1. West of Berkshire LSCB Forum
Neglect - what can we do together locally to tackle this issue?

2. Agenda
09:30 Welcome and house keeping 09:35 Understanding neglect 10:15 Neglect in the eyes of the law 10:30 Case Review/learning from inspection and audit – how can we improve our local response? 11:15 Networking 11:30 Close

3. Understanding Neglect
Working Together defines neglect as:
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment);
Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger;
Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or
Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

4. Neglect – in the eyes of the law
Offences
Child Cruelty (commonly referred to as ‘Neglect’)
Causing/allowing death or serious physical harm
Case Examples
Abandonment by single parent to go to work
Death of child by falling from 1st floor window
Questions

5. Child Cruelty S.1 Children & Young Persons Act 1933
It is an offence for a person aged 16+ (at the time)
who has responsibility for a child under 16
to wilfully
themselves, cause another or procure another to either:
ASSAULT / ILL-TREAT / NEGLECT / ABANDON / EXPOSE
the child under 16 in a manner likely
to cause unnecessary suffering/injury to health
CRUELTY OFFENCE SLIDE
AGES
Offender Age = 16 or over
Victim Age = Under 16
RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility can be temporary, such as babysitters
Several people can have responsibility at a time
PR is presumed responsibility, even when the child is not under their care
WILFULLY
Difficult to prove, not defined by statute
Oxford Dictionary defines it as “done on purpose, deliberate, intentional”
R v Senior 1899 “act done deliberately & intentionally, not accident/inadvertence”
PROCURE
In Law, means to persuade or cause (someone) to do something.
ASSAULT/ILL-TREAT/NEGLECT/ABANDON/EXPOSE
Neglect is an omission to care
To abandon a child means leaving it to its fate
PRESUMPTIONS OF NEGLECT
The accused failed to provide accommodation, food, clothing or medical aid
If the child is under 3, neglect will be presumed if the next three following steps are satisfied:
Child under 3 was in bed with the accused
The accused was drunk or on drugs
Child died from suffocation by the accused
IN A MANNER LIKELY TO CAUSE UNNECESSARY SUFFERING/INJURY *INTENT OFFENCE*
Only necessary to prove person acted in manner likely to cause the suffering/injury

6. Causing/Allowing Death/Harm S
Causing/Allowing Death/Harm S.5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
A child (V) has died or suffered serious physical harm;
As a result of an unlawful act, course of conduct, or omission of a person (D), who was a member of the same household as V and who had frequent contact with V;
There existed at the time of death, a significant risk of serious physical harm being caused to V by the unlawful act of any member of that household and either:
D was the person whose unlawful act caused the death or the harm; or
D was, or ought to have been, aware of the risk, and failed to take reasonable steps (as could be expected) to protect V; and
The death or harm occurred in circumstances of the kind that D foresaw or ought to have foreseen.
CAUSING/ALLOWING OFFENCE SLIDE
INTRODUCTION
Read the offence
Very wordy offence, not going to dwell on it, lots of law; pick out pertinent points
More to highlight there is another offence akin to ‘neglect’ available to Police
IN A NUTSHELL
Imposes a duty on members of a household to take reasonable steps to protect children or vulnerable adults within that household from foreseeable risk of serious physical harm from other household members
LAW POINTS
Unlike cruelty offence, it is a *RESULT OFFENCE*
Requires there to have been a death or serious physical harm
Offender Age = 16 or over
Covers children under 18 and vulnerable adults as victims too
HOUSEHOLD MEMBER
A person does not have to live in the household to be a member of the household
FORESAW RISK
Prosecution must prove that a member of a household foresaw or ought to have foreseen the risk of serious harm from another member of the household
FAILED TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PROTECT
The household member must have failed to have taken reasonable steps to protect
Examples:
Reporting suspicions of abuse to police or other agencies
Prompt treatment of injures
Contacting other ‘outside’ family members or friends with their suspicions
Attending anger management or parenting classes

7. Case Examples Any Questions?
A cruelty offence relating to the abandonment of 4 children so could go to work – evidential difficulties
Fall & death of 18 month old boy from a window, leading to the investigation into circumstances of fall versus poor state of the home – went to an Inquest
Common uniform response jobs
Any Questions?

8. Case Review Swindon Child D
Child D died unexpectedly in March 2015 aged 2 weeks. His mother had slept with him on the sofa. At the time of his death, child D was known to Children’s Services as his older sibling was subject to a child protection plan. No inquest was held as a post mortem examination concluded that his death was due to natural causes.
Read the statement from the mother and maternal grandmother included as part of the SCR.
What are you initial thoughts on the family situation that Child D was born into?
SCR details can be found here:
Or:

9. Case Review
Now read the brief chronology of key events, as taken from the SCR
Has this changed your view of Child D’s situation?
Think about the risk factors for Child D
Can you relate this case to anyone in your case load?

10. Key themes Co sleeping on sofa
Well known to agencies – child protection plans/interim supervision order
Neglect
Maternal ill health
Mothers’ traumatic childhoods/older children in care

11. Learning Gaps in communication – between agencies at all stages
Gaps in assessment
Lack of chronology on social work file
Mother’s mental health
Identity of male partners and their parenting capacity
Viability of grandmother
Identification of capacity to change
Impact of mother’s childhood on parenting
Impact of her lifestyle
Apparent changes taken at face value
False optimism
Mothers/impact on staff
Needy care leaver, distracted by her own needs
Disguised compliance
Impact of traumatic pregnancy and major surgery/effects of strong painkillers

12. Learning Child Protection Processes Escalation Organisational issues
Few core group meetings
Implementation of CP plan not addressed at reviews
Paediatrician not at strategy meeting
No pre birth conference
Escalation
No escalation by
Conference chairs
Health visitor
Community midwife
Organisational issues
Changes of social workers and managers
Health visitor workload/supervision
Workload of safeguarding midwife
Delay in community paediatric assessment
Cover for vulnerable baby when health visitor not available
IT systems

13. Learning from JTAI & Neglect Audit
The Child’s voice
Do we hear the child’s voice in neglect cases?
Do we understand the child’s lived experience of neglect and the long term impact on life chances?
Do we respond to adult needs thus overshadowing the needs of the child
Multi agency planning: A consistent approach - joint decision making and shared responsibility across partners
Are we risk assessing - is our response swift
Do plans and risk assessments adjust to the baby/child’s/young person’s changing development and needs; ensuring children reach milestones and their full potential
The use of multi-agency chronologies to build a picture of the child’s life
Is information shared promptly and of quality
Do we provide challenge where there is drift in professional meetings
Do we escalate to resolve professional disagreements to improve outcomes for children
Are we overly optimistic - are we evidencing sustained change – is there a support network in place
Multi Agency Training/tools
Training across agencies including adult services to identify and understand the impact of neglect
To improve the knowledge, awareness, identification and impact of neglect to safeguard children
Do adult facing services recognise and respond to neglect
Consistent supervision
Learning disseminated from SCR’s and audit

14. What can we do locally?
What changes are necessary in light of these findings?
What recommendations would you make to the Safeguarding Children Boards?
What might be the barriers to making the changes?

15. Resources
DfE Training resources on childhood neglect (handouts): Research in Practice (open access resources available):

16. Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) training event - 07/03/2018
Saving Children’s Lives
Aims: to raise awareness and develop new skills building on the learning from child deaths.
Sudden unexpected death in infants and young children, including safe sleeping recommendations
Safeguarding young people engaging in risky behaviour
Sharing good practice in responding to child death
Purpose and process of CDOP
Taking action to reduce child death
Practical sessions reviewing real cases
Level 3 (Health) safeguarding compliant and evidence of self-development
Details
£30
10am to 4pm on 07/03/2018
Pincents Manor Hotel, Calcot, Reading, RG31 4UQ

17. Networking and Close
LSCB websites: Child Protection Procedures online: