Will a child protection process begin if there are concerns a child is being neglected?

This will depend on the precise situation. But if children’s services suspect a child is suffering significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm as a result of neglect (or another reason), then they must investigate. This is called making child protection enquiries.

When children’s services make child protection enquiries they aim to:

• Gather information about the child and their family
• Assess the family’s situation
• Decide whether they think the child is suffering ‘significant harm
• Decide whether they think the child is likely to suffer significant harm
• Decide whether they should take any action to keep the child safe and promote their welfare.

Where enquiries show a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm, an initial child protection conference must take place. This is a meeting arranged by children’s services. It decides whether a child should be placed on a child protection plan.

The child protection conference decides:

• Whether a child protection plan needs to be developed to keep the child safe and well
• The date for any future child protection review conference.

If the conference decides a child protection plan is needed then an outline plan should be put together. This plan should:

• Identify the things that are likely to cause harm to the child
• Identify how the child can be protected from those things
• Ensure the child is kept safe, well cared for and is prevented from suffering further harm
• Support the parents or carers and their wider family to keep their child safe and well cared for.

See our Child protection page for more information about the child protection process.