Neglect is the form of abuse most often listed as the initial category of abuse on child protection plans in England.1 This report explores the scale of the problem and examines the barriers and challenges that professionals face when identifying and tackling neglect.
The report draws on three strands of qualitative and quantitative research:
The report outlines the challenges facing the multi-agency workforce and highlights the need for an ambitious policy vision to tackle neglect. It provides the government with a series of recommendations on what this vision should include.
Author: Eavan Mckay
References
Department for Education (DfE) (2023) Children in need: 2022 to 2023. [Accessed 28/08/2024].Over half (54%) of respondents said they’d seen an increase in neglect cases during their professional lives, with the majority (90%) of these respondents saying they believed this increase was being driven by poverty rates and the rising cost of living.
Over 90% of multi-agency safeguarding professionals reported feeling confident in identifying the signs of neglect.
The majority (83%) of respondents said there are not enough local services to support children and families experiencing neglect. 44% of those working in healthcare and 22% of those working in social care reported usually feeling like they couldn’t directly help a child who is being neglected.
Over half (52%) of teachers said that children’s social care took too long to conduct an initial assessment after a neglect referral, and 43% reported feeling that intervention following the assessment was slow.
The government should develop a national strategy that draws together the latest best practice, learning and evidence on what works in tackling neglect. The strategy should also set out how the government will improve training opportunities for all safeguarding partner agencies.
The new Family Help model set out in the Independent review of children’s social care2 should provide the best possible opportunity for the multi-agency workforce to identify and respond to neglect as early as possible.
Neglect is a distinct form of harm that must be distinguished from poverty, but poverty is a risk factor for neglect. The government should consider neglect as part of their strategy to tackle child poverty.
Teachers and schools play a significant role in identifying and responding to cases of neglect. The government should recognise this significance and set out plans for how to make education the fourth safeguarding partner, alongside healthcare, local authorities and the police.
References
MacAlister, J. (2022) The independent review of children's social care: final report. [Accessed 28/08/2024].Please cite as: Mckay, E. (2024) Too little, too late: the multi-agency response to identifying and tackling neglect. London: NSPCC.
Lessons from case reviews published between 2021 and 2022 where neglect was a key factor.
Increase your understanding of child neglect, the potential impact it can have, how you can recognise it and prevent possible neglect from happening.
We share barriers faced by professionals to reporting abuse and neglect from contacts to Helpline and the Whistleblowing Advice Line.
