‘Mission-led’ government must centre vulnerable children, says safeguarding review panel
by Jess Gibson
The government must ensure that at-risk children are at the heart of strategies to break down barriers to opportunity, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has stated in its latest annual report.
The call comes as the independent panel reveals that 485 children were affected by serious child safeguarding incidents (when a child dies or is seriously harmed, and abuse or neglect is known or suspected) between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
The Annual Report 2023 to 2024 highlights three specific themes: safeguarding children with mental health needs; safeguarding children from risks outside the family home; and safeguarding pre-school children with parents who have mental health needs.
The report highlights that over half of incidents where the death or serious harm of a child aged one to five occurred involved a parent or relevant adult with a mental health condition, with reviews highlighting that parental mental health was often overlooked as a potential risk factor when considering parents’ capacity to care for their children.
As the new progresses through parliament, the panel is calling for greater measures to support effective partnership working between adult mental health services and children’s services.
Maria Neophytou, interim CEO at the NSPCC, said: “It is always deeply disturbing to see how many children have died or been seriously harmed as a consequence of abuse and neglect in the last year.
“This report acts as a powerful reminder of the tragic consequences when children’s best interests are not placed at the heart of the decisions that directly affect them, whether by frontline safeguarding partners in health, children’s social care or policing, or by government officials and policymakers.
“To deliver on its commitment to ‘raise the healthiest generation of children ever’, the new government must take a joined-up approach to transforming childhoods and tackling abuse and neglect. They can do this by ensuring vital, early help services are more widely available to support families before problems escalate to crisis point and children are harmed.
“It’s also crucial that children and young people experiencing, or at risk of, harm receive a swift, effective, child-centred response from the professionals and agencies that can protect them and support their recovery. That way, more babies, children and young people will be safe and able to grow up healthy and free from the horrific abuse and harm that can damage or even destroy their lives.”