Ofsted praises multi-agency response to neglect

A joint inspection of multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in the area found that most children receive timely and appropriate action to reduce the risk and impact of neglect.

The inspection, conducted by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Probation, and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that the findings of case audits are widely distributed, leading to successful improvements in how all agencies protect children and new developments such as a tool for spotting the neglect of older children.

Professionals from all agencies in the area, including those who work with adults, were found to have a good understanding of neglect and the local processes for identifying and reacting when a child may be at risk of neglect.

The inspection also noted how professionals adapt their approach to the needs of individual children and that a culture of professional challenge between different agencies helps each agency recognise areas for improvement.

Examples of good work included frontline police officers who identify neglected children routinely seeking consent for them to be considered for early help and a school nurse who accompanied a family on a visit to a dentist to ensure the child received dental treatment.

In another case the pooling of information between agencies allowed the identification of a history of neglect of a boy who had been referred to the youth justice service after committing actual bodily harm.

The information allowed the service's co-located mental health worker to work with the boy on his emotional responses in the context of a past of neglect rather than defaulting to treating his behaviour as criminal and taking a traditional anger management response.

However, inspectors also identified several areas for improvement including a lack of clear measures for monitoring progress in plans for children experiencing neglect.