Child neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment in the UK and its impact reverberates across society. Not only can neglect have devastating and sometimes fatal consequences for children, it can in turn impact on the ability of those children to become the best possible parents for the generation to come.
Currently, children's social care operates as our main line of defence. But children's social workers are a small workforce and local authority funding is decreasing. At the same time, we are seeing demand increase and referrals to children's social care rise (see graphics).
The "identify and refer" model of child protection is not sustainable and nor should it be - safeguarding is everyone's business and we need to put that rhetoric into practice, finding more effective ways to get help to children as early and efficiently as possible.
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