We're calling for a national strategy for England on child neglect

We’re calling for a national strategy for England to tackle child neglect, as professionals report that the current response is ‘inadequate and slow’.

83% of those working across healthcare, the police, children’s social care and education said there are not enough services available in England to provide support for children and families experiencing neglect.

We’ve launched a new report – drawing on research findings from a national poll and focus groups with professionals – which reveals there are limited resources, specialised professionals or interventions to help tackle neglect in England.

See the report 

The report also shows that in 2023/2024, neglect was once again the top concern reported to the NSPCC Helpline:

• 20,571 contacts were made by adults worried about the wellbeing of a child
• almost half of these contacts (47%) led to a referral being sent to a local agency.

This is higher than the total for all Helpline child welfare contacts in 23/24, where 34% ended in a referral.

In the report, Too little, too late, the multi-agency response to identifying and tackling neglect, professionals across England said that neglect had been ‘normalised’ in their practice, identifying the cost-of-living crisis and increased poverty as key contributors towards the rise in this problem.

See the report

The new report, which included YouGov polling of 700 professionals working across healthcare, the police, children’s social care and education, also found that:

• 54% of professionals polled said they’d seen an increase in neglect cases during their professional life. Of those who saw an increase, 90% said the rising cost of living and poverty rates was a driving factor and 76% said a reduction in community support to parents was a key factor.
• Around 1 in 5 healthcare workers (18%) and teachers (22%) said they were not very confident about deciding when concerns about neglect should be referred to children’s social care.
• Over 3 in 5 police officers (62%) and half of teachers (52%) polled said they thought children’s social care responded slowly to a neglect referral with the appropriate assessment
• Only 44% of all professionals polled said they felt it was usually within their power to directly help a child who was being neglected.
• 56% of healthcare professionals, police and teachers said they are never or rarely informed of follow up action after a neglect referral is made.
• Less than 5% of teachers and police said they felt that appropriate action following a neglect referral was always taken.

Our call for a national neglect strategy

We want neglect to be treated as an urgent, national crisis. We want the UK government to introduce a national neglect strategy and improved guidance for better tackling neglect, considered alongside plans to eradicate child poverty.

Neglect is the only form of child maltreatment which is defined by its persistence, meaning there is expectation that it must continue for a time before intervention.

We believe that the UK government:

• must focus urgently on tackling neglect as it pushes forward reforms to children’s social care and improvements to multiagency working in England through the upcoming Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
• needs to make sure neglect is considered as part of its plans to tackle child poverty.
• should set out proposals for making education the fourth statutory safeguarding partner.

The government should also be ambitious in its plans to roll out integrated, joined-up family support services that are delivered at the point of need via a single ‘front door’. Aspects of this model are currently being tested through the government’s existing Pathfinder programme but there is an absence of focus on neglect.

See the report