs during initial assessment, reporting and substantiation is affected by factors
such as knowledge, psychological process, individual and organizational factors (Baumann et al.
2011).

The inability to acknowledge “macrosociological and historical forces on the one hand,
and non-rational, individual forces on the other” leads to the arbitrary practice of decision-
making Kemshall asserted (216, 2010). She elaborated that most practitioners rely on fitting
their decision within their social context. Other studies showed significant variability in decision-
making between both experts and ordinary workers (Rossi et al. 1999).

3.2.1 Knowledge

During the intervention, professionals use their personal store of internalized knowledge
to filter a situation. Many theorists suggested three main types of knowledge. Polanyi presents
“Tacit knowledge” which is the inherent know-how that has been has been assimilated over time
(1967, pp. 24-25).Schön suggested that such knowledge produces surprising results, either good
or bad (Schön 1983, pp. 49-50, pp. 53-54). Ruch compared the other two types: the scientific
evidence-based knowledge and practice wisdom which is the integration of intuition, personal
experience, and the application of theory and procedures (2002, p.203). Schön considered those
who interconnect elements of practice wisdom as skillfully “reflective” (1987, pp36-40).

To strengthen the efficiency of decision-making, child protection recently embraced the

scientific approach by using Risk Assessment models which is an example for evidence-based
knowledge. As educators will always find themselves in different situations of various unfamiliar
characteristics, it is highly recommended to use the scientific approach and treat each case on its
own (DeRoma et al. 2006; Squires 2005).

The complex reality confirms that errors are an inevitable part of any practice.
Professionals need to be competent to convert their know-hows, theoretical knowledge,
experiences and skills into effective practice, not only follow rules of scientific rationality
(Kondrat 1992; Parton 2003; Gambrill 2005).

7
3.2.2 The Psychological Process

The decision-making process of humans is flawed due to several constraints.

Understanding them enables more efficient strategies thus more effective decisions (Simon,
1957). The difference between the two important concepts, judgment and decision, should be
established and comprehended. A judgment is that process of evaluating a situation or a context
based on the given information and criteria such as degree of concern, significance of risk, the
nature and weight of evidence. A decision; on the other hand, is the process of whether or not to
take a certain action. At this point, the assessment of a situation changes into a decision about an
action (Swets, Tanner & Birdsall 1955).

Subjectivity and bias exist during applying these concepts thus affecting the processes
and limiting rationality. Researchers cite the following factors: decision maker’s experiences,
prior knowledge, access to information, the interpretation of external factors and organizational
factors (Swets, Tanner & Birdsall 1955; Bazerman & Moore 2013).

3.2.3 Organizational and Individual Factors

Under high emotional stress, time pressure and intrinsic uncertainty, a crux of the
complexities and challenging process face the practitioners (Parton 1998; Ashton 1999; Munro
2008). Each stage from the suspicion of the abuse to the initial assessment to the planning of the
appropriate intervention, to the case closure, countless decisions are made.

Researchers signaled factors that influence the operational procedures such as high
workload, availability of resources, parents’ resistance, and individual determinants like
ethnicity, risk perceptions, professional background , personal values about parenting (Munro
2008; Gambrill 2008; Broadhurst et al. 2010a; Bromfield & Higgins 2005; Howell 2007;
Kemshall, 2010) . Therefore, a crucial aspect in fulfilling the provision of the policy is the
professional base of the practitioners (Coulshed&Orme 2006, p. 18).

4. Methodology

This was an exploratory research. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used
to study the Child Protection Policy employed in a Dubai-based school. Literature review was
based on the systematic approach allowing the examination of various studies from multiple
fields and minimizing author’s bias (Littell 2008; Pickering & Byrne 2014). Document analysis,
the main method to reach the findings, focused on extracting aspects to establish a correlation
between the findings and the hypothesis (Travers 2001).

Interviews of semi- structural nature were conducted with a focus group consisting from
academic staff and students to map prevailing beliefs and attitudes related to child protection
issues. Semi-structural interviews are flexible and enable the participants to add points that the
researcher has not thought of (Robson 2002).

8
Key theories are referred to through content analysis leading to the conclusion. The objectives
are:
- assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Child Protection Policy’s operational
practices and procedures
- examining awareness of the phenomena
- increasing familiarity with the topic, as a prelude to a more in-depth study in the future

The general framework used UNICEF standard evaluation criteria utilized since 1990 (UNICEF
2005), along with supplementary dimensions such as the context, text and consequences
(Wetherall, Taylor & Yates 2001; Creswell 2007).

4.1 Data Collection

In the preliminary phase, the researcher reviewed a wide range of literature about child
protection issues, policy evaluation, and decision-making and risk assessment theories to identify
the strengths and weakness of the operational practices. Data collection started after obtaining
participation approval from the principal. Analysis of official documents and secondary data
include (See figure 2):

Data Gathering Tools

-The Child Protection Policy 2016-2017

Appendix A

- Endicotte Research Center (ERC): A self-study survey results for Al

Mawakeb School- Al Barsha

- New England Association of Schools and Colleges

(NEASC):Observation report for Al Mawakeb School - Al Barsha for the
year 2015/2016

- The Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) of Knowledge and

Human Development Authority (KHDA) Reports:Al Mawakeb School -
Al Barsha perfromance data reports for the years 2014/2015-2016/2017
- A questionnaire on Child Protection (See Appendix D)
- Policy design and review check list (Appendix C)
Figure 3: Data collection tools

9
5. Limitations

The small-scale study was conducted on one child protection policy implemented in one
private school. Assessing the effects of the proposed hypotheses requires longitudinal studies on
a wider scale. Also had there a larger number of participants in the questionnaire, a stronger
response rate would have allowed for more conclusive and statistically significant results to
fortify the hypothesis. As the topic is an emerging concept in educational policy, the literature
reveals that although there are policies and practices available to protect children and ease
abuse, there has been a little evaluation of the impact of these educational policies on protecting
children and reducing child maltreatment in UAE. Hence, it is not known if the present policies
achieve the goals.

6. Ethics
Participants’ rights were preserved. A consent form explaining the academic purpose
and assuring the voluntary nature of participation in the interviews and questionnaires has been
provided (Creswell 2013). Permission to conduct interviews and to administer the
questionnaires was granted from the school's principal.

7. Discussion

7.1 Content, Text, Consequences

The policy title clearly captures the content. The organization of content such as purpose,
scope, responsible parties, additional authority, procedures, and definitions are orderly arranged
(See appendix A). The simplicity of language enhances the possibility of comprehending and
following the policy.

However, there is an inconsistency in the imperative voice usage in the intervention

phase. Words like ‘should’, ‘should not’, and ‘may’ imply the action is not mandatory. ‘May’
dominated more than ‘must’ and ‘required’; consequently work ideology behind decision making
is affected (Fairclough 2001).

There are basic procedures to assist practitioners such initial screening procedures and
Child Abuse Body Diagram. (Appendix B). The policy has been revised for the academic year
2016/17.
On the other hand, the policy does not include:
- the legal framework that indicates whether the school acts in accordance with certain
legislation and guidance
- the governing bodies responsible for monitoring, reviewing, and updating the
procedures

10
7.2 Evaluation Criteria

Research seeks theoretical knowledge related to the subject while evaluation tests the key
aspects of policies using UNICEF Evaluation Criteria (UNICEF 2005). Evaluation is vital to
identify strengths and detects challenges and shortcomings as they anticipate unexpected results.

7.2.1 Relevance

The school’s Child Protection Policy is rights-based echoing the international and
national conventions and calls for the development of a protective environment where children
are free from harm and any form of neglect or non-accidental physical abuse, and sexual
exploitation. A detailed definition for each maltreatment type is included which minimizes lack
of clarity for practitioners (Bromfield & Miller 2012; Bromfield, Sutherland & Parker 2012).

This policy expresses the organization’s commitment to transparency and accountability

through a uniformed implementation system. It supports the mission of the school, and the UAE
strategic priorities of National Agenda aiming at quality education. Both NEASC and DSIB
report that there is a culture of shared responsibility for the social and emotional wellbeing and
protection of students promoted by the leadership and teachers (NEASC 2016; DISB 2016).

7.1.2 Efficiency

The policy dictates the school’s responsibility to provide the required resources for its
performance. School records and participants' responses to the questionnaire on reporting child
maltreatment demonstrated the school’s ongoing mission of enhancing the protective
environment for its student through establishing child safeguarding programming through co-
curricular activities and workshops in collaboration with local official entities such Dubai Police
and Civic Defense (See figure 4). DSIB report indicated that Child welfare policies are well-
communicated across all stakeholders (DSIB 2016).

11
 Maletreatment Reporting
15%

10%

Students
5% Staff

Figure 4: Child maltreatment reporting

7.1.3 Effectiveness

Intervention is provided through fusing the procedural and experiential aspects of

knowledge toward achieving the policy’s aims. The purposes of the intervention and the
procedures are protective, regulatory, and quasi-therapeutic.

It is activated by a mandatory report of maltreatment. The policy indicates the measures

the school must take to guarantee such objectives:

1. Appointing Child Protection Coordinator (hereafter referred to as CPC) and specifying

main responsibilities:
a) Be the first point of contact for all stakeholders including external agencies in all
matter of child protection.
b) Coordinate the child protection procedures.
c) Maintain an ongoing training program for all school staff.
2. Including code of behavior for staff
3. Outlining proper case management procedures and requirements to report, investigate,
and document any case of maltreatment
4. Providing clinical judgment form
5. Ensuring safe recruitment practice in checking the suitability of staff (including staff
employed by another organization)
6. Ensuring security measurement
7. Highlighting the observant and attentiveness approach to signs of abuse
8. Including operating procedures to promote this policy

12
 The school has fulfilled these objectives. However, there is still the absence of well-
incorporated procedures which will be further discussed in the section 5.2. The lack of a legal
framework that indicates whether the school acts in accordance with well-known legislation such
as WHOs (2006), or the Federal Law 3, 2016 raises a question at the influence of international
and national entities on the child protection agenda in the educational sector. Also, the school's
external partnerships related to child protection are limited and sporadic. The policy does not
dictate the practitioners any particular type of risk assessment method exposing the screening
process to subjectivity.

7.1.4 Impacts

The policy operational procedures yield a very good protection system, supports the legal
and educational reform and policy development by recognizing the legal, moral rights and
responsibilities of the school members.

It establishes the organization’s structures and services to reduce liability and to prevent
maltreatment, as well as to respond to victims. Also, it addresses social and organizational
factors and workforce norms that perpetuate abuse and promote a positive healthy learning
environment. A positive recognition of the staff and their professional roles is evident through
the increased training, support and supervision. As indicated by DSIB report, students are well
informed of safety issues (DSIB 2016, p.21).

School records show strong students' involvement in co-curricular activities related to

children safety and well-being which indicates that the school has put an advocacy strategy to
ensure the systematic implementation of the policy. According to Endicott survey analysis,
96.1% of staff confirmed good knowledge of procedural guidelines- who to report to in case of
an incident. (Endicott 2016, p.72). On the other hand, the following procedures should have
been included to minimize the adverse impact on the long-term:

- including risk assessment tools to lessen subjectivity

- establishing age-agreed child protection plans
- providing specific procedurals to the students with special needs
- ensuring that teachers and others who are innocent are not prejudiced
by false allegations
- linking this policy with other child-related policies such as anti-bullying, cyberbullying,
and substance misuse such as smoking policies
- providing procedures if the CPC is accused with maltreatment allegation
- providing record keeping and archiving of data system

Howell recommended that professionals should practice self-reflection and document feedbacks,
best practices and successful outcomes to improve their evidence-based knowledge, their judging
abilities, and most importantly to assess impacts (2008).

13
7.1.5 Sustainability

As child protection programs in general are ongoing, it is difficult to provide full

assessment of sustainability. For this reason, an assessment of any future improvement can
depend on the available knowledge about the intervention and implementation.

The policy is a child focused; it is applied in the organization at all levels, and across all
contexts, including the Human Resources department with the secure recruitment procedures for
staff and Security departments with the monitored school visitors’ log. Data analysis indicated
positive changes in a child focused practices through awareness campaigns, safety and security
measurements (NEASC 2016; DSIB 2016).

Despite differences in the extent of participants’ experiences with issues of abuse, all
expressed recognition of what the school does to implement protective measurements and
support for children. Participants had a heightened and developing awareness of what consists as
an abuse and identified primary channels to refer to in reporting. The findings also indicated that
protective strategies such as assistance, observing, monitoring from senior leadership provided
the less experienced teachers with modeling child-protective strategies.

Yet, the policy’s pathway has limited ability to deal with various cases especially with
the cultural and linguistic diversity in its students’ population. Given the national and
organizational focus on equitable development, it is critical to know how children with special
needs are affected. In this light, policy makers need to ask not just “What works?” but more
specifically “What works for whom; in what circumstances and in what respects; and how?”
Becoming the core for decision-making mechanism, using Risk Assessment will increase the
policy's sustainability and effectiveness as it offers a list of indicators and standardized method
for interventions and presents some predictability. Also, it helps in developing empirical or
scientific knowledge and database (Ruch 2002; DeRoma et al. 2006).

7.2 Policy: Risk Assessment and Decision Making

The operational procedures are mainly divided into intake, assessment, and investigation
and case management (Bromfield & Haggins 2005). The school has established measures to
achieve adequate procedures and requirements to report, investigate, and document any case of
maltreatment.

However, the dimensions of the challenges facing the CPC that affect decision making
have been not been included. According to the procedures, once the CPC is informed about
maltreatment, assessment and investigation commence. A holistic risk assessment begins through
collaboration with teachers, and collecting of information about the child and family. With the
absence of a range of assessment checklist, and as facts are not readily available, the process
becomes more of an operational search for evidence that may or may not be accurate or
important. Reports may be unreliable, contradictory and/or misleading yet must be taken
seriously (Munro 1996; Benbenishty & Chen 2003).

14
 Once the CPC approves the case, several other procedures follow including meeting with
the family to discuss best options appropriate to child. However, theorists examined the parental
response to allegations of maltreatment and noted it must be interpreted with caution. Some may
avoid the CPC’s inquiry relying on the right of privacy and autonomy and hindering CPC’s
procedures or cooperate as a strategy to deceive practitioners (Gambrill 2008; Broadhurst et al.
2010). Cultural and linguistic diversity, psychological factors, knowledge and expertise force
themselves throughout the phases of risk assessment and decision-making processes affecting the
outcomes. The policy does not establish sufficient procedures for such contexts. This leads to
making predictions; mistakes are unavoidable (Gambrill, 2008; Munro, 2011).

7.3 Primary Recommendation for Policy Reform

Aligning the policy with a legal framework that the school will act in accordance with
strengthens its value. UAE Federal Law No.3 of 2016 is a turning point of child protection
legislation. It represents a notable shift to the ideology of the whole community responsibility for
the supervision of parent/child relationships in any setting. Once this legislation becomes firmly
rooted in the principle of educational policies, parents’ right to privacy and autonomy is
suppressed allowing further stronger intervention and implementation.

A governing body to monitor and review the policy must be deployed as it is part of the
institutional arrangement to safeguard the quality and fairness of the policy. Intervention should
be evidence-based in design and implementation. Developing realistic decision guides and risk
indicators provide guidance to the staff and make the policy more sustainable. A basic
assessment checklist highlighting risk domains such as the type and extent of the abuse,
caregiver characteristics, and a history of child maltreatment or domestic violence for each age
of a child is recommended.

As Shön theorized that practitioners often act without conscious reflection, it becomes
crucial for them to have specialized knowledge, skills, and training in multiple areas linked to
children’s development, needs, rights, and the ability to exercise legal delegations (1987, p.22).
Policymakers should prescribe the level of CPC’s expertise. Placing the investigatory process
with trained authorities such as local police, or child protection centers presents itself as a strong
choice. It is the nature of child protection to be condemning, and cloaking the investigation
under CPC intervention and assessment does nothing to lessen the phenomena. The behavior that
we are discussing is criminal in nature; therefore officials should gather the evidence.

7.4 Conclusion

The core mission of the child protection policy is to ensure that children are protected
and stakeholders have a system to use. As educational policy is part of community-based change
initiatives, the read and re-read process is dynamically imperative. This study indicates that

15
implementing the child protection policy within this complex ecological context of the macro
and micro factors that shape the intervention and implementation is not an easy task.
Educational entities such as Knowledge and Human Development Authority should
impose specific criteria on child protection policies and demand specific qualifications of child
protection coordinators to strengthen unions and increase effectiveness. An agreement on
maltreatment definitions, evidence-based practice, and systemic decision-making and risk
assessment processes present intense challenges and crucial need. Child Protection Coordinator
has to have the suitable qualifications, multiple specific skills and knowledge, all required in the
process of assessment and decision making in child protection. The policy needs to specify the
CPC’s qualifications. Also, all cases must be reported to central and local government
departments to allow for a nation-wide database.
This study can be drawn upon and inspire future research efforts to strengthen operational
procedures in child protection policy. Utilising qualitative methods of inquiry allow more
transparency when it comes to inquiring into practice and the factors shaping it.

16
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Appendix A
Child Protection Policy implemented in a Dubai-based school

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Appendix B

Child abuse body diagram

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Appendix D

Evaluation check list

Policy Statement and Aim:
Does the child protection policy outline the following?
Statement Yes Partially In progress No

A child protection policy statement which explains the √

school’s intention to safeguard children

The premises of the policy? e.g. in school, camps and trips √

The welfare of the child is paramount √
The targeted audience √
Methods of an annual reviewing of the policy’s procedures √
and practices
Relevance or relation to other child-related policies used in the √
school?

Intervention: Reporting
Does the child protection policy outline the following?
Statement Yes Partially In progress No

A named designated personnel as a child protection √

coordinator (CPC)

The CPC’s contact details √

Definitions and types of child maltreatment √

Reasons for concern for the existence of possible child abuse √ √
Reporting procedures with clear role and √
responsibilities for all involved
Guidelines to dealing with a disclosure √

Complaints procedure in relation to: √

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Children/ parents/staff
Time frame for reporting √
Report form to CPC √
Report form from CPC to teachers/nurses/parent √

Contact numbers for relevant personnel such as CPC and √

nurse

Documenting
Does the child protection policy outline the following?
Statement Yes Partially In progress No

The procedure/ form for recording? √

Clear recording system in place √

importance of confidential documenting √

Staff Training
Does the child protection policy outline the following?
Statement Yes Partially In progress No

responsibilities for staff in relation to child protection policy √

induction training in the organisation/agency child protection √
policy
conditional signing up to required to sign up to the child √
protection policy from all staff
The targeted audience √
School’s responsibility for co-ordinating the training √ √
sessions of all staff

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