What to do if you’re worried about a child’s safety

It’s not always obvious whether a child or young person is being harmed or is at risk of harm. But if you feel that there is a concern, you should speak to someone. It’s better to raise your concerns, rather than ignore them.

Warning signs to look out for

There will be different warning signs to look out for, depending on the type of abuse. We have highlighted a few of the types of abuse that a child may be experiencing, but there are many more types of abuse detailed on the NSPCC website, such as bullying, grooming and child sexual exploitation.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse can include hitting, punching, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating, unsafe handling or inappropriate restraint, and misuse of medication that would cause physical harm.

What to look out for:

• unexplained recurrent injuries, marks or burns
• covering injuries with clothing, even in hot weather
• fear of physical contact and shrinking back if touched

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse can include threats of harm or abandonment, lack of physical contact, humiliation, blaming, bullying (including cyber bullying), controlling behaviour, intimidation, overprotection, verbal abuse, isolation and expectations which are inappropriate for the developmental stage of the child.

What to look out for:

• reduced physical, mental, and emotional development
• constantly putting themselves down, for example, ‘I’m stupid’, ‘I’m ugly’, ‘I’m worthless’
• inappropriate response to pain, for example, ‘I deserve this’

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse is when a child or young person is forced or enticed to take part in sexual activities by an adult or another child. This includes physical abuse such as sexual assault, sexual acts or rape. It may also involve non-physical contact, such as being sent sexually explicit photos or video, porn, or being groomed online.

What to look out for:

• extreme reactions, such as depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, running away, overdoses or anorexia
• personality changes, such as becoming insecure or clingy
• being secretive about who they are talking to and what they’re doing online
• being isolated or withdrawn
• using language or sexual behaviour you wouldn’t expect them to know at their developmental age
• medical problems, such as chronic itching, pain in the genitals or sexually transmitted diseases
• avoiding being alone with, or being frightened of, someone they know

Neglect

Neglect is when an adult fails to meet the physical, and or psychological needs of the child. This could include, not providing adequate food, shelter or warmth. It could also include failure to provide access to health care or ignoring medical needs, and failure to ensure the safety of the child from physical harm or danger.

What to look out for:

• constant hunger or tiredness
• poor personal hygiene and lack of cleanliness (for example, unwashed clothing)
• untreated medical problems
• poor or no social relationships

How to make a report

If you believe that a child, or children, are in immediate danger you must call 999.

If it’s not an emergency, you can call 101 or report a crime to the police online.

If you have concerns but you’re not sure whether to report it, call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, email them at help@nspcc.org.uk or fill in their ‘report abuse online’ form.

You should also report your concerns to your social care team (also known as your local safeguarding team). You can find contact details for your local authority children’s services using our Kinship Compass.

What happens once a report is made

Whoever you contact will decide what to do next, based on the information you have provided. They may need to gather more information in order to decide what the appropriate action is, ask someone else (such as a social worker) to investigate, or they may contact the police if they feel the child is in immediate danger.

If you have reported your concerns to the children’s social care team, they will tell you what happens next. But they won’t be able to share any confidential information with you.