Safeguarding children

What is a child safeguarding policy?

This is a statement which gives details of what an organisation or group will do to keep children safe and how it will respond to concerns. It will list the procedures needed to support this policy.

The difference between child safeguarding and child protection

Child protection is part of child safeguarding. Child protection means keeping children who are being abused, or who are in danger of abuse, safe.

Child safeguarding is a much wider approach. It means actively promoting the safety and welfare of all children.

The responsibilities of safeguarding

All professionals employed by agencies who work with children, and all adults who have parental duties, have a commitment to safeguard children and promote their welfare. In many organisations these responsibilities are legally binding.

What are the types of child abuse?

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is any behaviour towards a child that is likely to cause severe and long-lasting negative effects on the child's emotions. This is often from a parent or carer but can also be from a sibling or other person. There are many forms of emotional abuse, which include:

• Making a child feel that they are unloved, or that they are only valued if they do what the adult wants.

• Expectations of the child that are not appropriate for their age or stage of development.

• Not providing a child with their basic emotional needs, such as feeling loved and safe.

• Not allowing the child to spend time with friends.

• Enabling the child to witness someone else being abused, for example in a case of domestic violence.

• Often causing the child to feel frightened or in danger.

• Bullying.

Neglect

In this type of child maltreatment, there is a failure to provide for a child's basic physical or emotional needs, which is likely to damage the child's health or development. Examples of neglect include:

• Not providing enough food, clothing and shelter.

• Not protecting the child from physical and emotional harm or danger.

• Not providing adequate supervision of a child, such as leaving the child with someone who is unable to look after them properly.

• Allowing a child to get sunburned badly, or to drink a harmful substance due to not supervising them properly.

• Not helping a child to have the medical care or treatment that they need. This includes attending hospital appointments. It also includes not giving them medication which has been prescribed or not taking them to see a dentist about tooth problems, and may include not taking them for their routine immunisations.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is physically harming a child. Examples are:

• Hitting.

• Shaking.

• Throwing.

• Poisoning.

• Burning or scalding.

• Drowning.

• Suffocating.

• Female genital mutilation (FGM).

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or encouraging the child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This may include:

• Sexual contact including rape, or inappropriate touching.

• Non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the making of, sexual images, or making a child watch sexual activities.

• Encouraging a child to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

• Prostitution.

Grooming and county lines

Grooming a child or young person is a scenario where the perpetrator builds a relationship with them so they the can then manipulate them into taking part in inappropriate activities. An emotional connection and trust is built before the perpetrator expects them to start these inappropriate activities. These typically include: having sexual encounters with one or more older men, prostitution, being sex trafficked or being used to transport drugs from area to area (county lines). County lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. It is strongly linked to violent offending, including knife crime and violence against young women and girls.

Fabricated or induced illness

This is a situation where a parent or carer makes up or exaggerates a child's symptoms, or interferes with the child or their medication to make the child ill.

How common is child abuse?

Nobody knows exactly how common maltreatment of children is. It is thought there are many more cases than are known to social services. Surveys of self-reported abuse also indicate that the official figures are a considerable underestimation.

UK statistics are no longer recorded but data are available for each nation.

Between 2018 and 2019, the police recorded 52,339 sexual offences committed against children under 16 years old in England. This rate had increased over the years to 2019, possibly due to more cases being reported, but it is also thought that use of social media has given abusers more opportunity to contact children. In 2022 to 2023 police investigated 100,379 cases with 15,056 of these resulting in some action being taken against perpetrators.

In recent years, the issue of online abuse and sexual grooming has become the focus of attention in the UK. In April 2017, a new offence of Sexual Communication with a Child came into force. There were 4,373 cases in England and Wales in 2019. There were more than 7,000 cases in England and Wales in 2023.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) reports that there were 15,204 recorded offences of cruelty and neglect against children aged under 16 years between 2018 and 2019. This figure was an increase over the preceding years, probably due to an increase in reporting. This number rose to 29,305 between 2022 and 2023 and the NSPCC reports that this number is increasing each year.

In 2024, there were 399,500 children on a "Child in Need" plan in England and Wales (0.9% fewer than in 2023 but 2.6% more than in 2020). There were 49,900 children on a "Child Protection" plan (1.7% fewer than in 2023 and 3.1% fewer than in 2020). There were 621,900 referrals to social services regarding concerns about a child's welfare (2.9% fewer than in 2023 and 3.3% fewer than in 2020).

1 child in every 30 in the UK is considered a "child in need" and 1 child in 240 is on a "child protection plan".

Often people may be worried about getting involved but it is very important that anybody with any concerns should do something about it. Speaking up and reporting concerns helps reduce the number of children being abused.

Signs a child is being abused or neglected

There are many different signs of possible child abuse and these include:

• Bruises or burns in unusual places.

• Changes in the behaviour of a child, such as being aggressive or very withdrawn.

• Unexplained changes in their emotions, such as being depressed or anxious.

• Looking as though they are not being properly looked after, such as being unusually dirty, smelly or hungry.

• Having sexual knowledge or behaviour that is not appropriate for their age.

• Being afraid of a particular adult, or reluctant to be alone with them.

• Being left alone when not old enough to look after themselves or being left with a person who is not suitable to look after them.

These are not the only signs of child abuse and these signs are not always due to child abuse. However any concerns should be discussed.

What should you do if you think a child is being abused?

Listen to the child. If they confide in you, make it clear to them you are taking them seriously and you are going to help them.

Trust your judgement. If you have serious concerns about the welfare of a child, contact the police, social services or in the UK the 24-hour NSPCC Child Protection Helpline (see below).

How to report your concerns

Police

• If you think it is an emergency (the child is at immediate risk of serious harm) then refer the child immediately to the police (call 999/112) and social services for immediate action. Don't put yourself in danger.

• Police may enter any premises and remove a child to a place of safety for 72 hours.

• Police have child abuse investigation units, which normally take responsibility for investigating child abuse cases.

Social workers (local authority social services)

• All local authorities have a social services officer permanently on call (including out of hours) with access to the child protection register. This officer can take referrals if there are concerns about a child.

• The local authority has responsibility for the safety and welfare of children.

The NSPCC

• Is a voluntary organisation authorised to initiate child protection proceedings.

• Has a national child protection helpline (freephone 0808 800 5000) and a children's helpline (Childline, freephone 0800 1111).