NSPCC launches general election campaign to protect children

The NSPCC has today called on parliamentary candidates to “stand for children” and back a new law to ensure social workers see at-risk children alone.

The law is part of a package of vital child protection reforms the Society wants introduced after the general election.

Diana Sutton, the NSPCC’s head of public affairs, said: “We need to make sure that the next elected government keeps child protection high on its list of priorities. And the public can play their role by letting the politicians know what they want done.”

Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, found that when children are killed or seriously injured, the most significant failure involved professionals not seeing or speaking to children directly. The report also found that professionals too often took the word of parents without considering the effects on the child.

Diana Sutton continued: “A change in the law would emphasise to everyone involved that the child must be seen and heard when concerns are raised. This would help professionals deal with uncooperative, manipulative or hostile parents who try to hide evidence of child abuse or neglect.”

The NSPCC’s I Stand for Children campaign is also calling on candidates to commit to other child protection measures including:

• a better resourced child protection system and ensuring it is better protected from cuts
• better protection for children living with domestic violence
• more therapeutic services for children who have experienced abuse
• continued government funding of helplines for children and adults concerned about a child.