Parental mental health problems are not in themselves a child safeguarding concern. However, case reviews show that without the right support a parent with poor mental health can sometimes struggle to provide safe and loving care for their child.
The learning from case reviews highlights that professionals from adult and children’s services need to work together to safeguard children when there are signs that a parent’s mental ill-health is impacting their ability to look after their child.
This briefing is based on case reviews published between 2016 and 2022, where the mental health problems of parents were a key factor.
Our series of thematic briefings highlight the learning from case reviews conducted when a child dies, or is seriously harmed, as a result of abuse or neglect. Each briefing focuses on a different topic or learning for specific sectors, pulling together key risk factors and practice recommendations.
We work with local safeguarding partners to ensure that learning from case reviews can be accessed and shared at a local, regional and national level.
Find out how you can apply the lessons from case reviews and improve your practice to help protect children and young people.
Browse through our list of child safeguarding practice reviews, serious case reviews, significant case reviews and child practice reviews which were added to the National case review repository between 2019 and 2023.
Subscribe to our monthly email newsletter alerting you to the case reviews we have added to the National collection of case reviews repository at the NSPCC.
Advice on how the mental health of parents and carers can impact on a child’s wellbeing. Find out what works to support families where one or more parents or carers have a mental health problem.
This podcast looks at NSPCC’s two services, Pregnancy in Mind and Baby Steps, and how they support parents with their perinatal mental health problems.
Work with children and families? Our information looks at risk and vulnerability factors that help identify whether children or families require extra support to help keep children safe.
