Beyond intention. The Draft National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2020): A case study of a Scottish policy document

Since 1998, the Scottish Government has periodically issued guidance for child protection practice. This has grown from seventy-seven pages to two hundred and seventy pages in the latest draft iteration – The Draft National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2020). This review of the Draft Guidance takes a rare, because critical and problematising, look at a policy document intended to influence social work practice with children and families. The review points to omissions, questions inclusions and looks at the ways that the Draft Guidance seeks to claim our attention for some matters and not others. With a focus upon appearances and the author’s impressions, close reading of text and language usage, the review offers strategies for critical reading of policy documents.