The fourth annual report from the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel looks at the child safeguarding system, based on serious child safeguarding incidents across England, occurring between January 2022 and March 2023.
It sets out patterns in practice for national government and local safeguarding partners to better protect vulnerable children.
There are specific areas and themes which frontline practitioners should always consider from this report, to improve their practice when working with children and families across Leeds.
National themes identified within the report
Racial, ethnic, and cultural identity
Practitioners should always give consideration to racial, ethnic, and cultural identity, that might impact on the lived experience of children and families. Analysis has shown that race, ethnicity and culture and their importance for understanding the lived experience of children are not always being explored within reviews.
To support practice improvement on safeguarding children who come from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities see the NSPCC website for further information.
Please see your own organisation's equality, diversity and inclusion policies and training.
Whole family approach
Practitioners should recognise the importance of a whole family approach to risk assessment and support. The absence of a whole family approach was evident across many of the reviews with services often focused on one specific family member, most often the mother or the child who was the focus of the review.
In Leeds we encourage all those that work with children and families to always use the Think Family Work Family approach.
Recognising and responding to the vulnerability of babies
The most prominent issues that emerged centred on the challenges practitioners face when exploring the vulnerability of babies with parents and wider family, and whether and how they recognise contextual factors, such as parental mental health and trauma, when assessing risk to babies.
Parental mental health does not necessarily adversely impact children’s development, but needs to be taken into account when working with families. See Considering the Impact of Parental Mental Health tool kit for guidance to help aid your thinking, be reflective and gain a picture of parental mental health and potential impact on risk to children and young people.
The Compassionate Leeds: Trauma-Informed Practice Information Hub is a place for all who work with children, young people and families in Leeds to find out more about compassionate and trauma-informed practice.
Also see the NSPCC website for information on Parental mental health.
Domestic abuse, parental mental health problems and harm to children
Limited understanding of domestic abuse among practitioners was notable in reviews, which is affecting their ability to respond in a timely and appropriate way.
For further information including training and development opportunities see domestic abuse in the Safeguarding Topic section.
Keeping a focus on risks outside the family
The report continued to see examples of practitioners focusing on a child’s challenging behaviour rather than seeing this as a potential sign of child exploitation.
Children may face risks from outside their families, that may make them vulnerable to abuse or exploitation. These extra-familial threats might arise at school and other educational establishments, from within peer groups, or more widely from within the wider community and/or online. They can take a variety of different forms and children can be vulnerable to multiple threats, including: exploitation by criminal gangs and organised crime groups such as county lines, trafficking, online abuse and sexual exploitation.
See the section on Child Exploitation for information and resources aimed at supporting practitioners who are working with children and young people who may be at risk of exploitation.
Six emerging themes are also introduced. These relate primarily to specific groups of children and families:
- Parenting capacity and children with disabilities and health needs. Themes relating to parenting capacity of children with these types of needs, and how these can be compromised by ecological factors. It was noted that, where practitioners’ primary focus is on the child’s health condition or needs, there is a risk that abuse and neglect go unnoticed.
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Children with complex mental health needs. There was a high prevalence of mental health conditions for teenagers identifying as being LGBTQ+ and those recorded as having a gender identity different to the sex registered at birth or being non-binary. A significant proportion of teenagers with reported mental health conditions were also recorded as experiencing alcohol and/or substance misuse. Suicide was also notable as cause of death for nearly half of those teenagers with mental health conditions who had died, and all of whom were known at the time or previously to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
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Parental mental health and parenting capacity. It was noted that this could be overlooked, highlighting a need for practitioners to assess parents’ awareness of their child’s needs. When parental mental health is not fully considered services can also overlook the viability and practicality of parenting arrangements and safety plans. Parents struggling to meet the expectations within plans can then be framed as neglectful rather than as evidence of parents feeling that the demands of them from some agencies are overwhelming.
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Children not in school. The latest analysis demonstrated difficulties with a lack of suitable placements and support for children with complex needs and stretched resources within special educational needs services. Case reviews continue to show that too many children spend long periods of time outside of formal education as a result. It is during these periods that some children have died or experience serious harm.
If a practitioner is working with a family and becomes aware that a child is not accessing appropriate education, they should explore this with the family to identify any barriers. If you require further support see Children Missing from Education.
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Young carers. Agencies did not always recognise this role for children and the impact this has upon them. These children can be providing crucial support for their parents or other adults, sometimes where they have substance misuse problems, mental health needs or where domestic abuse is present, all which impact on their own capacity to support their children.
For further information and sign posting to support services see Young Carers information on the LCC website.
- Working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. This theme highlights the importance of exploring the impact of cultural identity and community factors on individual children and families. Cultural barriers could mean that traditions and parenting approaches of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, as well as those of other ethnic and cultural groups, were not always understood by services and their impact rarely assessed or analysed.
For further information and sign posting to support services see the One minute guide: Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) Outreach and Inclusion Team.