By phone or email
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.
Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.
Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.
Physical abuse is when someone deliberately hurts a child.
Government statutory guidance called Working Together 2018 (see page 106, Appendix A) says physical abuse may involve:
Yes. There are two other forms of physical abuse:
If medical staff think a child may have been physically harmed and on purpose, they may describe this as a possible non-accidental injury. Families might hear this described as NAI for short. Where this type of injury is suspected, children’s services will be informed.
The police will also be informed. This is because if the injury is not accidental, a crime may have been committed. A full investigation into how injury was caused will take place.
Where there is concern child has suffered a NAI, it is highly likely care proceedings will be begin.
If children’s services suspect a child is suffering significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm, they must investigate. This is called making child protection enquiries. A strategy discussion will be held. And this will decide whether children’ services undertake the child protection enquiries, or whether they will do so jointly with the police.
See our Child protection page for important information for families about the child protection process.
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