Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership

Neglect is when a parent or carer doesn’t meet the basic physical and/or emotional needs of their child. Children who are experiencing neglect often go without the essential things they need to keep them happy, healthy and safe – things like nutritious food, good hygiene, a safe place to live, adequate clothing, medical care, education and love and affection.

Neglect is the most common form of child abuse in the UK and the most common reason for a child to be subject to a Child Protection plan. Neglect can have a significant and long lasting impact on children. It is better to respond to neglect at an early stage, but it can be difficult to identify and assess. This means that neglect is often missed or noticed at a much late stage where it is harder to intervene.

How will BSCP reduce and prevent neglect in Birmingham?

• Childhood neglect is one of BSCP’s key strategic priorities. A new Neglect Strategy was launched in September 2022. This sets out the multi-agency commitment to addressing neglect as soon as a need is identified. Read the Birmingham Neglect Strategy 2022-26: Working Together to Build Strong Family Foundations.
  Short on time? We have also created a one-page summary.
• The annual BSCP Practitioner Conference 2022 focused on Neglect and how agencies can work together to prevent this. Watch the conference presentations.
• A Practitioner Toolkit has been developed to provide guidance and support for those working with children and families in the city. The Toolkit includes practical tools and strategies as well as links to other resources. This includes the Neglect Screening Tool, which should be used in all cases where neglect is suspected and will aid practitioners in deciding whether a Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) tool should be completed.