A Practical Guide To Recognizing Child Safeguarding Risks

A child can look “fine” right up until the moment everything becomes undeniable, and that gap is where safeguarding lives. I walk through what we mean by safeguarding risk, why risk is not the same as proof, and why most of us should focus on noticing patterns and sharing concerns rather than trying to diagnose harm. Using the NSPCC definition, I anchor the conversation in a practical, real-world way of thinking about safety, welfare, and healthy development.

From there, I break down supportive factors that can reduce danger and aggravating factors that can quietly raise it, especially when addiction, domestic abuse, or mental health struggles shape a child’s environment. We also name the core categories of safeguarding risk: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation. I spend time on how neglect can build over time and why exploitation including county lines is often the end of a longer trajectory where earlier signs were missed or minimized.

Finally, we talk about vulnerability, behavioral indicators, child-on-child harm, and digital risks like online grooming, cyberbullying, and online spaces that promote self-harm or risky behavior. The key question I keep returning to is simple: where is this going? If something feels off, you do not need the perfect label to act. Listen, share this with someone who works with children, and if it helps, subscribe, leave a review, and tell me what warning sign you want adults to take more seriously.

Transcript

Welcome Back And Series Aim

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the second episode in the series entitled The Safeguarding of Children. In the first episode, I gave an overview of procedure and policy, some information about the historical context, and talked about the ways in which services have a duty of care, as do we all, in the safeguarding of children. Now I think what's important is to have an understanding of what do we mean by risk? What are the sorts of things that we see, the sorts of things we learn about which alert us to the possibility of risk? I think it's important to add that it is not our job to say that a risk is definitely present unless we're suitably qualified to say so. Our job is to communicate our concerns and to let those who are in a position to make such come to such a conclusion have the information that they need in order to define accurately what the risk might be. The other thing that I want to say is that sometimes, and as I indicated in the first episode, sometimes risk, even identified risk, can be can be dealt with through what we call supporting factors. And supporting factors may very well be putting things in place which reduce the risk. And there are a number there are a number of things which one might regard as potentially supportive factors, but then we can't think about supportive factors without being aware of aggravating factors. An example is a girl who was self-harming and who was frequently drinking and putting herself at risk. And whilst it was the case that her mother was diligent in her care for the child, so that was a supportive factor. It was also the case that her father was somebody who had a serious alcohol addiction, and that of course is an aggravating factor, because if a member of the family is suffering with a mental health disorder, the likelihood and the possibility of increasing risk, not least of which emotional harm, becomes greater. So as you can probably tell by now, there are a number of factors involved. But I think the central point I was making was it is not our job, essentially, to say this is a nailed-on safeguarding concern and requires action. Our task is to refer it to those who can make that kind of judgment. Now, that doesn't in any way mean that we can neglect our responsibilities. It just means that we don't have the burden of having to having to make such definitions. The NSPCC is probably the most well-known organization, the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and they were around long before safeguarding protocols were introduced. However, they are now, I think, a leading light in terms of safeguarding understanding and action and are responsible for providing many training courses to professionals. So here is a definition from them of what a safeguarding risk is. And they say that any action, omission, or circumstance that jeopardizes a child's safety, welfare, or development potentially causing significant harm. It includes abuses such as physical, emotional, sexual, neglect and exploitation, and requires proactive identification to prevent harm rather than just reacting to it. Now there are a number of different types of actions and situations that we call the core types of safeguarding risks. The first of these is physical abuse, and that's deliberate acts causing injury, including hitting, shaking, burning, or poisoning. Then we have emotional abuse, which is the persistent maltreatment, threats, bullying, or rejection causing a child to feel unloved or worthless. Now, what I would say where this is concerned is when there is emotional or domestic abuse within the family, the risk of emotional harm to the child is significant. And this is something that I come into contact with quite a lot, and have on occasion been required to give evidence in proceedings where there is evidence of emotional abuse. This is fortunately something that has become much more well understood and taken more seriously. Then we have, of course, sexual abuse, which is the forcing or enticing a child or young person into sexual activity, including online exploitation or exposure to pornographic materials. Neglect is best described as an ongoing failure to meet a child's basic needs. That could be shelter, food, hygiene, medical care or supervision. Interestingly, a case that I'm involved in is one where there is emerging evidence that there is an avoidance of clinical care for a child who clearly needs it and looks very much to me as if that's that that one will be uh running its course. But the point here is that neglect is something which is very often it's visible, but quite often it won't it won't be something that's immediate, it'll be over time. And then we think about child exploitation, trafficking, county lines involvement or being forced into criminal activity. And this is more and more concerning with children and exposure to drugs and alcohol. And quite often we see cases where certainly the more disenfranchised children become involved with others where part of the the culture of that group will include things like drugs, and of course, this makes them prime targets for county-lined activity, and they will be they will be preyed upon by those who want to distribute the drugs. But what comes with that are additional criminal activities. So we might see theft, we might see physical acts of physical aggression or violence, the the the whole range of possible outcomes are there. And with those sorts of cases, one of the questions I always ask is how did it get to this point? Because it's not an overnight thing. What were the signs? Were the signs recognized that if they were, then who didn't join the dots and why? Because we are here now, not by accident, but this is a consequence. So child exploitation, trafficking, etc., you know, these are very serious things and place children on a trajectory where it isn't just social services who are involved, but it will be the police, the courts, and the possibility of different sorts of outcomes, including things like incarceration for young offenders. We also have to think about those things that increase risk. So things like children living in environments where there are maybe that they themselves may have disabilities, they may be in looked after, they may be in care, which means they have a looked-after status, or they could be very young. The vulnerability, of course, is that in each of those categories, we're talking about children who are, for whatever reason, not as robust as they might be. So we have a protective responsibility there. Then we think about other factors that increase risk. So environment is really important. So when we have environments where domestic abuse is concerned, that is, as I mentioned earlier, that is very much regarded as an increasing risk factor. Also, when we have things like parental substance misuse, whether that's alcohol or drugs, and indeed if the young person is abusing alcohol or drugs, and if there are other children, then what is the risk to them? Is it the case that they too might be at risk of something? And I think sometimes people may not automatically realize that if one child or young person is abusing drugs or alcohol, there is very likely to be an effect on other children, and this is a significant risk increasing component. The other things are behavioral indicators, so things like drastic changes in behavior, unexplained injuries, a chronic lack of supervision or sexualized behaviour that's inappropriate for the age of the child. These are indicators of risk. They do not in and of themselves constitute definite risk, but we we pay serious attention to them. Some key concepts to remember risk versus incident, safeguarding focuses on the risk of harm and only when abuse has already occurred. Now this is important in as much as the there is there are signs which indicate risk. And so here the the focus on the risk of harm isn't just when abuse has already occurred, it's when it hasn't yet occurred. So I'm just correcting myself there. Because what we're seeing is, and a question I ask when I think in my trajectory-oriented fashion, the question I always ask is where is this going? This is where we are now. Where is this going? Where's the risk? So just because something hasn't happened yet, I have to ask the question, is this a possibility? And that's prevention, it's good practice. So we do have to take a view not just about what is happening, but where it's going, what could happen. We also have to look at child-on-child abuse, risks that can arise from other children or peers. This is an interesting area because the sort of overall term of bullying doesn't quite cover it. So we have to be aware of the fact that to use the word perpetrators sounds a bit strong, but the cause of the risk, the parties responsible may also be children. Digital dangers are very well publicized, and we know a good deal about the kinds of risks that may be involved there. Things like online grooming and cyberbullying are significant modern risks. However, I would add to that those groups and those sites that promote self-harm, suicidality, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, exposure to pornographic materials. And this is these things have a significant effect on the mental health of children. If you have a depressed fourteen-year-old in her room who is disconnected, feels disenfranchised, is underfunctioning in every respect, she can go online and she can find others who may be in similar situations, and those others may be encouraging her to cut herself because that's what they do. It's alarming, it's very alarming. Nonetheless, this is the real world that we live in, and we have a responsibility to be aware of the possibility of risk. Now I think the signs of risk can really be confusing. It can be that a child withdraws, it can be that a child takes a particular interest in an activity which previously was not something they were involved in, but also something which was something which isn't quite right. So what we have to be alert to is what are the changes. I think sometimes these things may be seen as phases that are happening. We may not realize that there's a lot more to it. I mean, one of the things I very often encounter when I see parents for first consultation or take a case history is I might I might say, in fact, on our triage information where we're seeking information, we ask, are you aware of your child having access to or taking drugs and alcohol? And I will probably pick this up regardless of the answer. I'll pick it up in the first consultation. And most parents will say, I don't think so. Some will say, definitely not. There's an and I I would know, and I think, uh-huh, okay. And then they say, We have got a we've got a very close relationship, and they they they tell me everything, and that includes things like self-harm. No, it's not happening. I I would know. And maybe that's true, however, there are times when I then see the child or the young person and I ask them, and I get a very different picture, and then I have to do something with that, and parents are often shocked that actually their son or daughter has been involved with alcohol, drugs, they may be self-harming, they may put themselves at risk. It doesn't automatically mean I'm going to make a safeguarding referral. But what it means is we we don't know. We we might do, but we also have to be again alert to the signs. Is and it isn't, is my child at risk? The question is, is my child okay? And is what's happening telling me something? And where this is concerned, you don't have to come up with a specific answer if you it be all you have to do is make a call, talk to the teacher, talk to the school, and share your observations. It doesn't mean that it will automatically result in some kind of action, but what it does do is keeps us aware and alert. And if you remember in the first episode, I talked about the systemic failures when people didn't intervene, people didn't voice, and the consequences. So again, another perhaps tough episode to listen to. But I think it's important to actually describe and to name what we mean by risks. What are the risks? And anybody wanting more information, contact the NSPCC or indeed your area local authority safeguarding team. Each of them has a website. It is possible to ask for guidance, which I would strongly encourage. It doesn't mean that there will be an automatic safeguarding action, but you can gain clarity talking to people who understand these things. I'm going to go more into this in the next episode, looking at the so what do we do? How do we do it? Because I think a series like this is only going to be helpful if it actually points towards, so we understand what safeguarding is. We understand what the signs of risk might be. Now let's talk about. So what do you do next? Thank you for listening. I'll be back shortly.