ABSTRACT
Area child protection committees (ACPCs) provide the forum for joint working on child protection issues in the United Kingdom. Induction training should ensure that all staff with direct involvement with children have an awareness of the indicators of abuse and understand local policies and procedures. The training guidelines are divided into two parts. The first part lists seventeen points for consideration when designing a comprehensive training programme on child sexual abuse. The second part of the document provides a framework for implementing this training programme. The existence of an ACPC as an overseeing body for developing, monitoring, and reviewing child protection services is extremely positive. Feedback mechanisms from the ACPC to the constituent agencies, and vice versa, need to be in place. If ACPCs had a clear decision-making mechanism, then conflict or differences of opinion could co-exist and not impede or block work from being done.
