Neglect

Under its strategy to 2016 the NSPCC will focus on providing distinct activities where it can maximise impact.

As part of the development of these services seven areas of child abuse will be prioritised: Neglect; physical abuse in high risk families; sex abuse; children under one; children with disabilities; children from black and minority ethnic communities and children in the care system.

Everything we learn from working in these areas will be used to create a cycle of improvement and will help us work with other organisations and individuals to help end cruelty to children.

Why is the NSPCC focussing on neglect?

Child neglect is one of the most common forms of child abuse. It features in one in five incidents of serious injury or death.

Neglect is the failure to provide a child with adequate care and attention or to meet their basic needs for food, warmth, safety, education and medical care. It is always a sign of serious underlying problems. Neglect has been linked to parental problems such as mental health, drink or drug abuse, domestic violence, or situations where children live in conditions of poverty and deprivation.

However, there is no clear threshold (the national ‘threshold’ is significant harm) for child neglect and research shows that professionals struggle to identify and respond robustly to the problem. A child deemed to be at risk of harm in one part of the UK may not be considered at risk in another.

Government guidance suggests that children who are neglected have to suffer ‘corrosive’ abuse before formal intervention can take place and that neglect has to be persistent before a care order is made. The current legal and policy framework encourages an approach of waiting for neglect to persist before intervening.

The NSPCC is campaigning to make sure that professionals understand how to take the right action at the right time to prevent children being subjected to long-term neglect. We believe the government should encourage agencies to use clear timelines to promote improvement in care before considering action to remove a child to safety.

Key facts and figures:

• Neglect is the primary reason for 46 per cent of children having a child protection plan and is present in 21 per cent of cases of serious injury or death in England alone.
• Between 2005 and 2009 the number of children placed on child protection registers for neglect rose from 11,400 to 15,800.
• Between 2008 and 2009 the police handled 6,184 cases, a three-fold increase compared to 2000 and 2001.
• In 2008/09 the NSPCC Helpline received a record number of calls, 6,593, from people concerned about a neglected child. Of these reports 3,379 were serious enough to be referred to social services.
• Research has found that 6 per cent of young adults experienced serious absence of care at home during childhood, 18 per cent experienced some absence of care and 20 per cent less than adequate supervision. 
• Latest figures show around 15,800 children in England are subject to a child protection plan for neglect, more than any other category of abuse. It’s a problem that features in nearly half of these plans, with the figure having risen 39 per cent from 2005 to 2009.