Context

Neglect: Effects, prevalence and complexity

The Guidance for Trainers accompanying the DfE training materials identifies several key reasons for the importance of improving practice in relation to childhood neglect. These include:

• the longer-term damaging effects of early neglect in the teenage years
• the damaging effects of neglect that begins in the teenage rather than the early years
• the high proportion of children who are the subject of a child protection plan because of neglect and the even larger overall number who suffer neglect, many of whom don’t figure in the statistics
• the complexity surrounding neglect – e.g. its nature and causes; the interaction between social and economic disadvantage and parental circumstances and characteristics; differing values; and organisational impediments.

These are in addition to the known gap between evidence of the immediate, cumulative and longer-term damaging effects of neglect and aspects of practice that do not adequately support children and families to address causes and effects.

DfE training materials

The DfE training materials were developed to help practitioners and managers work together effectively to support and protect children affected by neglect. They are informed by principles that underline:

• the role all practitioners in contact with children have in recognising neglect
• the importance of thorough assessment and planning, and effective intervention
• the damaging effects of neglect on children’s immediate and longer-term health and development
• the support required to address family, environmental and structural factors that affect parental capacity
• the risk of practitioner drift.

This resource

This resource provides trainers with a choice of 16 training courses that use components of the DfE training materials on neglect, covering a range of:

• audiences
• aspects of neglect and practice issues
• duration, from a half day to two days.

The courses are flexible in that they:

• offer opportunities for trainers to tailor them to the needs of different audiences
• provide a model for how the DfE materials can be used as building blocks to develop courses for different audiences.

Read more about the DfE training materials and how this resource uses them in Using this resource.