Generic Safeguarding Slides
Themes:
Prevalence of Abuse
Neglect
Domestic Violence
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Serious Case Reviews (SCRs)
Hard to Engage
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Voice of the Child
Private Fostering
Prevent
On a full double decker bus seating 70
secondary school children
14 would have been physically attacked by an adult , sexually abused, or
severely neglected at home
3 or 4 would
have been
sexually
assaulted –
either by an
adult or another
child or young
person
7 will have suffered severe
parental neglect at some point
in their childhood.
Lack of care or supervision
which placed a child at risk,
and neglect of emotional
needs was the most common
form of child maltreatment.
5 children would have been physically attacked by an adult, leading to
black eyes, broken bones or other injuries.
Parents were responsible for more than half the violence
Severely abused and neglected children are almost nine times more
likely to be suicidal and almost five times more likely to self-harm
Neglect
• Neglect is a common form of abuse but not an
easy topic and every scenario will be slightly
different
• Recognising neglect relies on using professional
curiosity and early identification of risk factors
• Persistence is essential to work with hard to
engage families
• Accessing early help to support families at the
right time is essential
Domestic Abuse
 Domestic abuse is best summarised as the perpetrator trying to
express power and control over the victim.
 Coercion, intimidation, verbal abuse, denial & blame, physical &
sexual violence . . . these are just a few
 Children as hidden victims or even perpetrators
 Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) & Joint
Screening
 DA is it increasing or is it awareness? Is society less willing to
tolerate and accept DA?
National Picture
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•
•
•
2 women a week killed by partner or ex-partner
30 men a year killed by a partner or ex-partner
Increase in ‘family wipe-outs’
Study of 139 SCR in England 2011 63% of cases were found to have DA as a
risk factor
Coventry Perspective
•
•
•
•
•
•
In 2012 there were 3,337 incidents with a total of 2,843 individual victims
3000 children directly affected by DVA. Under reporting may put the figure
closer to 4-6000.
70% of recorded domestic offences involved physical violence
Overall 34.8% of recorded crime was related to DA
Over the past 5 years a quarter of all murders or attempts related to DA
In Coventry 2012 5 murders 1 due to DA.
Child Sexual Exploitation
• Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual
abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes
advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or
deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into
sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs
or wants, and / or (b) for the financial advantage or increased
status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have
been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears
consensual. Child Sexual Exploitation does not always
involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of
technology.
(Department for Education 2017)
• Blame language should never be used when discussing a
victim of CSE.
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
• Barnardos recognises all young people are vulnerable to
sexual exploitation
• However, some groups of young people are more
vulnerable than others including:
• Children in care
• Children excluded from mainstream schools
• Young people who are experimenting with drugs and alcohol
• Young people who have a history of childhood abuse
• Young people who have experienced or witnessed domestic
abuse
• Remember CSE can happen to any child
Child Sexual Exploitation
 A key difficulty is that often victims themselves do not
recognise or acknowledge that they are being exploited
 Some possible signs include:
 Going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late;
 Regularly missing school or not taking part in education
 Appearing with unexplained gifts or new possessions (often new
mobile phone)
 Associating with other young people involved in exploitation;
 Having older boyfriends or girl friends;
 Suffering from sexually transmitted infections;
 Mood swings or changes in emotional wellbeing
 Drug and alcohol misuse
 Displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour
Serious Case Reviews (SCRs)
• A serious case review is a local enquiry into the death or serious
injury of a child where abuse or neglect are known or suspected.
• Commissioned by the local safeguarding Children Board and
undertaken by police, health, social care, education – and is
independently chaired.
• Each agency will have a designated individual who will write an
individual service specific report, from files and interviews and any
available records e.g. accident logs, behaviour logs. These
individual reports are then used by the independent chair to create
the final report.
Frequent Underlying Themes
• Domestic violence present in 63% of cases.
• Mental ill health 58%
• Alcohol 27%
• Drugs 29%
• The Toxic Trio are common indicators. However, professionals
should be mindful of emotional abuse and on-going neglect as
contributing factors
Frequent (National) Professional Recommendations
• Hard to engage families
• Need for safeguarding training
• Absence from meetings
• Poor information sharing
• Poor quality record keeping
• Lack of professional challenge
Hard to Engage
• Consider your approach and communication
• Practical considerations eg. visit at a different
time of day / link with a colleague who has
engaged
• Share difficulties with colleagues, find out what
works for them
• Remember to keep the focus on the children –
assess the risk
• Don’t give up, keep a firm hold on the situation
and escalate if needed
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
• “FGM is a form of child abuse and violence against women and girls,
and therefore should be dealt with as part of existing child and adult
protection structures, policies and procedures”. Multi-Agency
Practice Guidelines :FGM DOH.
• FGM should be on everyone’s radar. Professionals and volunteers from all
agencies have a statutory responsibility to safeguard children from being
abused through FGM.
• If FGM is identified in a under 18 year old it must be reported to the Police
via 101 and usual safeguarding procedures followed.
• All agencies should work in partnership to ensure services are accessible,
acceptable and sensitive and avoid as far as possible stigmatising the child
or practising community but remembering that the safety and welfare of
the child is paramount.
The Voice of the Child
• Never underestimate the importance of seeing, observing and
hearing the child
• Be curious and concerned about young people who appear to
be struggling and understand the barriers that children are
facing
• Ask direct questions appropriately
• Just because they cannot talk does not mean they cannot
communicate, think about the meaning of behaviours you can
evidence, do not just listen to the adult who can be heard
• Listen to them and give them a voice
Private Fostering
• Private arrangement
• Overall responsibility for safeguarding remains with the
parent or carer with parental responsibility
• Made for the care of a child under 16 years (under 18 if
disabled)
• Carer someone other than parent or close relative
• Longer than 28 days
• Period for which child is cared for and accommodated is
continuous
• If private fostering placement is identified referral to
Children’s Social Care