Safeguarding d/Deaf and disabled children and young people

Introduction

Protecting d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities from abuse

Every child has a right to protection from harm. And every group or organisation that works, volunteers or comes into contact with children has a responsibility to keep them safe.

Children and young people who are d/Deaf or have a disability are at an increased risk of being abused compared with their peers.¹^,² They are also less likely to receive the protection and support they need when they have been abused.

Professionals sometimes have difficulty identifying safeguarding concerns when working with d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities.³ It is vital that everyone who works with d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities understands how to protect them against people who would take advantage of their increased vulnerability.

A child having a disability, being d/Deaf or needing additional support should never stop someone acting on child protection concerns.

Who do we mean by ‘d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities’?

Some children may not identify as being d/Deaf or having a disability, and some may use different language to describe themselves and their needs. You should always ask what terms they would prefer and use these when talking to them.

> Read our Why language matters blog on why we say children who have disabilities rather than disabled children

This information is aimed at professionals and volunteers working with children and young people with a range of very different conditions and identities. This includes children who:

are d/Deaf
have a learning disability
have visual impairment
have a long-term illness
have a physical disability such as cerebral palsy
are neurodiverse, such as being on the autistic spectrum or having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

> Find out more about safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities

Risk and vulnerability factors

Why are d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities at greater risk of abuse?

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities are not a homogenous group. As with all children, the environment and circumstances a child is raised in can impact their wellbeing and everyday lives. The child’s specific disability, condition or identity may also affect the types of risks they are exposed to.¹

However, there are several overarching factors that contribute to d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities being at greater risk of abuse.

Communication barriers

D/deaf children and children who have disabilities are less likely to tell someone about experiencing abuse and more likely to delay telling someone than their peers.²

The reasons³^,⁴ for this might include:

being threatened by their perpetrator
not being able to understand and describe their experiences of abuse
a lack of appropriate support to help disclosure, such as non-talking therapy support.

Children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (including those who are d/Deaf or have a learning disability or physical disability) face extra barriers when it comes to sharing their worries and concerns.

Adults may have difficulty understanding a child’s speech so they may not realise when a child is trying to tell them about abuse.
Adults may not have the knowledge, skills, equipment or resources to communicate with a child, which can make it harder for children to share their thoughts and feelings.
Relying on parents or carers to speak on behalf of their children may pose a risk if the child is being abused by their parent or carer.
Some children haven’t been taught the language they need to describe what’s happened to them. Without this education children can struggle to name and disclose concerns.

> Listen to our podcast on supporting d/Deaf children by putting them at the centre of decision making

Misunderstanding the signs of abuse

It’s not always easy to spot the signs of abuse. In some cases, adults may mistake the indicators of abuse for signs of a child’s disability.

A child experiencing abuse or attempting to disclose abuse may display behaviours which are misinterpreted as part of a child’s disability or health condition rather than an indicator of abuse. This can prevent adults from taking action.
Injuries such as bruising may not raise the same level of concern as they would if seen on their peers. Adults may assume that bruising was self-inflicted or caused by disability equipment or problems with mobility.

Lack of education on staying safe

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities need to be taught about abuse as they may think that the abuse they are experiencing is ‘normal’, especially if they are isolated. Without this knowledge children may not recognise that they are being abused.

Personal safety programmes and relationships and sex education (RSE) are not always made accessible and are not always taught in specialist schools. This can be for a number of reasons:

adults may not always know an appropriate and accessible way to teach children with communication needs about what about is or how to stay safe
lessons may not be taught in a way that makes sense to d/Deaf children or children who have disabilities.⁵ For example, there may be no facilities to include British Sign Language (BSL) or captions
parents and professionals may not think they need to, or may not think it is appropriate to, teach children who are d/Deaf or who have disabilities about sex, or relationships
teachers may feel they need more training about how to deliver lessons to children who are d/Deaf or who have disabilities
schools may not prioritise programmes being taught in a more accessible way.

As a result, a d/Deaf child or a child who has a disability may not know how to recognise abuse or who to tell.

> Find out more about sex and relationships education for children with special educational needs

Increased isolation

Abuse and neglect are more likely to remain hidden when d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities do not have access to someone they trust.

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities may have less contact with other people than their peers because they have:

fewer out of school opportunities and accessible events than their peers
fewer opportunities for spontaneous fun with friends
less access to transport.⁶

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities may also be isolated from the people they usually share their views and needs with if they live away from home in residential settings.⁷

Placements far from home can make it difficult for family to visit regularly.

This means they may have fewer people to turn to if they need help or support.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the Panel) has set out learning and recommendations for keeping d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities safe in residential settings.

> Find out more about our Building Connections service for children experiencing lonelieness

> Read the CASPAR briefing on the Panel’s report.

Dependency on others

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities may have regular contact with carers and other adults for practical assistance in daily living including personal intimate care. This can increase the opportunity for an abusive adult to be alone with a child.

If a child is abused by a carer they rely on, they may be more reluctant to disclose abuse if they have been threatened by their perpetrator or are frightened that speaking out may lead to an end to the support they are receiving.

Lack of appropriate support for children and their families

d/Deaf children, children who have disabilities and their families may have limited access to support systems due to lack of:

support in their local area that is appropriate for the child's physical, emotional or cultural needs
funding to access support.

Caring for a child with little or no support can put families under stress. This can make it difficult for parents and carers to provide the care their child needs and this may result in their children being at risk of harm.

Lack of professional confidence or knowledge

A lack of skills, experience or understanding of a child’s disability can take focus away from the child’s experience and views. This can mean that safeguarding concerns are not recognised and appropriate action is not taken.

Issues which can impact the effectiveness of professional practice include:

completing assessments that focus on needs relating to disability rather than looking at a child's wellbeing more holistically
not understanding or acknowledging the cultural aspects and complexities of being d/Deaf or having a disability
feeling overwhelmed or fearful or a child’s disability
relying on parents or carers to speak for their children, rather than communicating directly with children
believing that d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities don't experience abuse
assuming that a d/Deaf child or a child who has a disability will be an unreliable witness.

> Find out more about safeguarding children who have disabilities by searching the NSPCC Library catalogue

An effective professional response also needs systems in place to enable professionals to put their knowledge into practice. For example, a professional might know that they should use a British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreter, however if there is limited time, no budget and no approved BSL Interpreter used by the organisation, there is a barrier to following best practice.

Intersectionality

Taking an intersectional approach

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities, like all children, have diverse identities. As well as experiencing prejudice or bias related to their disability, they might experience challenges relating to other parts of their identity, such as:

ethnicity
sexuality
gender
mental health
having been in care
where they live, how much money they have and how much access they have to education.

“I have ADHD and have been diagnosed with depression. I’ve been having a hard time at school, which has got worse since I came out as gay. The guys who bully me do it in the playground and online in the evenings when I’m trying to relax. When I get stressed, I make sudden movements and shout out things, which I can’t control. Sometimes I also hurt myself when I act like this.”

Childline counselling session with a boy aged 14

The way these challenges interact is known as intersectionality. It can be difficult for children to cope with this, and it can have a negative impact on their welfare.

For example:

d/Deaf children and children with disabilities from minority ethnic groups, who are refugees, or who are seeking asylum may have additional challenges due to services not being sensitive to their culture and language
d/Deaf children and children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to forced marriage as they may be reliant on families for care and may have fewer opportunities to talk to anyone outside their family about their experience. They also may not have the capacity to consent to marriage and consummation of marriage.

Learning for practitioners: understanding the child

When you’re working with a child, consider all the factors that might influence their safety and wellbeing. Take the time to get to know them, understand their lived experience and how they might face risks due to how others perceive their identity.

You could consider creating safe spaces for children who have similar identities or come from the same community. This might help them talk about their experiences and get peer support.

Find out more about:

Safeguarding policies and procedures

The needs of all children who have disabilities should be incorporated into safeguarding policies and procedures.

Safeguarding policy statements should:

include an equality statement with a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice
recognise the increased vulnerability of d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities to abuse and neglect and the barriers they may face
include additional safeguards to protect d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities
consider the need of d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities in making it easier for them to report abuse to a trusted adult
cover any safeguarding issues that are specific to a child’s disability such as intimate care and safe touch.

> Find out more about writing a safeguarding policy

Intimate care

Children with certain disabilities or medical issues may need help and support with intimate personal care including going to the toilet and washing.

> Find out more about providing safe intimate care

Medication

Some children and young people who have disabilities may need medication. Schools and residential care settings should have a policy in place on administering medication.

A medication policy should cover:

how medicines will be stored
how children will access their medication
how records will be kept of any medication administered or refused
what training those administering medication need to have
how your organisation will receive medicines

You can find specific guidance on administering medication in the legislation and guidance tab.

Where appropriate, children and young people should be encouraged to take responsibility for their own healthcare, including administering medication.

Training

Everyone working with children should receive regular child protection training.

Training should highlight the reasons d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities are at increased risk of abuse and neglect and why additional safeguards are needed to protect them.

It should provide guidance on what to look out for and how to respond early to the needs of d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities.

> Find out more about how our specialist consultants can provide support to your organisation

Direct work

It’s important to understand the additional risks d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities experience and to put in place plans to respond to these.

Recognising abuse

Adults who work or volunteer with children need to be able to recognise the signs that a child may be experiencing abuse.

There are additional signs of abuse or neglect specific to d/Deaf children and children with disabilities that professionals should be aware of so that any concerns can be escalated. This can include:

a parent or carer misusing or misapplying a child’s medication
a parent or carer not providing or withholding treatment
a parent or carer not taking a child to medical appointments or not consistently taking them
a parent or carer not taking their child for regular check-ups in relation to their disability, for example to a district nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist
unnecessary medical procedure/s carried out against a child’s will
teasing or bullying in relation to a child’s disability
a child not being provided with appropriate stimulation and not communicated with.

Assessment and support

Learning from case reviews has suggested a number of ways practice can be improved. Within children with disabilities teams, social workers and social work assistants are managing very complex cases with few resources. Professionals need support and training to assess or understand the needs and support d/Deaf children and children with disabilities.

Professionals should:

be aware of the range of services available to families and d/Deaf children and children with disabilities. Families and children should be referred to these services accordingly
be aware of safeguarding issues for d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities
assess all the needs of the child and their family, not just those related to the child’s disability
assess whether parents understand, and are able meet, the additional needs of their d/Deaf children or children who have disabilities and are signposted to additional support as appropriate.

> Read the learning from case review briefing on d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities

Listening to the child

“I’ve had enough of being the punchline for everyone’s jokes. I don’t get a break from it, when it’s not name calling at school it’s in group chats over the weekend. I’m disabled and use a wheelchair fulltime so it’s bullying about that, it’s ableism. Lately it has made me think of ending my life, just to make it stop. I’ve told teachers, but no one does anything about it.

"Thanks for helping me through this, talking about these thoughts makes me feel better.”

Childline counselling session with a child whose age and gender were not disclosed

Listening to the thoughts and feelings of d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities and taking time to understand a their unique lived experience is an important part of promoting their welfare.

Make sure the child’s voice is heard. Where there are safeguarding concerns, speak to children alone and don’t use parents or carers as sign-language interpreters or spoken language translators.
If a child’s disability means talking about their abuse is difficult or impossible, make every attempt to communicate by other means.
Consider how a child may communicate through their actions. Consider whether distressed or disruptive behaviour is due to the child’s disability or if the child is upset for another reason.
Tailor tools and resources to the child’s needs. Check that the child has understood what you’ve told them and is able to apply it – don’t make assumptions about what they have understood.
Work with children to empower them and help them feel able to speak out if they have any worries.

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice you can direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online or read on the Childline website. d/Deaf children can also contact Childline via Sign Video.

> Watch a BSL film about how to contact Childline using Sign Video (YouTube)

On the Childline website:

> Download our Childline posters

Responding to the needs of the family

d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities may also have d/Deaf parents or carers, or parents or carers who have disabilities. Services must recognise the everyday barriers parents and carers who have disabilities experience and provide accessible support to help them navigate any difficulties.

We've produced leaflets specifically for d/Deaf adults on recognising and reporting concerns if a child is being bullied or abused:

It is important for practitioners to remember that d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities and their families also experience the same difficulties as other families. This may include substance misuse, poverty and domestic abuse.

Information sharing and interagency cooperation

Professionals should have a shared understanding of:

the nature of a child’s disability
the services their family are receiving
the risk of harm.

This information should be used by all agencies to distinguish between disability and child protection issues. For d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities, improved information sharing and interagency cooperation could mean:

designating every family a lead professional to coordinate work across services and provide a single point of contact
practitioners seeking support from other professionals with specialist skills who are more familiar with the nature of a child’s disability
establishing contact needs with partners in health and social care in the area where the child who has a disability lives
embedding specialist services for children who have disabilities within wider support services for children and families.

Communication

Each d/Deaf child or child who has a disability and their family will have their own complexities and needs.

As part of assessing a family’s needs it’s essential to establish the child’s preferred method of communication. They may use:

British Sign Language (BSL)
Makaton
Widgit
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
some signs with speech
speech, lip reading and gestures
flash cards, pictures and drawings.

Establish how the child communicates with their family and others. Find out from the child or young person if they have a trusted adult that they communicate directly with. You might find it useful to create a ‘communication passport’ that sets out the best ways to communicate with the child. This can help everyone working with the child understand the best approaches to use.

There is no ‘ideal’ way to facilitate communication between safeguarding professionals and d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities.

Reflect on your own language limitations and don’t assume you can communicate 'well enough'. Even when a child can use spoken language this may not be the method of communication they’re most comfortable with.
Consider who is best placed to check whether a child protection assessment or discussion requires the presence of a third party, such as a professional to help a child communicate. This depends on the age of the child, their disability and the complexity of the safeguarding concern. Where possible, ask the child what they would prefer.
Always prioritise the child’s strengths, requirements and needs, regardless of whether you’re working with a BSL Interpreter or spoken language translator or not.

By putting children and young people at the centre and involving them in decisions about the best communication methods, we can provide more effective support.

Working with British Sign Language interpreters

Discuss the need for a British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreter with the child and their family. Make sure there is a budget allocated for this and know where to source this as soon as possible if needed.

BSL Interpreters are highly skilled professionals but may not be used to working in safeguarding and child protection situations. You should meet with the BSL Interpreter as part of preparation for a safeguarding meeting or conference with the family. This is to help them understand the issues and make sure they are able to explain all the necessary concepts to the child and their family.

Legislation and guidance

Legislation on safeguarding d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities

Statutory guidance across the UK highlights the responsibility of those in education, community and care sectors to safeguard all children from all forms of abuse and neglect.

The statutory guidance in all nations includes sections on safeguarding children and young people who have disabilities. Find out more about child protection in:

Key legislation and guidance

The key legislation relating to the safeguarding of d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities in England is the Children and Families Act 2014. Part 3 establishes help for children with special educational needs and disabilities, including a single assessment process and personal budgets.

Under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities in England must also safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need. A child in need is a child who is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity to achieve or maintain, a reasonable standard of health and development without any support provided by a public authority. This may include having a disability.

In Northern Ireland, The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 sets out how children in need and their families are supported, including giving information about the assessment of carers of children who have disabilities.

In Scotland, Sections 23 and 24 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 refer specifically to children who have disabilities. The Act requires local authorities to give children who have disabilities the opportunity to lead lives which are "as normal as possible". It also requires local authorities to promote the welfare of children in need.

The Scottish Government has published guidance on supporting disabled children, young people and their families. This guidance includes information and advice on the rights of children who have disabilities, supporting their mental health and wellbeing and child protection (Scottish Government, 2019).¹

In Wales, Section 15 of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 requires local authorities to minimise the effects of disabilities on people who have disabilities.

The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 embeds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Welsh law, including giving children who have disabilities the right to protection, participation and service provision.

Discrimination

In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination against people who have disabilities, requiring service providers to make sure their service is accessible for people who have disabilities to the same standards as people who don't have disabilities.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 provides protection from discrimination against people who have disabilities in Northern Ireland. Schedule 8 prohibits discrimination against people who have disabilities relating to goods and services.

Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities to promote equality of opportunity between who have and don't have disabilities.

Medical care and health conditions

There is guidance on administering medication and providing medical care for schools in each UK nation.

In England mainstream schools should follow the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (PDF).²

Schools in Northern Ireland should follow Supporting pupils with medication needs (PDF).³

In Scotland, the key guidance relating to medication in schools is Supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools (PDF).⁴

In Wales, schools should follow Supporting learners with healthcare needs (PDF).⁵

Special measures for child witnesses who have disabilities

Across all four nations in the UK, there are statutory ‘special measures’ that can be used for the purpose of taking evidence from a vulnerable witness, including children who have disabilities.

These include:

screening the witnesses from the accused
giving evidence by live link
giving evidence in private.

If a young witness has a disability, they may have particular difficulties attending court and giving evidence.

In England and Wales, the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 introduced a range of measures to help children in these circumstances. Section 16 specifies the grounds on which a child may be eligible for assistance.

The Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 makes provision for assistance such as communication for witnesses who have disabilities. The Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 raised the maximum age for eligibility for assistance from 17 to 18.

The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 defines and outlines the provisions for vulnerable witnesses in Section 1.

> Sign up to CASPAR to stay up-to-date with new legislation and guidance