In the child’s time: professional responses to neglect

The findings from this thematic inspection present a mixed picture in respect of the quality of professional responses to neglect. Examples of good practice were identified and in some local authorities professionals have a range of methods and approaches to working with neglect that are making a positive difference for children. However, the quality of professional practice was found to be too variable overall, with the result that some children are left in situations of neglect for too long.
One third of long-term cases examined on this inspection were characterised by drift and delay, resulting in failure to protect children from continued neglect and poor planning in respect of their needs and future care. No children however were found to be at immediate risk of harm at the time of the inspection.
A range of assessment methods are being used in local authorities to work with families where children are neglected. Some of these have a clear evidence base, are highly valued by professionals and enable direct work with families to support strong assessments. There are also some good examples of professionals using a range of indicators to track and monitor the impact of interventions and to measure progress when children are subject to child protection plans. However, such methods are not used in all authorities and the quality of assessments in neglect cases overall was found to be too variable. Almost half of assessments seen either did not take sufficient account of the family history or did not sufficiently convey or consider the impact of neglect on the child. It is imperative therefore that there is learning from good practice to drive improvement in the quality of assessments, planning and the management of risk for children who are neglected.
The practice of engaging parents in child in need and child protection work was found to be a significant challenge to professionals. Parents are likely to have multiple and complex needs of their own and may be very demanding of social work time and attention. In those cases where children were not making positive progress, a common feature was parental lack of engagement. However, only a few multi-agency groups that were involved in child protection planning demonstrated clear strategies for tackling non-compliance.
Most professionals have access to some training on the theme of neglect, yet there is little effective evaluation of its impact, and on this inspection, in many cases seen, the training did not improve the quality of professional practice or the experiences of the children. There is a wealth of research about neglect, but practitioners have limited time to access this knowledge. There was little evidence of the application of specific research to practice.
Local areas visited had difficulty in identifying the prevalence of children in receipt of services for neglect. This is of significant concern. The number of children subject to child protection plans in the category of neglect was known, but will be an underestimation of the extent of neglect. There will be children who are not yet in receipt of a statutory child protection service but who are being offered earlier help and those whose need or protection plans address other more obvious concerns, such as physical abuse who may also be suffering from neglect. Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) did not always fully understand the local prevalence of neglect, and this makes it significantly more challenging to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-agency plans to prioritise and respond to neglect.
Some local authorities can and do make a positive difference to the lives of many children living in situations of neglect. Those local authorities providing the strongest evidence of the most comprehensive action to tackle neglect were more likely to have a neglect strategy and/or a systematic improvement programme addressing policy, thresholds for action and professional practice at the front line.
Urgent and decisive action is needed to address the issues highlighted in this inspection and to drive improvements in practice. The challenge for local authorities and partner agencies is to learn lessons from those cases where professional responses to neglect are timely and effective, thereby providing families with the help they need. Social work professionals in particular must improve the quality of their engagement with, and assessment of families where children are neglected. The cumulative and pervasive impact of neglect on the development of children and their life chances has to be properly addressed if they are to be able to contribute to, and benefit from society as adults and future parents.