Governance of the CPC

The CPC operates within the governance framework established by the Chief Officers’ Public Safety Group (COPS). This framework supports inter-agency leadership, responsibility, and accountability in delivering integrated child protection services. It aligns with the principles set out in the Children & Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) initiative.

Chief Officers’ Public Safety Group (COPS)

The governance of the CPC is overseen by the Fife Chief Officers’ Public Safety Group (COPS). The COPS group, which includes senior leaders, meets quarterly. Their remit covers Child Protection, Adult Protection, The Drugs and Alcohol Partnership, and Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). (click link to know more about membership and responsibility)

• COPS Membership: Chief officers from various agencies, including the Independent Chair Of The Public Protection Groups and the Lead Officers, are part of COPS. They work within their respective accountability structures but collaborate to commission inter-agency activities aimed at protecting children and young people.
• Responsibilities: Chief Officers are responsible for improving the experiences and outcomes for children who may need protection. They ensure the effectiveness of the CPC through collective leadership and accountability.

Fife Child Protection Committee

The Fife Child Protection Committee (CPC) is the strategic, multi-agency body responsible for the oversight and coordination of child protection in Fife. The CPC operates within the framework of the Scottish Government’s guidance ‘Protecting Children and Young People: Child Protection Committees’ (2019) and is accountable to the Chief Officers Public Protection Group (COPS). The CPC provides assurance to Chief Officers that local child protection arrangements are effective, coherent, and continuously improving.

These Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for CPC subgroups (PEG, LDCG, LRWG), which draw authority and orientation from the CPC.

Child Protection Committee - Terms of Reference

Independent Chair: Dougie Dunlop

Membership of the CPC

• CPC Independent Chair: Dougie Dunlop - Provides independent oversight and leadership.
• Vice Chair: Senior Manager, Education & Children’s Services.
• Senior Managers: Representing key agencies such as Police Scotland, Health & Social Care Partnership, Education & Children’s Services, and Housing Services.
• Sub-group Chairs: Lead various working groups within the CPC and attend on that basis.
• CPC Lead Officer: Patricia Pattison - Coordinates the activities of the CPC and ensures effective implementation of its decisions.

The CPC is supported by several working groups, each focusing on specific areas to ensure comprehensive and coordinated child protection services.

Practice Effectiveness Group (PEG)

The Practice Effectiveness Group (PEG) is a formally constituted subgroup of the Fife Child Protection Committee (CPC).  Its purpose is to act as the commissioning and assurance hub of the CPC, ensuring that practice improvement, training, communications, and guidance changes are prioritised, sequenced, and evaluated in line with CPC priorities.

This Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for the CPC, Learning Review Working Group (LRWG), and Learning, Development and Communications Group (LDCG) to understand the full learning and improvement cycle.

Practice Effectiveness Group - Terms of Reference

Chair: Laura Lowrie Service Manager Children and Families Social Work

Learning Review Working Group

The Learning Review Working Group (LRWG) is a formally constituted subgroup of the CPC. Its purpose is to triage referrals, coordinate the partnership’s response to significant incidents and ensure that learning is identified through Learning Review Action Plans (LRAPs).

This Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for the CPC, Practice Effectiveness Group (PEG), and Learning, Development and Communications Group (LDCG) to understand the full learning and improvement cycle.

Learning Review Working Group - Terms of Reference

Chair: Detective Superintendent Richard Banks Police Scotland

Contextual Safeguarding Group

The Child Protection Committee’s Contextual Safeguarding Group is tasked to develop and implement of a comprehensive Contextual Safeguarding approach, to address Extra Familial Harm, within the Fife Partnership.

Contextual Safeguarding is an approach to address extra-familial risk and harm (EFRH) that traditional child protection processes were unable to effectively respond to.  This approach aims to focus on the contexts in which harm is occurring, with the goal of making these spaces safer for both individual children and the wider population.

Contextual Safeguarding Working Group - Terms of Reference

Chair: Detective Inspector Claire Chrystal Police Scotland

Learning, Development and Communications Group (LDCG)

The Learning, Development and Communications Group (LDCG) is a formally constituted subgroup of the Fife Child Protection Committee (CPC).  Its purpose is to provide strategic oversight and assurance of learning, workforce development, training, and communications.

This Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for the CPC, Practice Effectiveness Group (PEG), and Learning Review Working Group (LRWG) to understand the full learning and improvement cycle.

Learning Development Communications - Terms of Reference

Chair: Rebecca Saunders, Lead Nurse NHS Fife

Neglect and Accumulating Concerns Working Group

The Neglect Working Group is tasked with supporting the development of an agreed approach to neglect and accumulating concerns.  Neglect is one of the most damaging experiences a child can endure, which can result in the serious impairment to their health and development, both in the long-term and short-term.  This group will have representation from key services and will work towards developing an agreed child-centred approach to assessment in order that children and young people who are subject to accumulating concerns and neglect are responded to timeously.

Neglect Working Group - Terms of Reference

Chair: Sofia McGarry Education Development Officer

Bairns Hoose Project Board

The Bairns Hoose Project Board is a strategic, multi-agency governance group responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose (Barnahus) model in Fife. As part of Scotland’s national Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder programme, the Board provides leadership, direction, and assurance to ensure that a child-centred, trauma-informed approach to justice, care, and recovery is effectively developed and delivered across the partnership.

The Board is responsible for setting the overall direction of the project, agreeing aims and objectives, and ensuring alignment with national policy, including UNCRC principles, GIRFEC, and The Promise. It scrutinises performance, oversees delivery against agreed plans, and ensures that risks, dependencies, and inter-agency impacts are actively managed. The Board also plays a key role in ensuring that children, young people, and families are meaningfully involved in the design and delivery of Bairns’ Hoose services.

This Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for the Child Protection Committee (CPC) and wider governance structures, including the Chief Officers’ Public Safety Group (COPS) and national Bairns’ Hoose governance arrangements, to understand how local implementation aligns with national direction and public protection priorities.

Bairns Hoose Project Board – Terms of Reference

Chair: Lisa Cooper, Head of Primary and Preventative Services, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership

E-Protect Implementation Group (EIRD)

The E-Protect Implementation Group (EIRD) is a formally constituted delivery group of the Fife Child Protection Committee (CPC). Its purpose is to oversee the implementation of the partnership’s digital child protection pathway and coordinate the transition toward a future multi-agency, Electronic Inter-agency Referral Discussion (EIRD) model.

The Group is responsible for implementation oversight of Phase 1, which introduces the Delegation Portal and Children’s Portal as a secure, structured interim approach to managing Inter-agency Referral Discussions (IRDs) and associated child protection processes. In parallel, the Group leads preparatory work for Phase 2, supporting the partnership’s long-term ambition for a fully integrated, real-time multi-agency EIRD solution.

This Terms of Reference should be read alongside those for the CPC and relevant governance structures, including the Bairns Hoose Project Board, to understand how digital delivery aligns with strategic direction and wider public protection reform.

E-Protect Implementation Group (EIRD) – Terms of Reference

Chair: Patricia Pattison, Lead Officer – Child Protection Committee

These groups report to the CPC, providing updates on their activities, progress, and any significant issues. The CPC, in turn, reports to the COPS group to ensure alignment with broader public protection strategies.