Guidance on individuals who present a risk to children – review of 'schedule 1' offences
The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 was intended to protect children of school age from cruelty and exposure to moral and physical danger. Schedule 1 of the act set out a list of offences against children and young people to which particular provisions of the act applied.
The term 'schedule 1 offender' has subsequently come into wide use to describe anyone convicted of an offence against a child. The presence of a 'schedule 1 offender' within the home environment has normally triggered an assessment of risk by social services.
However, a 'schedule 1' conviction attracts no statutory requirements in relation to child protection issues, and this has led to a lack of clarity about agencies' roles and responsibilities when dealing with such offenders.
Further, there has been no comprehensive list of offences to which the term 'schedule 1 offender' should apply, leading to different and sometimes conflicting interpretations of subsequent legislation to protect children.
The term 'schedule 1 offender' is a label that lasts for life with no review procedure. It takes no consideration of the circumstances of the offence, or any assessment of ongoing risk that the individual may pose. For example, a child involved in a playground fight may find themselves subject to scrutiny from social services and other agencies for life, irrespective of their likelihood of reoffending against a child, with no opportunity to challenge that scrutiny.
This practice may well be subject to human rights challenges in the future, and the view of the Schedule 1 Review Working Group is that changes to agency procedures must be brought into immediate effect.
The review process is ongoing, and a full summary of the current position is contained in the local authority social services letter (LASSL): "Identification of individuals who present a risk to children".
A summary of the actions authorities are required to take is as follows:
- The term 'schedule 1 offender' is no longer helpful and indeed may become problematic legally. The term 'risk to children' should therefore be adopted for those persons who have been identified as posing an ongoing risk to a child.
- The conclusion that an individual poses a 'risk to children' should be based on all available information including that provided by relevant agencies, such as assessments of risk made by probation, police, health, whether individually or via the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA).
- The revised list of offences (see the LASSL above) provides a useful update of relevant legislation to protect children. However, it should not be deemed to be exhaustive, or used purely as a 'trigger' to denote risk. Rather the protection of children at risk of significant harm remains the responsibility of practitioners exercising their professional judgment.
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This page was last updated on 02 July 2007
