CHILDRENS charity the NSPCC says it is referring an average of four reports of child neglect every week to police in Worcestershire and social services.
In 2016/17 the NSPCC Helpline dealt with 233 reports in this way following calls or emails from concerned adults – the highest number the charity has ever had to handle for the local authority area – up from 104 five years ago.
There were a further 15 contacts where advice was provided about a child possibly facing neglect in Worcestershire during 2016/17.
The county’s children’s services were branded as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted inspectors earlier this year.
UK-wide, the NSPCC Helpline made 16,882 referrals to children’s services or the police in the same period – equivalent to 46 a day – and many cases involved children under five.
Child neglect was mentioned in more than a quarter of all UK calls to the NSPCC Helpline in the last year. This rise shows that more people are willing to speak up about the issue.
Neglect happens when a child’s needs aren’t met and is down to several reasons; they range from parents not having the skills, support or funds, to having mental health issues.
A growing number of people contacting the NSPCC Helpline also described parents as having a problem with alcohol and drugs, with some of them regularly leaving their children unsupervised so they could go drinking with friends
One neighbour told Helpline staff: “The children are home alone again; I saw the mother leave the house earlier this morning and its past midnight now. I’ve seen the children peer through the curtains a few times as if they’re waiting for her.
“She does this every Friday night to go out drinking with her mates. I’m really confused about what to do as I don’t want to ruin the relationship with the mother as we are neighbours but at the same time I am really worried about the children. What should I do?”
These latest figures on neglect cases have been revealed in the NSPCC’s state of the nation report, How Safe are our Children? , and comes as children’s social care in England face unprecedented pressures, with more young people being taken into care, and more families needing support.
However, the NSPCC believes the full scale of the problem could be much greater and is urging the Government to commission a nationwide study that measures the extent of child neglect and abuse in the UK.
Adults can contact the NSPCC Helpline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0808 800 5000, or [email protected]
