Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership

Parenting & carer issues

Problems such as poverty, drug or alcohol addiction or mental health issues can overload our capacity to care for children and can lead to a child being abused or neglected.

That's not to say difficult circumstances inevitably lead to abuse, or that abuse can ever be excused. But these circumstances do make it more likely to happen. By giving families the right support at the right time – from counselling or good foster care to a helping hand from a neighbour – we can help them manage these problems and give a child a more stable platform to grow up. (NSPCC)

Research has highlighted strong associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE's) and poor health and social outcomes for adults through the course of their life. The experiences will vary but they will include:

• direct harms such as neglect and physical, verbal and sexual abuse
• indirect harms including exposure to domestic abuse, parental separation or divorce, or living with someone affected by
  mental illness, substance abuse, or who has been incarcerated. (Bellis et al, 2014).

The Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership (SCSP) has created a number of resources to support agencies and practitioners to work with parents and carers to assess and support their care of children and young people.

SCSP fact sheets:

• Uncooperative families

• Children from abroad

SCSP policies and protocols:

• Hard to engage families: working effectively with resistance, hostility or disguised compliance

• Engaging with Fathers, Male Partners or Carers

• Concealed Pregnancies

• Dangerous Dogs and Safeguarding Children

• Persons, Volunteers / Carers Identified as Posing a Risk to Children

 Research:

• Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don't know, and what should happen next, Early Intervention Foundation 2020

• Adverse Childhood Experiences, British Psychological Society

National resources:

• Early Action Together ACEs Learning Network

E-Learning:

• Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences Early Trauma Online Learning, Home Office

• Safe sleeping for babies

• Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences. National Working Group 

Other relevant information can be found on this website here: Information and resources or in the index on the left side of this page.

If you are concerned about a child or young person, follow this link: Referring a safeguarding concern to Children’s Social Care