What is GIRFEC?
Most young people have a loving family to support them. Friends, teachers, youth workers, and others can also help to make sure that your wellbeing is the best that it can be, and you have all of the support, advice and guidance that you need as you grow up.
There may be times, however, when you might need some extra advice and support if things aren't going so well. Getting it right for every child (or GIRFEC for short) encourages all of the adults in your life to look out for your wellbeing and to offer help if you or your family need it. The idea behind GIRFEC is that if problems can be tackled early on, we can hopefully stop them from getting too big and out of control.
The idea of GIRFEC comes from the Scottish Government and it means that the adults in your life have a responsibility to make sure you are safe, healthy and achieve your potential by becoming the best that you can be.
If you need some extra help or support, people, agencies and the community in which you live will need to work together to provide the help that you need. This means that:
- You will feel confident about the help you are getting
- You understand what is happening and why
- You will be listened to carefully and your wishes will have been heard and understood
- You have been appropriately involved in discussions and decisions that affect you
- You can rely on appropriate help being available as soon as possible
- You should only have to tell your story once and if the help you need is provided by several agencies this will be coordinated by one person.
If I have a worry or concern, who do I talk to?
Most of us need help at sometime. You might need help because you are worried about things:
- at school
- at home
- with friends
- where you live
- about your health
- about how you feel or
- you might be worried about something else.
There are lots of people you can talk to if you are worried or concerned about yourself or someone that you care about. Family and friends can offer support but should you want to speak to someone else, there are links below that can help.
If you have a Health worry need you should talk to your school health nurse, G.P, or use the links on Cool To Talk website to get more information on specific problems or concerns you may want to know more about. There are also Useful links for children and young people to other organisations who will be able to give advice and support about lots of other topics
@ScottStreet is a specialist drop-in base in Perth City for young people where you can go for help when you need it.
If you think that you need help because you want to improve your situation, have family difficulties, are lonely, being bullied or any other difficulty you should contact someone in your school or college that has responsibility for supporting you, or that you trust and have a good relationship with. For example, this could be your Named Person, support teacher, Community Link worker or another member of staff.
If you don't feel safe or feel you are being abused or neglected in any way, or you're worried about a friend, you should speak to your Named Person at school, child protection staff or the police.
Sometimes the adults in your life might need extra support. They might have a problem with drugs or alcohol, a disability, a mental health problem or another illness. There are people who can help you and your family. For more information call the Early Intervention and Prevention Team on 0345 30 111 20 or visit Support for adults and older people.
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