295.44 kB
Literature review
- Black and minority ethnic issues
- Children and disability
- Health
- Education
- Children living at home
- Children living away from home
- Children and the justice system
- Children seeking asylum
To inform and support the current report, the safeguards review steering group requested a brief search for 'safeguards' literature that emerged between the publication of the 2002 Joint Chief Inspectors' Report, and December 2004.
The search is based on a broad definition of safeguarding for children and young people, and paid particular attention to the following groups / children and young people in special circumstances, as highlighted in the first Joint Chief Inspectors' Report:
- Disabled children and young people
- Children and young people living away from home
- Children and young people in the judicial system
- Children and young people seeking asylum
- Black and minority ethnic children and young people
As such, you may find the references useful. Wherever possible, web links have been provided, although some will be indirect. Users should be aware that web access to some references requires subscription or other payment.
NB When searching for safeguards evidence, users will find several resources a useful starting point.
eg. Social Care Online (http://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/) from the Social Care Institute for Excellence, and Research in Practice (http://www.rip.org.uk).
Black and minority ethnic issues
001
Topic: Trafficking
Reference: Somerset, C. (2004) 'Cause for concern? London social services and child trafficking'. ECPAT.
Key points: Findings of a three-month analysis of unaccompanied children entering Heathrow Airport last year. The multi-agency study recommends safeguards to increase the protection of children entering the country, including new ports safeguarding teams. The report identified 1,738 children travelling unaccompanied into the UK for education, holidays or to see relatives. The vast majority of these children were travelling legitimately and safely, but a small minority could be at risk of abuse or exploitation. The report highlights an urgent need for increased awareness of child trafficking amongst London social services and says the majority of social workers in London are not being given the right information and training to deal with a growing problem of child trafficking.
002
Topic: Internet Safety
Reference: Readfearn, G. (2004) Who is she talklng to? Children Now, 29 Sep-5 Oct. 2004.
Key points: Focus on on-line Chat. Discusses 'Safer surfing' programme and other internet safety resources for children and adults. Discussion on children's views of Chat-rooms. References chat room safety leaflets available in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, available
Read more on Internet Safety
003
Topic: Commercial and sexual exploitation
Reference: Stop the traffic! UNICEF (2003).
Key points: Tells of the 250 children known to be trafficked to the UK since 1998 (believed to be a tiny fraction of actual numbers.) Evidence that incresing numbers of African children are being trafficked to cities all over the UK. Trafficking occurs against the consent of the individual, as opposed to people smuggling. The trafficked children were involved in domestic labour, sexual exploitation and benefit fraud.
Read more on Commercial and sexual exploitation
004
Topic: Working with ethnic minority families
Reference: Chand, A. (2003)"Race and the Laming report on Victoria Climbié": Lessons for Inter-professional Policy and Practice. Journal of Integrated Care 11 (4)
Key points: Various studies have shown that ethnically matching social workers with families doesn't necessarily mean better outcomes. Responsibility for working with ethnic minority families is everyone's. Interpreting is problematic - in some languages, there's no term for sexual abuse. No professional can be sure that complex meanings and terms are being accurately or sensitively conveyed, or not deliberately manipulated. Training about interpreters is needed for social workers. Professionals can be unwilling to challenge or ask sensitive questions for fear of racism accusations. This fear can stop people acting. Managers should ensure that written communication deficits in workers, where English may be a second language, are met through proper training and supervision.
005
Topic: Lessons from Climbié
Reference: Reder, P.Duncan, S. Making the most of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages 95 - 114
Key points: The main findings of the Climbié Inquiry are consistent with most previous fatal child abuse inquiries or reviews. Problems are described in professionals' assessments, communications, skill base and resources. Stresses the importance of building from lessons of these inquiries, by enhancing professional's capacity for reflective practice. If the recommendations of the Climbié report are implemented in an over-bureaucratic manner, their potential to significantly change practice will be reduced. Training of professionals and the resources available to them are crucial issues to be considered.
006
Topic: BME Children
Reference: Walker, S. Culturally competent protection of children's mental health. Child Abuse Review. Volume 11, Issue 6. Pages 380 - 393.
Key points: Protecting the mental health of BME children and young people has not received adequate attention in the literature. Considers and asseses the ways practitioners can better understand the needs of BME children and intervene more effectively.
Read more on BME Children
007
Topic: Barriers to safeguarding BME children
Reference: Webb, E. Maddocks, A. Bongilli, J. Effectively protecting black and minority ethnic children from harm: overcoming barriers to the child protection process. Child Abuse Review 11 (6). Pages 394-410.
Key points: Stereotyping, denial and inadequate knowledge and training of professionals lead to failures in the statutory processes designed to protect children. Wider societal factors increase the risk of harm faced by children or reduce the likelihood that abuse is recognized, acknowledged or dealt with appropriately. They prevent effective partnerships with families, both to prevent abuse and in rehabilitation after abuse has occurred.
Read more on Barriers to safeguarding BME children
008
Topic: BME childcare practice
Reference: Koramoa, J et al. A continuum of child-rearing: responding to traditional practices. Child Abuse Review. Volume 11, Issue 6, Pages 415 - 421.
Key points: Looks at sensitivity to diverse cultural approaches to child-rearing and need to distinguish between potentially harmful traditions and ones which positively enhance the child's cultural identity. Childcare practices range from the unequivocally harmful and deserving of abolition, e.g. e.g. female circumcision, to others which deserve to be actively preserved and promoted. Most traditional practices encountered in the UK can be positively or negatively influenced by local knowledge and attitudes.
Read more on BME childcare practice
009
Topic: Safeguarding BME children
Reference: Hopkins, Graham. Taken on Trust. Community Care. 2003. August 28 (1487): pgs 40 - 40
Key points: A new project which is improving child protection in Islamic schools.
Read more on Safeguarding BME children
010
Topic: Laming Inquiry
Reference: The Victoria Climbié Inquiry. (2003.) Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming. London: TSO
Key points: Independent inquiry to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Victoria Climbié. Includes key documents; news updates; a timetable of events; evidence produced; the background to the Inquiry; credentials of the Inquiry team; and the final report by Lord Laming.
Read more on Laming Inquiry
011
Topic: Building resilience
Reference: Newman, T. (2004) What works in building resilience? London: Barnados.
Key points: This evaluation of an on-line literature review (by Tuppett et al.) finds that resilience is most successfully promoted through interventions directed at the family and community . Building carer or parent capacity is most important for shaping early -middle years.
Read more on Building resilience
012
Topic: Ethnic minority families
Reference: Thoburn, J., Chand, A. et al. (2004) Child Welfare Services for Minority Ethnic Families: The Research Reviewed. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Key points: Book, bringing together research into what works in service provision for minority ethnic families, considering family support and presenting the evidence on outcomes. Poverty, rascism, depressing and unsafe environments, and poor health are the main reasons families need extra help. Asian families are under-represented amongst those who use semi-formal and formal services, whilst African-Caribbean and African single or dual heritage children make more use of services. On average, those who seek help or are referred to formal services are those who are most 'in need'. Very little on child and family outcomes and high drop out rates from some services.
Read more on Ethnic minority families
013
Topic: Detention on adult mental health wards
Reference: Mental Health Act Commission (2004). Safeguarding children and adolescents detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 on adult psychiatric wards: Report on the notification and visiting programme by the MHAC between April 2002 and September 2003. TSO .
Key points: Majority of notifications were for 16-17 yr olds, but 12.6% for children under 16 years. Over half of under-16's, but only 13% of 16-17 yr olds, were allocated a RMO specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry. Boys and young men twice as likely to be detained on adult wards than females. Over a quarter (26.8%) were from Black and minority ethnic groups. Black African or Black Caribbean origin most over-represented. Under half of service providers confirmed they had a policy or protocols in place for admission of minors to inpatient care. Very few staff had received any specialist training to work with children or adolescents.
014
Topic: Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
Reference: Robinson-M, Phillips-P. An investigation into the perceptions of primary care practitioners of their education and development needs for communicating with patients who may not be fluent in English. Nurse Education Today 2003, vol 23(4) p 286-298.
Read more on Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
015
Topic: Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
Reference: Laveist, TA; Nuru-Jeter, A. Is Doctor-Patient Race Concordance Associated with Greater Satisfaction with Care? Journal of Health and Social Behavior; 43 (3) Sep 2002, p.296-306
Read more on Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
016
Topic: Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
Reference: Laveist, TA; Nuru-Jeter, A. Barriers to communication between health practitioners and service users who are not fluent in English. Nurse Education Today, 2002 vol 22(6), p 457-465.
Read more on Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
017
Topic: Forced marriage
Reference: Khatkar, H. Policy Guidelines and Forced Marriage Project, Conference Paper, Children and Domestic Violence, Children's Society Annual Conference, West Midlands, March, 2002.
Read more on Forced marriage
018
Topic: Asylum seekers
Reference: Bischoff, A. et al. Language barriers between nurses and asylum seekers: their impact on symptom reporting and referral. Social science & medicine 2003 Aug, VOL: 57(3), p503-12
Read more on Asylum seekers
019
Topic: Asylum seekers/ health
Reference: Riddell-Heaney J, Allott, M. Safeguarding children: 4. Needs of refugees and asylum seekers. Professional Nurse. 2003 May;18(9):533-6.
Children and disability
020
Topic: Safeguarding away from home
Reference: Stuart, M. Barnes, C. (2004) Progress on Safeguards for children living away from home: A review of action since 'People Like Us' Report. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. ISBN: 1 85935 255 3
Key points: Legislation, policy and procedures are much improved, but effective implementation has been problematic. Main groups living away from home seem better safeguarded, but worries remain for those in private foster care, prisons and some health settings. Safeguards don't pay full attention to disabled children and those with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Further reading on Asylum seekers/ health
021
Topic: Safeguarding Vulnerable children
Reference: Stuart M, Barnes C. (2004) Safeguards for vulnerable children: Three studies on abusers, disabled children and children in prison. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. ISBN: 1 85935 226 X
Key points: Companion report to Progress on Safeguards for Children Living Away from Home.
Abusers: Home Office should bring together information sources on those who abuse, to estimate the scale and nature of problem. Home Office, Department of Health (DH) and Department for Education and Skills (DfES) should use the above information to establish the size of problem and the shortfall in available treatment and supervision arrangements.
Disabled children:DfES and the National Working Group for Child Protection (Disabled Children) should establish a timetable programme of action, including awareness raising about vulnerability of disabled children. Home Office should do similar, to take forward recommendations from the National Working Group. to address barriers in the criminal justice system. DH should change hospital admission info. collection, to enable clear identification of disabled children.
Children in prison:Trend to imprison has moved in the wrong direction since 'People like us'. Young people's welfare is not adequately protected and promoted. Local Authorities need to retain corporate parenting responsibilities for Children and young people who have been in care. Recommends the health of children and young people is prioritised within prison health services - no evidence of prioritisation at present.
Read more on Safeguarding Vulnerable children
022
Topic: Sexual abuse of disabled children
Reference: NSPCC. (2003) 'It doesn't happen to disabled children' - Child Protection and Disabled Children: Report of the National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability. London: NSPCC
Key points: Highlights and challenges the common belief that disabled children are not abused. UK research is extremely limited, but a US study has found that disabled children are almost four times more likely to be sexually, physically, and emotionally abused and neglected than non-disabled children. The report reveals widespread failures to protect disabled children from abuse or to take action when abuse is suspected. Abuse can often go unrecognised and unreported due to people's attitudes and assumptions about disability (e.g. assuming that physical injury or 'challenging' behaviour is a result of a child's disability not indicative of abuse). Disabled children who've been abused rarely get justice as they are often considered 'un-credible witnesses'. Disabled children often lack the necessary language to communicate that they are being abused. There is a common failure to consult with disabled children about their experiences, wishes and feelings, leaving them with little control over their lives. Current child protection systems and practices do not take account of the particular circumstances and needs of disabled children who are abused. NSPCC & The National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability are calling for: the Government to urgently review the current child protection system in order to better protect disabled children from abuse; the Government to develop a national strategy to safeguard disabled children from abuse; more research into disabled children and adults and their experiences of abuse, and; child protection training to better address the needs of disabled children so professionals can track and identify abuse.
Read more on Sexual abuse of disabled children
023
Topic: Sexual abuse of disabled children
Reference: MacKinnon et al, Helping Hand to Justice. Community Care, 31 October 2002.
Key points: 2,000 new cases of sexual abuse are reported each year by and against people with learning disabilities. No action is taken in more than half of these cases. The Crown Prosecution Service seldom proceeds and the conviction rate is low when they do.
Read more on Sexual abuse of disabled children
024
Topic: Disabled children: residential placements
Reference: Department for Education and Skills, Department of Health. (2004) Disabled Children in Residential Placements. Quality Protects Website, information and guidance.
Read more on Disabled children: residential placements
025
Topic: Disabled children: residential schools
Reference: Cawson, P. (2003) Safeguarding Disabled Children in Residential Schools. NSPCC and Council for Disabled Children.
Key points: Research to promote care and protection. Identifies and describes good practice models and produces guidance for professionals and parents.
Read more on Disabled children: residential schools
026
Topic: Disabled children: residential placements
Reference: Paul, A. and Cawson, P. (2002) Safeguarding disabled children in residential settings: what we know and what we don't. Child abuse review, 11(5): 262-281.
Key points: Promotes improvements in care and protection. Identifies and describes good practice models, and guidance for professionals and parents.
Read more on Disabled children: residential placements
027
Topic: Disabled children: residential placements
Reference: Department for Education and Skills, Department of Health. (2004) Disabled Children in Residential Placements. Quality Protects Website, information and guidance.
Read more on Disabled children: residential placements
028
Topic: Physical restraint
Reference: Hart, D. & Howell, S. (2004). Report on the use of Physical Intervention across Children's Services. London: NCB.
Key points: Report raises cause for concern about the use of restraint. Law and guidance are inconsistent. There is a lack of research evidence about safety and effectiveness of different methods. Found no systematic approach to the collection of data about incidence of restraint. Training is largely unregulated.
Read more on Physical restraint
029
Topic: Physical restraint
Reference: Morgan, R. Children's views on restraint (2004): the views of children and young people in residential homes and residential special schools. Children's Rights Commissioner. CSCI
Key points: Use restraint as last resort. Avoid problems building up to danger level and restraint. Staff using restraint must know what they're doing. Restraint shouldn't be used unless someone is likely to get hurt or property is likely to be seriously damaged - and never as punishment. Restraint makes children feel complex emotions and affects not just the person being restrained. Restraint should never hurt and should calm you down, not make you angrier.
Read more on Physical restraint
030
Topic: Vulnerable witnesses
Reference: Home Office, Lord Chancellor's Department, Crown prosecution Service, Department of Health, National Assembly for Wales. (2002) Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance for Vulnerable Witnesses or Intimidated Witnesses including Children. London: Home Office.
Key points: Report and guidance.
Read more on Vulnerable witnesses
031
Topic: Police: investigating allegations
Reference: National Centre for Policing Excellence, for ACPO. Guidance for Investigating Child Abuse and Safeguarding Children. (2005).
Key points: For all police officers, including new Child Protection Specialists, dealing with allegations of child abuse. Includes guidance on good practice in tracing potential witnesses and obtaining corroborative evidence. Specific reference made to the particular issues around investigating allegations involving disabled children and young people.
Read more on Police: investigating allegations
032
Topic: Sexual Abuse by children
Reference: Hackett, S., Masson, H. and Phillips, S. (2003). Mapping and Exploring Services for Young People who have Sexually Abused Others: A two -year research programme funded by YJB, NSPCC and NOTA
Key points: Further research and practice guidance is needed, which explores the diversity of the population of children and young people who sexually abuse others, in particular, those with a learning disability. Central government guidance should be reviewed to clarify the population to which it refers - all abuse by children and young people, or solely sexual abuse? ACPCs or equivalents should review procedures accordingly. A comprehensive and 'tiered' approach is required. Guidance on best practice should be researched, collated and distributed. More specific services are needed to support parents and carers. Referral routes and funding should be clarified and local co-ordinating bodies should ensure an identifiable assessment service is available locally - across child protection and youth crime systems.
Read more on Sexual Abuse by children
033
Topic: Sexual Abuse by children
Reference: Lovell E. (2002) 'I think I might need some more help with this problem' - responding to children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour. London: NSPCC
Read more on Sexual Abuse by children
Health
034
Topic: Physical restraint
Reference: Hart, D. & Howell, S. (2004). Report on the use of Physical Intervention across Children's Services. London: NCB.
Key points: Report raises cause for concern about the use of restraint. Law and guidance are inconsistent. There is a lack of research evidence about safety and effectiveness of different methods. Found no systematic approach to the collection of data about incidence of restraint. Training is largely unregulated.
Read more on Physical restraint
035
Topic: Restoring emotional well-being
Reference: Easton,C & Carpentieri, JD. (2004) Can I talk to you again? Restoring the emotional and mental well-being of children and young people. London: ChildLine.
Key points: First-hand accounts of children's reasons for regularly calling ChildLine included child prostitution and sexual abuse. This report describes the support they receive and offers recommendations to Government to improve children's mental health in the UK.
Read more on Restoring emotional well-being
036
Topic: Predicting child maltreatment
Reference: Peters, R. and Barlow, J. (2003) Systematic Review of Instruments Designed to Predict Child Maltreatment During the Antenatal and postnatal periods. Child Abuse Review 12.
Key points: Agree that screening can be helpful in targeting resources, but authors question evidence base of using such instruments. Inaccuracy of instruments is such that their continued use should be questioned, e.g. even with most accurate instruments, over 75% of families predicted to be at increased risk will not go on to abuse.
Read more on Predicting child maltreatment
037
Topic: Self Harm
Reference: Souter, A. & Kraemer, S. (2004) 'Given up hope of dying': A child protection approach to deliberate self-harm in adolescents admitted to a paediatric ward. Child and Family Social Work 9 (3).
Key points: (2004) Describes an approach developed by a local authority social worker based in a paediatric department, working in close collaboration with consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists and paediatricians. The literature is informative on the significant psychosocial difficulties of young people who harm themselves deliberately, but little published work on the complexities of the actual multidisciplinary care given to these patients, the majority of whom are not actively suicidal by the time they are interviewed. The task is to intervene in the lives of young people at risk of harm or neglect, as much as to prevent suicide.
Read more on Self Harm
038
Topic: Medical examinations for child sexual abuse
Reference: Mok, J. and Busuttil, A. Medical examinations for child sexual abuse in Scotland: good enough practice? Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 5, Pages 324 - 337.
Key points: Survey of practitioners in Scotland. To establish how widely guidance was being followed by practitioners, NHS Trusts and health boards, identify the medical practitioners involved and the range of current practice. Suggests that the medical assessment of children who disclose sexual abuse is a low-volume, highly specialized activity, practised by about one in five paediatricians and forensic medical examiners. 59.8% have less than 10 years' experience in the field; and the majority (86.3%) perform fewer than two examinations per week. Available guidance is comprehensive and uniform, highlighting the importance of joint specialist working, use of the colposcope for photodocumentation, training and continuing professional development. Despite this, the results show that throughout Scotland, the care offered to children and the service provided to the courts are suboptimal.
Read more on Medical examinations for child sexual abuse
039
Topic: Resilience and sexual Abuse
Reference: Wilcox, D. Richards, F. et al. Resilience and risk factors associated with experiencing childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse Review, Volume 13, Issue 5 (p 338-352)
Key points: This review summarises the literature on known effects of child sexual abuse and looks at the prevalence of abuse in the general population. It examines various conceptual models and factors relating to increasing risk and protection. The review considers how to help damaged young people become healthy adults and draws out the implications for helping children who become abusers themselves.
Read more on Resilience and sexual Abuse
040
Topic: Resilience and well-being
Reference: Walker, Steven. (2003). Working together for healthy young minds: a practitioner's workbook. Russell House Publishing, Lyme Regis. ISBN 1-903855-26-8
Read more on Resilience and well-being
041
Topic: Primary Care
Reference: Bannon, M.J. and Carter, Y.H. (eds.), (2003) Protecting children from abuse and neglect in primary care. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 256pp. ISBN 0-192-63276-0
Read more on Primary Care
042
Topic: Psychological well-being of child athletes
Reference: Gervis, M. and Dunn, N. (2004).The emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 3.
Key points: Identifies a high prevalence of emotional abuse of elite UK child athletes by their coaches. Abusive behaviours included: belittling, humiliating, shouting, scapegoating, rejecting, isolating, threatening and ignoring. Research participants reported feeling stupid, worthless, upset, less confident, humiliated, depressed, fearful and angry as a result of the behaviour of their coaches. Evidence suggests that the behaviour of some coaches is a threat to psychological well-being.
Read more on Psychological well-being of child athletes
043
Topic: Sexual abuse and drugs/ alcohol
Reference: Plant, M. and Miller, P. (2004) Childhood and adult sexual abuse: relationships with alcohol and other psychoactive drug use. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 3, Pages 200 - 214.
Key points: In a survey representative of the UK population, 12.5% of women reported experiencing some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16 years, as compared to 11.7% of men. Women reported the same levels of abuse after the age of 16yrs, whilst for men levels dropped to 3.2%. Sexual abuse both pre and post age 16 was associated with being single or cohabiting, with higher levels of cigarette-smoking, alcohol consumption, experience of alcohol-related problems and use of illicit drugs. The authors conclude that the relationship between drinking and other forms of psychoactive drug use and sexual abuse is complex.
Read more on Sexual abuse and drugs/ alcohol
044
Topic: Assessing risk in children with serious injury
Reference: Dale, P. et al. Serious and fatal injuries to infants with discrepant parental explanations: some assessment and case management issues. Child Abuse Review. Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages 296 - 312
Key points: (Modified from article abstract) Examines the assessment and case management challenges faced by child protection systems where babies and infants have received serious and fatal physical injuries, alongside discrepant parent/carer explanations. Reviews case files or records of children under 2yrs. Findings indicate that initial safety responses by child protection systems can be inadequate. Assessment of further risks could be inconsistent, especially where there are few other factors of concern apart from the injury. Need for the development of more systematic decision-making processes, to achieve more consistent standards of assessment and case management of high-risk infants and to minimize false-negative and false-positive predictions of further risk.
Read more on Assessing risk in children with serious injury
045
Topic: Non-accidental head injury: outcomes
Reference: Karandikar, S. and Coles, L. et al. (2004) The neurodevelopmental outcome in infants who have sustained a subdural haemorrhage from non-accidental head injury. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 3.
Key points: (Adapted from abstract) Physical and educational outcomes of children <2 years diagnosed with non-accidental head injury. Formulates guidelines on follow-up. Data on 65 children <2 years, identified from hospital and community notes and education reports. Concludes that young children who survive non-accidental head injury can have significant physical, cognitive and behavioural problems. Regular follow-up by a multidisciplinary team, which includes a community paediatrician, therapists, school health personnel and ophthalmologic services, until the child is established in school may facilitate early identification of emerging problems and optimize management. Care must be taken not to discharge children with good outcomes, as behavioural and cognitive problems can emerge with time.
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046
Topic: Use of PTSD framework for treating sexual abuse
Reference: Ross, G. and O'Carroll, P. Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy intervention in childhood sexual abuse: identifying new directions from the literature. Child Abuse Review Volume 13, Issue 1. Pages 51 - 64
Key points: (adapted from abstract). Treatment of child sexual abuse where a post-traumatic stress disorder conceptualization was used to plan treatment interventions. Contrary to some concerns by clinicians, sexually abused children and their non-abusing carers can significantly benefit from cognitive behavioural interventions which use reliving and confrontation of the abusive experience. A need for further controlled outcome research of cognitive behavioural interventions to explore how and why these interventions help in reducing abuse-related PTSD symptoms.
Read more on Use of PTSD framework for treating sexual abuse
047
Topic: Non accidental fractures
Reference: Hoskote, A., Martin, K et al. Fractures in infants: one in four is non-accidental. Child Abuse Review. Volume 12, Issue 6. Pages 384 - 39.
Key points: Proportion of Non-accidental fractures in infants under a year of age presenting to an (A&E) department. Also considers whether there were any child protection concerns in the 4-5 years following the fracture. Concludes that fractures in infants under a year of age have a high risk of being non accidental and distinguishing these cases from accidental fractures can be difficult. The younger the infant, the greater the risk of a fracture being non accidental. A missed diagnosis may result in a child sustaining more severe injuries. A&E departments should have clear guidelines on the assessment of infants with fractures. Liaison with Health Visitors and General Practitioners is important to ensure primary care advice on accident prevention and to allow for surveillance regarding possible neglectful care.
Read more on Non accidental fractures
048
Topic: BME Children
Reference: Walker, S. Culturally competent protection of children's mental health. Child Abuse Review. Volume 11, Issue 6. Pages 380 - 393.
Key points: Protecting the mental health of BME children and young people has not received adequate attention in the literature. Considers and asseses the ways practitioners can better understand the needs of BME children and intervene more effectively.
Read more on BME Children
049
Topic: Self harm
Reference: Child & Adolescent Self-harm in Europe (CASE) Study
Key points: Ongoing, seven-country investigation coordinated by NCB. Suggests there is a 'hidden' population of young self-harmers who do not go to hospital following their injury and do not tell anyone about what they have done. May find it easier to turn to an anonymous website for information and support. Participating countries are monitoring all hospital admissions within their study catchment area by young people under 20 years, following an episode of deliberate self-harm. Details on the young person's sex, age and method of self-harm are being recorded in all instances. An anonymous self-report questionnaire is also being given to around 5000 15 and 16 year-old pupils in each participating country. It covers background, life events, deliberate self-harm (occurrence, frequency, context and experiences), and personal characteristics relating to mood, impulsivity, coping, self-esteem and health behaviour.
050
Topic: Detention on adult mental health wards
Reference: Mental Health Act Commission (2004). Safeguarding children and adolescents detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 on adult psychiatric wards: Report on the notification and visiting programme by the MHAC between April 2002 and September 2003. TSO .
Key points: Majority of notifications were for 16-17 yr olds, but 12.6% for children under 16 years. Over half of under-16's, but only 13% of 16-17 yr olds, were allocated a RMO specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry. Boys and young men twice as likely to be detained on adult wards than females. Over a quarter (26.8%) were from Black and minority ethnic groups. Black African or Black Caribbean origin most over-represented. Under half of service providers confirmed they had a policy or protocols in place for admission of minors to inpatient care. Very few staff had received any specialist training to work with children or adolescents.
051
Topic: GPs
Reference: DH. Guidelines for the appointment of General Practitioner with a Special Interest in the Delivery of Clinical Services. (April 2003)
See also: Agency's Practitioners with Special Interests: A Step by Step Guide To Setting Up a General Practitioner with a Special Interest (GPwSI) Service (April 2003)
Key points: Offers guidance on:
- Common indicators of childhood abuse or neglect in primary care
- Core activities of a GPwSI in Child Protection
- Education and Training role
- Liaison Role
- Leadership role
- The core competencies recommended for the GPwSI in child protection nd evidence of training and experience for the competencies
- Accreditation process
- Clinical governance and local governance process
052
Topic: Shaken baby syndrome
Reference: Reid, Colin; Coyle, Briege. Health visitors play key role in Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) prevention and education. Community Practitioner. 2003 SEP 76 ( 9 ): 325 - 326
Key points: Discusses the issues around Shaken baby syndrome
053
Topic: Shaken Baby Syndrome: Child Protection Issues When Children Sustain A Subdural Haemorrhage.
Reference: Cobley C. Shaken Baby Syndrome: Child Protection Issues When Children Sustain A Subdural Haemorrhage. Journal Of Social Welfare And Family Law, 25(2), 2003, P.101-119.
Read more on Shaken Baby Syndrome: Child Protection Issues When Children Sustain A Subdural Haemorrhage.
054
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Child protection is now an NHS priority. (Developments in child protection policy). Fradd-L. Nursing Times, 2003, 7 Oct, 99(40), p16
Read more on Child Protection
055
Topic: Substance misuse, domestic violence and child abuse
Reference: Leonard, K. (2002) 'Alcohol and substance abuse in marital violence and child maltreatment' in C. Wekerle, and A-M Wall (eds) The Violence and Addiction Equation, London, Routledge mental health. ISBN: 0876309600
Read more on Substance misuse, domestic violence and child abuse
056
Topic: Parental substance misuse and child Protection
Reference: Sims-J, Iphofen-R. Parental substance misuse and its effect on children. (Implications for child protection assessment and whether or not children should be removed.) Drug & Alcohol Professional, 2003, Sep, 3(3), p33-40
057
Topic: Child protection tool
Reference: Fowler, J. A practitioner's tool for child protection and the assessment of parents. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London: (2003)
Key points: A checklist for collecting and interpreting information for risk assessment in all aspects of child protection work. Focuses on assessing attachment issues for case conferences, as a core assessment in care proceedings, or for statements in public and private law matters.
Read more on Child protection tool
058
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Richards, P. Lessons to be learned from the Victoria Climbié inquiry. (Recommendations of the Laming Report (2003) concerning child protection in primary care.). Primary Health Care, 2003, Jun, 13(5), p16-7
Read more on Child Protection
059
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Hall-D. Protecting children, supporting professionals. 6. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2003, Jul, 88(7), p557-9
Key points: Editorial on maintenance of a high standard of child protection work whilst supporting health staff in the process.
Read more on Child Protection
060
Topic: Paediatricians and child protection
Reference: Bannon-M-J, Carter-Y-H. Paediatricians and child protection: the need for effective education and training. Archives of disease in childhood 2003 Jul, VOL: 88 (7), P: 560-2
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061
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Kinnair, Donna. Child Protection: Lessons From The Recent Past. Community Practitioner, 76(4), April 2003, Pp.121-122.
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062
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Eaton, L. Government proposes shake up in child protection services. BMJ 2003 Sep 13, VOL: 327 (7415), P: 577
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063
Topic: Teenagers' views on services
Reference: Potter-R et al. Do we listen or do we assume? What teenagers want from a post-abuse service. Psychiatric Bulletin; Vol 26(10), (Oct 2002), p. 377-379;
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064
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Learn to read the signs. (NSPCC child protection pack aims to help all health workers identify cases of child abuse.) Nursing Standard, 2003, 3 Sep, 17(51), p16-7.
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065
Topic: Identifying abuse
Reference: Distinctly different? Descriptions of the sexually abused and "non abused' child. ODell-L. Educational & Child Psychology; Vol 20(1), (2003), p. 22-33;
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066
Topic: Child abuse surveillance and dermatological condition
Reference: Greig-AVH, Harris-DL. A study of perceptions of facial hemangiomas in professionals involved in child abuse surveillance. Pediatric dermatology 2003 Jan-Feb, VOL: 20 (1), P: 1-4.
067
Topic: Sexual Abuse by children
Reference: Lovell E. (2002) 'I think I might need some more help with this problem' - responding to children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour. London: NSPCC
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068
Topic: Sexual Abuse by children
Reference: O'Halloran, M., Carr, A., O'Reilly, G., Sheerin, D., Cherry, J., Turner, R., Beckett, R. and Brown, S. (2002) Psychological profiles of sexually abusive adolescents in Ireland, Child Abuse and Neglect, 26, 349-370
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069
Topic: Nursing and Climbié
Reference: Smith-F. Child protection: every nurse's responsibility. Paediatric Nursing, 2003, Sep, 15(7), p28,
Key points: RCN's guidance following the 'Victoria Climbié Inquiry' report.
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070
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Rayner-F. Community nursing is key to stamping out health inequalities Nursing Times, 2003, 14 Oct, 99(41), p10-1.
Key points: The CPHVA conference is expected to urge health visitors and others to be more proactive in tackling child health inequalities and child protection issues.
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071
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Riddell-Heaney-J, Allott-M. Safeguarding children: 5. Listening as part of the child-protection process. Professional nurse 2003 Jun, VOL: 18 (10), P: 591-5.
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072
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Snow-T. Stop the abuse. Nursing Standard, 2003, 2 Jul, 17(42), p12-3
Key points: RCN's guidelines, 'Child Protection: Every Nurse's Responsibility' to raise awareness about child neglect and abuse.
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073
Topic: Community Practitioners
Reference: Kinnair-D. Child protection: lessons from the recent past. Community Practitioner, 2003, Apr, 76(4), p121-2
Key points: Abridged version of presentation by a nurse/child health assessor who participated in the Victoria Climbié Inquiry
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074
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Mulholland-H. Child protection: the nurse's role. Nursing Times, 2003, 6 May, 99(18), p20-4
Key points: Implications of recent child abuse inquiries for the nurse's role in child protection
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075
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Sidebotham-P, Heron-J. Child maltreatment in the "children of the nineties:" the role of the child. Child abuse & neglect 2003 Mar, VOL: 27 (3), P: 337-52
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076
Topic: Nursing
Reference: Harris-B. Care and protection.Nursing Standard, 2003, 26 Mar, 17(28), p58-9
Key points: Work of a child protection nurse specialist
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077
Topic: Domestic Violence
Reference: Kroll, B. (2004) 'Living with an elephant: Growing up with parental substance misuse', Child and Family Social Work, 9, 129-140
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078
Topic: Dentistry
Reference: Welbury-R-R, et al. General dental practitioners' perception of their role within child protection: a qualitative study. European journal of paediatric dentistry 2003 Jun, VOL: 4 (2), P: 89-95,
079
Topic: Parents with mental health issues
Reference: Pearce, J. Parental mental health and child protection: making the links through training. Child Abuse Review, 2003, Mar,/Apr, 12(2), p114-8
Key points: Benefits of multiagency working and training for the understanding of mental disorders and their impact on child protection, where children live with a parent with mental health problems.
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080
Topic: Families with mental health issues
Reference: Stanley, N. et al Working on the interface: identifying professional responses to families with mental health and child-care needs. Health & social care in the community 2003 May, VOL: 11 (3), P: 208-18. 8
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081
Topic: Mental Health
Reference: O'Daly,J. Parental borderline personality disorder and child protection. Community Practitioner, 2003, Jan, 76(1), p18-20
Key points: Includes a case study involving multi-agency teamworking.
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082
Topic: Promoting Mental Health
Reference: Webb, M.B. and Harden, B. J. Beyond child protection: promoting mental health for children and families in the child welfare system. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2003 Spring, vol. 11(1), p. 49-58,
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083
Topic: Domestic Violence and mental health
Reference: Humphreys, C. and Thiara, R. (2003) 'Domestic violence and mental health: 'I call it symptoms of abuse'. British Journal of Social Work 33, (2) 209-226
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084
Topic: Health and Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary working
Reference: Riddell, Heaney and Allott. Safeguarding children: 1. The role of health and other professionals. Professional nurse 2003 Jan, VOL: 18 (5), P: 280-4
Read more on Health and Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary working
085
Topic: Midwifery & Maternity Services
Reference: Beech-B. The effects of child-protection investigations on maternity care. Assoc. for Improvements in the Maternity Services Quarterly Jnl, 2003, 15(1), p8-9
Key points: Effect of the Climbié child abuse inquiry on maternity services.
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086
Topic: Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary
Reference: Reder, P and Duncan, S. Understanding communication in child protection networks. Child Abuse Review, 2003, 12(2), p82-100
Key points: Discusses difficulties in interagency communications, and the need to adjust policies and professional boundaries.
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087
Topic: Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary
Reference: Powell, C. Early indicators of child abuse and neglect: A multi-professional Delphi study. Child Abuse Review; Vol 12(1), (Jan-Feb 2003), p. 25-40;
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088
Topic: Midwifery & Maternity Services
Reference: Fraser-J. A baby in need of protection. Practising Midwife, 2003, Mar, 6(3), p19-20 Weblinks: Key points: Case study of the involvement of a midwife with child protection procedures.
089
Topic: Midwifery & Maternity Services
Reference: Chapman-T. Safeguarding the welfare of children, part 2. British Journal of Midwifery, 2003, Feb, 11(2), p116-9
Key points: Part of a series on policy relating to child protection and implications for midwifery practice, focusing on the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need.
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090
Topic: Primary care and non-fluent English speakers
Reference: Robinson-M, Phillips-P. An investigation into the perceptions of primary care practitioners of their education and development needs for communicating with patients who may not be fluent in English. Nurse Education Today 2003, vol 23(4) p 286-298.
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091
Topic: Ethnicity and Cultural Issues
Reference: Laveist, TA; Nuru-Jeter, A. Is Doctor-Patient Race Concordance Associated with Greater Satisfaction with Care? Journal of Health and Social Behavior; 43 (3) Sep 2002, p.296-306
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092
Topic: Asylum seekers & health
Reference: Bischoff, A. et al. Language barriers between nurses and asylum seekers: their impact on symptom reporting and referral. Social science & medicine 2003 Aug, VOL: 57(3), p503-12
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093
Topic: Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary working
Reference: Welch-B. Model answer. Community Care, 2003, 9 Jan, (1454), p34-6
Key points: Laming Report provides opportunity to re-organise child protection and emphasises inter-agency co-operation.
094
Topic: Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary working
Reference: Riddell-Heaney-J, Allott-M Safeguarding children: 1. The role of health and other professionals. Professional nurse 2003 Jan, VOL: 18 (5), P: 280-4
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095
Topic: Inter-Agency/Multi-Disciplinary working
Reference: Scott-C. Who is responsible for child protection? Professional nurse 2003 Jan, VOL: 18 (5), P: 242
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096
Topic: Self assessment tool
Reference: Self Assessment Tool for Child Protection Arrangements. Healthcare Commission, 2005.
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097
Topic: Child Protection: Designated Doctor job description
Reference: Model Job Description: Health Authority Designated Doctor for Child Protection. (2004) Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
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098
Topic: Domestic violence and mental health
Reference: Humphreys, C. and Thiara, R. (2003) 'Domestic violence and mental health: 'I call it symptoms of abuse'. British Journal of Social Work 33, (2) 209-226
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099
Topic: Domestic Violence
Reference: Kroll, B. (2004) 'Living with an elephant: Growing up with parental substance misuse', Child and Family Social Work, 9, 129-140
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100
Topic: Promoting Resilience
Reference: Common core training workshop: Resilience and vulnerable children. Held on Wednesday 3 November 2004 at Dartington Hall and facilitated by: Dr Tony Newman, Principal Research Officer, Barnardo's and Professor Brigid Daniel, University of Dundee
Key points: When facing multiple sources of adversity, children need multiple sources of support. While recovery can take place at any age, effective interventions have the greatest restorative power in the pre-school years. When chronic adversities are removed, the majority of children successfully recover - though permanent problems may results from extreme and continual deprivation in the early years. For the majority of children, the greatest impacts can be achieved by those with the closest and most continuous contact, which will usually mean parents and carers. Resilience is only likely to result when a child is exposed to situations that make reasonable demands on their coping abilities.
101
Topic: Promoting resilience
Reference: Bostock L (2004) Promoting Resilience in Fostered Children and Young People . SCIE Resource Guide No 4
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102
Topic: Promoting resilience
Reference: Daniel B and Wassell S (2004) The Early Years: Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children 1, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
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103
Topic: Promoting resilience
Reference: Daniel B and Wassell S (2004) The School Years: Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children 2, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
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104
Topic: Promoting resilience
Reference: Daniel B and Wassell S (2004) Adolescence: Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children 3. Jessica Kingsley Publishers
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105
Topic: Promoting resilience
Reference: Newman T and Blackburn S (2002) Transitions in the Lives of Children and Young People: Resilience Factors. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive
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106
Topic: Parental mental health
Reference: Marjorie Smith. Parental Mental Health: Disruptions to parenting and outcomes for children. (2004) Child and Family Social Work 9, 3-11
Key points: (Adapted from abstract).The impact of parental mental health problems on children can be various, adversely affecting: language development, intelligence, behaviour, social and emotional competence, sleeping patterns, physical health and relationship and attachment behaviours. Children may be exposed to distress and disruption if the parent displays irrational and unpredictable behaviour, including hostile and aggressive outbursts. The actual or effective absence of the parent, because of hospital admissions or emotional unavailability, or changes of carer, may also impact. Parental mental health problems when the child is very young may interfere with the development of vital attachment behaviours. Two parental behaviours are of special significance: parental negativity and harsh or ineffective discipline practices. Marital disharmony and domestic violence are further exacerbating factors.
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Education
107
Topic: Bullying
Reference: Smith P. and Samara M. (2003) Evaluation of the DfES anti-bullying Pack. London: Goldsmiths College. DfES research brief no: RBX06-03
Key points: Evaluation of 'Don't suffer in silence': DfES anti-bullying pack for schools. Useful pack: meets expectations and is used to ensure local anti-bullying policies and resources are on track. Schools feel bullying slightly decreased since getting the pack. But many school staff had not had sight of pack Most highly rated anti-bullying strategies: circle time, active listening approaches, co-operative group work, working with parents, improving school grounds.
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108
Topic: Bullying
Reference: Bullying. How to beat it. A Childline conference. March 2003.
Keypoints: Conference report of joint Childline/ DfES conference.
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109
Topic: Bullying
Reference: Oliver C and Candappa M. (2003) Tackling Bullying: Listening to the views of children and young people. Thomas Corum Research Unit. DfES publications no: RR400
Key points: Report on children's experiences of bullying and their responses to it,. On behalf of ChildLine. 51% pupils thought bullying a 'big problem' in their school. Much inter-school variation. 51% of yr 5 pupils bullied that term. 28% of yr 8. Children &Young People identified 3 most helpful responses: friendships, avoidance strategies, 'standing up for yourself' - talking back (esp. younger) and hitting back (older children and boys). Adults encourage children to tell, but children often don't feel believed or protected from retaliation. Children worried about their confidentiality. Recommends buddying and other friendship centred approaches. Need to minimise perceived risks of 'telling': more confidential sources of support Need for 'whole school' approach - positive ethos, curriculum development, teacher training, working with parents and better school design.
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110
Topic: Personal safety
Reference: Watch Over Me. (2003) Video available from Milly's fund Ltd.
Key points: Sent free to all secondary schools. Copies available for £35 via website.
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111
Topic: Physical restraint
Reference: Hart, D. & Howell, S. (2004). Report on the use of Physical Intervention across Children's Services. London: NCB.
Key points: Report raises cause for concern about the use of restraint. Law and guidance are inconsistent. There is a lack of research evidence about safety and effectiveness of different methods. Found no systematic approach to the collection of data about incidence of restraint. Training is largely unregulated.
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112
Topic: Physical restraint
Reference: Morgan, R. Children's views on restraint (2004): the views of children and young people in residential homes and residential special schools. Children's Rights Commissioner. CSCI
Key points: Use restraint as last resort. Avoid problems building up to danger level and restraint. Staff using restraint must know what they're doing. Restraint shouldn't be used unless someone is likely to get hurt or property is likely to be seriously damaged - and never as punishment. Restraint makes children feel complex emotions and affects not just the person being restrained. Restraint should never hurt and should calm you down, not make you angrier.
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113
Topic: Boarding school experience
Reference: Morgan, R. (2004) Being a boarder. A survey of boarders' and parents' views on boarding schools. London: CSCI.
Key points: Modern-day boarding schools are looking after children well. The findings dispel public myths about the boarding environment being a place with high levels of bullying, low levels of care and extreme homesickness. But it was clear that boarding does not suit every child, and it is vital that the right choice of school is made for the individual. Children and parents saw boarding schools as offering a positive social life, with plenty of friends and activities - often across cultures - and with strong benefits of learning social skills and independence. On the negative side, there are issues of separation from home and family, the continuing need to counter bullying and homesickess and the desire for privacy.
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114
Topic: Safeguarding in education
Reference: Safeguarding children in education. (2004) DfES.
Key points: Guidance about the duty of LEAs, schools of all kinds, and Further Education Institutions to have arrangements for carrying out their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It updates and replaces Circular 10/95: Protecting Children from Abuse: The Role of the Education Service. Sets out the organisation of child protection arrangements in the education service. Supported by a website that includes examples of good practice and model policies for education establishments to use.
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115
Topic: Safeguarding in education
Reference: IRSC. (2004) Handbook for LEA staff to respond to allegations of child abuse.
Key points: Handbook. And see the range of IRSC materials, including 'Governors Training packs' and 'Training packs for school support staff and teaching assistants'. All also 2004.
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Further reading on Safeguarding in education
116
Topic: Education
Reference: IRSC. (2004) Managing the aftermath of Unfounded and Unsubstantiated Allegations
Key points: Advice aimed at LEA officers, to advise Heads, Governors and managers dealing with an allegation against their staff.
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117
Topic: Identifying abuse via school setting
Reference: Veltman, M. Browne, K. Identifying abused children using assessments and observations in the classroom: a preliminary study. Child Abuse Review. Volume 12, Issue 6. Pages 315 - 334.
Key points: Used standardized assessments and identified three of five abused children. Direct observations identified one of five abused children. These two preliminary studies suggest standardized assessments are more useful than behavioural observations in identifying abused children in the classroom setting. Further confirmation is required using larger-scale investigations.
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118
Topic: Education
Reference: Good practice for schools on the use of photographs and video images for their own publicity purposes. (2004) DfES. Teachernet.
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119
Topic: Child protection in Islamic school
Reference: Hopkins, Graham. Taken on Trust. Community Care. 2003. August 28 (1487): pgs 40 - 40
Key points: A new project which is improving child protection in Islamic schools.
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Children living at home
120
Topic: Domestic violence, parental substance or health
Reference: Gorin S. (2004) Understanding what children say about domestic violence, parental substance misuse or parental health problems. National Children's Bureau for JRF. London.
Key points: Children more aware and worried about problem than parents think. Children likely to have witnessed violence themselves - sometimes of a very extreme nature. Boys particularly may not talk to anyone about their problems. They may cope by avoidance or distracting themselves. Children are most likely to use informal support - talking to parents, friends, siblings, extended family or pets. Children don't know where to get formal help and rarely seek it initially. Their experience of professionals is mixed. Concerns included not being believed, not being talked to directly, or not taking action. They want a confidential ear who helps them think problems through and doesn't necessarily take full responsibility for decisions. Children want age-appropriate information to help them understand what's going on.
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121
Topic: Internet safety
Reference: European Research into Consumer Affairs. Popular children's websites: How suitable are they? (2004).
Key points: Review of popular websites over a 2 week period in March 2004, to highlight best practice. Found that fundamental safety measures were not being implemented. Chat rooms and forums were potentially particularly unsafe. About half the 'top' sites had advice for children about staying safe online, but links were not clear. These advised children not to give out personal info, but fewer advised that people aren't always who they purport to be, or never to meet an online friend without a trusted adult. 20 had advice for parents - not always obvious to locate. Few had safety messages on chat room/ forum front pages. Two displayed children's personal details, sometimes with photos and email addresses. Eleven had inappropriate material on them: violent images, gambling, provocative screensavers and links to dating agencies.
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122
Topic: Internet Safety
Reference: Home office. (2003.) UK Taskforce Good Practice Models and Guidance for the Internet Industry.
Key points: Calls on Internet service providers to offer prominent links to online safety guides and to provide alert buttons. Users should be provided with the means to block out chat and instant messages. All moderators of chat rooms should be properly recruited, trained, screened and supervised. Gives good practice guidelines.
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123
Topic: Internet Safety
Reference: Safer Internet Campaign
Key points: Good practice network and guidelines for internet industry.
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124
Topic: Internet Safety
Reference: Readfearn, G. (2004) Who is she talking to? Children Now, 29 Sep-5 Oct. 2004. www.kidsmart.org.uk.
Key points: Focus on on-line Chat. Discusses 'Safer surfing' programme and other internet safety resources for children and adults. Discussion on children's views of Chat-rooms. References safety leaflets available in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.
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125
Topic: Internet Safety
Reference: NCH Net Smart rules.
Key points: Internet and chat-room safety guidelines for children and young people
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126
Topic: Child protection in Sport
Reference: Carson, G. (2004) A safer game: child protection in sport. Children Now. 18-23 August
Key points: Magazine article on good practice and resources for sports coaches. Discusses Football Association's (FA) GOAL initiative, with a network of 300 tutors, who have trained over 75,000 people and has a dedicated CRB check unit. Three quarters of FA coaches now have an understanding of child protection. A 24hr help-line deals with abuse concerns and took 8000 calls in its first year. They would contact police, Social Services or NSPCC with serious concerns. Concludes that sporting bodies are now much better on child protection, but there's an ongoing problem defining abuse and identifying prevalence: FA definition ranges from verbal abuse to paedophilia. Children still complain about the behaviour of adults from the touchline.
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127
Topic: Child protection in sport
Reference: Barret, B. and NSPCC. (2002). In at the deep end. Amateur swimming Association (ASA) and NSPCC review of ASA case files.
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128
Topic: Child protection in sport
Reference: Child welfare in swimming: procedures and guidelines (2004) Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) child protection policy.
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129
Topic: Commercial sexual exploitation
Reference: Chase, E. & Statham, J. (2004). The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Young People: An Overview of key literature and data. TCRU. London.
Key points: Quantifying the problem is difficult. 2001 Home Office statistics suggest that around 2000 young people are involved in prostitution in the UK. One third are thought to be under 16yrs, and 200-300 thought to live in London. Other estimates suggest up to 5000 children are involved at any one time. Clear links with underlying poverty and other vulnerability factors. Sex may be exchanged for favours, shelter or food or associated with drug taking and care leavers in exploitative relationships. Some teenage pregnancies may be associated with commercial sexual exploitation. For boys, disclosing they are gay may coincide with family rejection and increased vulnerability. Overview includes evidence on support, internet issues and child trafficking.
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130
Topic: Children's views on staying safe
Reference: Morgan, R. Safe from Harm. A Children's Views Report (June 2004) Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Key points: Report of consultations with Children in contact with social care, by Roger Morgan, Children's Rights Director. Children and young people identified the main risks to their safety as bullying, illness, accidents and being kidnapped or abducted. Criminality such as mugging and drugs also featured highly as concern. The media plays a big part in shaping the risks that children worried about, so worries also included terrorism and dangerous illnesses. Traffic and road injury were also seen as big source of risk. Abuse was not often suggested as young people's main worry. Young people also identified self-harm and just 'being silly' as risks.
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131
Topic: Telephone Helpline
Reference: ChildLine's experience. Children Now, 13-19 October 2004. Pgs. 22-23.
Key points: ChildLine 2002 data include more than 13,000 calls about physical abuse and over 8,000 calls about sexual abuse. Bullying was the young people's biggest single reason for calling. Childline received 2,000 calls about witnessing domestic violence. Childline trained more than 4,000 pupils to listen and support peers, via the 'Children in Partnership with Schools' programme.
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132
Topic: SS contact arrangements
Reference: Statham, J. & Cameron,C. et al. (2004) Getting help: A survey of reception and initial contact arrangements in social services departments. London: TCRU for DfES (Children's safeguards Unit).
Key points: Increasing screening of services for initial contacts, which may be undertaken by administrative staff without additional training. Out of hours services more organisationally stable than day time services: more dedicated teams, with managers who'd been in post longer. Many Authorities lacked out of hours access to children's information systems. No 'one-size fits all' for organising duty systems. Key issue may not be who takes the initial call, but how messages received from the public are passed on and dealt with by social workers, and the quality of the initial information gathering and recording. Organisational arrangements probably less important than well-trained, well-resourced front-line staff.
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133
Topic: Restoring emotional well-being
Reference: Easton, C & Carpentieri, JD. (2004) Can I talk to you again? Restoring the emotional and mental well-being of children and young people. London: ChildLine.
Key points: First-hand accounts of children's reasons for regularly calling ChildLine included child prostitution and sexual abuse. This report describes the support they receive and offers recommendations to Government to improve children's mental health in the UK.
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134
Topic: Boys problems and feelings
Reference: Boys allowed - What boys and young men tell ChildLine about their lives. (2003) London: ChildLine.
Key points: Despite finding it difficult to talk about problems and feelings, more than 26,0000 boys talk to ChildLine every year. Boys face constraints, prejudices and expectations that make them very unhappy. They are reluctant to admit their problems and leave it longer before seeking help or disclosing their worries. Boys have frequently reached crisis point when they call.
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135
Topic: Parental substance abuse
Reference: Bancroft, A. Wilson, S. et al. (2004) Parental drug and alcohol misuse: Resilience and transition among young people. JRF.
Key points: Between 250,000 and 300,000 dependent children are living with parental drug misuse. Around 920,000 are living with parental alcohol misuse. Parental alcohol abuse can cause considerable harm to the young person, including emotional and physical neglect and poor long-term emotional and social outcomes. Parental drug abuse has a similar impact, but is associated with more social stigma and anxiety. Alcohol abuse is more associated with violence and parental absence. Children felt their childhoods were shortened by parental substance misuse. Children showed resilience and adaptation to deal with difficulties. Informal relationships with friends, neighbours and families were very important, but these were seldom reliable or unconditional. A strong personal experience with an experienced worker was highly valued.
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136
Topic: Effectiveness of interventions for previous maltreatment
Reference: Dufour, S. & Chamberland C. (2004) The effectiveness of interventions for previous maltreatment: Enhancing the well-being of children who live at home. Child and Family Social Work 9 (1)
Key points: Indicators mostly measure changes in parents' and children's knowledge, attitude, emotion and behaviour following an intervention. Few assessments follow-up to determine whether the changes are lasting. The small number of studies and methodological limitations make it difficult to draw sound conclusions about efficacy, even for behavioural and cognitive-behavioural interventions, which are the most frequently and positively assessed.
137
Topic: Child protection performance measures
Reference: Devaney, J. Relating outcomes to objectives in child protection. Child and Family Social Work 9 (1)
Key points: Discusses performance management in the child protection system. Using Northern Ireland data, it argues that current performance measurements are too basic and are designed to monitor processes rather than the impact of services on outcomes for children and families.
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138
Topic: Children's sources of help
Reference: Featherstone, B. and Evans, H. (2004) Children experiencing maltreatment: who do they turn to? London: NSPCC.
Key points: Young people report that the factors affecting their well-being focus mainly on intimate relationships, including:
- tension and conflict with peers
- illness or death of relatives and friends
- behaviour of familiar adults (broken promises, unfair punishments and parental conflict)
- family break-ups
- violence and abuse.
Other worries include health, personal appearances, puberty and illegal activities. Girls also worry about rape and sexual abuse. Worries about school have increased.
Talking about it is the most common coping strategy for children and young people, most commonly with best friends, parents and siblings. Teachers are the first non-relation cited as a source of support. Older children increasingly see peers as their main supports, valuing their empathy and mutual problem-solving abilities.
Some would not turn to anyone. Some may become involved in physically aggressive behaviour, crime and substance abuse.
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139
Topic: Bichard
Reference: Sir Michael Bichard. (2004) Independent inquiry into child protection measures, record keeping, vetting and information sharing in Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Key points: The Inquiry examined the effectiveness of Humberside and Cambridgeshire police forces' relevant intelligence-based record keeping, vetting practices and information sharing with other agencies. The report draws conclusions on these matters and makes recommendations that are relevant for police, social services, education establishments, vetting departments and the Government to protect children and the vulnerable nationally.
Read more on the Bichard Inquiry
140
Topic: Service design and structure
Reference: Refocusing children's services towards prevention: lessons from the literature. (2004) Dartington Social Research Unit for DfES. Research report RR510.
Key points: Literature review shows little evidence of impact of organisation per se on outcomes. Describes how to move resources to front-end services and improve inter-agency working; increase efficiency; improve the experience of service users; improve practice and outputs; increase user involvement. Suggests that services should: decommission ineffective services provide lower level prevention and early intervention better care management and tighter gate-keeping over intensive provision manage budgets over a 2 -3 yr planning cycle to allow extra investment early on pool funding between agencies performance contracting consider linking specialist provision to universal assistance.
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141
Topic: Common safety risks
Reference: Lindon, J. (2003). Too safe for their own good?: Helping children learn about risk and skills. London: NCB
Key points: Booklet giving case studies and real examples for teaching children about common, 'everyday' risks such as road safety.
142
Topic: Resilience and sexual Abuse
Reference: Wilcox, D. Richards, F. et al. Resilience and risk factors associated with experiencing childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse Review, Volume 13, Issue 5 (p 338-352)
Key points: This review summarises the literature on known effects of child sexual abuse and looks at the prevalence of abuse in the general population. It examines various conceptual models and factors relating to increasing risk and protection. The review considers how to help damaged young people become healthy adults and draws out the implications for helping children who become abusers themselves.
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143
Topic: Resilience and well-being
Reference: Walker, Steven. (2003). Working together for healthy young minds: a practitioner's workbook. Russell House Publishing, Lyme Regis. ISBN 1-903855-26-8.
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Topic: Sexual Abuse
Reference: Group work with sexually abused children: a practitioner's guide by Lynn Grotsky, Carel Camerer and Lynn Diamiano, Sage Publications. ISBN 0-7619-2079-X.
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145
Topic: Child athletes
Reference: Gervis, M. and Dunn, N. (2004).The emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 3.
Key points: Identifies a high prevalence of emotional abuse of elite UK child athletes by their coaches. Abusive behaviours included: belittling, humiliating, shouting, scapegoating, rejecting, isolating, threatening and ignoring. Research participants reported feeling stupid, worthless, upset, less confident, humiliated, depressed, fearful and angry as a result of the behaviour of their coaches. Evidence suggests that the behaviour of some coaches is a threat to psychological well-being.
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146
Topic: Sexual abuse and drugs/ alcohol
Reference: Plant, M. and Miller, P. (2004) Childhood and adult sexual abuse: relationships with alcohol and other psychoactive drug use. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 3, Pages 200 - 214.
Key points: In a survey representative of the UK population, 12.5% of women reported experiencing some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16 years, as compared to 11.7% of men. Women reported the same levels of abuse after the age of 16yrs, whilst for men levels dropped to 3.2%. Sexual abuse both pre and post age 16 was associated with being single or cohabiting, with higher levels of cigarette-smoking, alcohol consumption, experience of alcohol-related problems and use of illicit drugs. The authors conclude that the relationship between drinking and other forms of psychoactive drug use and sexual abuse is complex.
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147
Topic: Lessons from Climbié
Reference: Reder, P.Duncan, S. Making the most of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages 95 - 114
Key points: The main findings of the Climbié Inquiry are consistent with most previous fatal child abuse inquiries or reviews. Problems are described in professionals' assessments, communications, skill base and resources. Stresses the importance of building from lessons of these inquiries, by enhancing professional's capacity for reflective practice. If the recommendations of the Climbié report are implemented in an over-bureaucratic manner, their potential to significantly change practice will be reduced. Training of professionals and the resources available to them are crucial issues to be considered.
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148
Topic: Parents views of CP services
Reference: Dale, P. 'Like a fish in a bowl: parents' perceptions of child protection services. Child Abuse Review. Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages 137-157.
Key points: Interviews with 18 families who had received child protection services showed mixed feelings about the perceived helpfulness of the process. 50% of families reported some positive benefit and 22% reported that child protection interventions had caused them harm. For families, factors associated with positive and negative outcomes were: availability of preventive services, crisis support, respite care, actual provision of services specified in protection plans and an engaging style of practitioners.
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149
Topic: Assessing risk in children with serious injury
Reference: Dale, P. et al. Serious and fatal injuries to infants with discrepant parental explanations: some assessment and case management issues. Child Abuse Review. Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages 296 - 312
Key points: (Modified from article abstract) Examines the assessment and case management challenges faced by child protection systems where babies and infants have received serious and fatal physical injuries, alongside discrepant parent/carer explanations. Reviews case files or records of children under 2yrs. Findings indicate that initial safety responses by child protection systems can be inadequate. Assessment of further risks could be inconsistent, especially where there are few other factors of concern apart from the injury. Need for the development of more systematic decision-making processes, to achieve more consistent standards of assessment and case management of high-risk infants and to minimize false-negative and false-positive predictions of further risk.
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150
Topic: Children in need
Reference: Children in Need 2003.
Key points: Annual survey of children in need from social services. Over half of all cases deal with abuse and neglect.
151
Topic: Laming Inquiry
Reference: The Victoria Climbié Inquiry. (2003.) Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming. London: TSO
Key points: Independent inquiry to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Victoria Climbié. Includes key documents; news updates; a timetable of events; evidence produced; the background to the Inquiry; credentials of the Inquiry team; and the final report by Lord Laming.
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152
Topic: Child Abuse: Data summary
Reference: Facts and Figures About Child Abuse NSPCC.
Key points: NSPCC research shows that a significant minority of children suffer serious abuse or neglect:
- 7% of children experienced serious physical abuse at the hands of their parents or carers during childhood.
- 1% of children experienced sexual abuse by a parent or carer and another 3% by another relative during childhood. 11% of children experienced sexual abuse by people known but unrelated to them. 5% of children experienced sexual abuse by an adult stranger or someone they had just met.
- 6% of children experienced serious absence of care at home during childhood.
- 16% of children experienced serious maltreatment by parents, of whom one third experienced more than one type of maltreatment.
- Latest available figures show that there are 32,700 children on child protection registers in the UK as at 31st March 2003.
- Nearly 79,000 children are currently looked after by local authorities in the UK.
- Every week in England and Wales one to two children will die following cruelty.
- There are on average 80 child homicides recorded in England and Wales each year.
- On average one child is killed by their parent or carer every week in England and Wales.
- The people most likely to die a violent death are babies under 1 year old, who are four times more likely to be killed than the average person in England and Wales.
- 31% of children experienced bullying during childhood, a further 7% were discriminated against and 14% were made to feel different/an outsider. 43% experienced at least one of these things during childhood.
- NSPCC teams and Helplines accepted over 24,000 requests for help in 2003-4.
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153
Topic: Risk, Reflexivity And Social Control In Child Protection.
Reference: Scourfield, J; Welsh, I. Risk, Reflexivity And Social Control In Child Protection: New times or same old story? Critical Social Policy, 23(3), August 2003, P.398-420.
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154
Topic: Child Protection Post-Laming
Reference: Bullock R. Child Protection Post-Laming: The Wider Agenda. Journal Of Integrated Care, 11(5), October 2003, Pp.13-17.
155
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Benbenishty, R et al. Rationales Provided For Risk Assessments And For Recommended Interventions In Child Protection: A Comparison Between Canadian And Israeli Professionals. British Journal Of Social Work 33(2), 2003, P.137-155.
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156
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Jones, B. et al. The value and role of Citizen Review Panels in child welfare: perceptions of citizens review panel members and child protection workers. Child abuse & neglect 2003 Jun, 27(6), P: 699-704
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157
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Sims-J, Iphofen-R. Parental substance misuse and its effect on children. (Implications for child protection assessment and whether or not children should be removed.) Drug & Alcohol Professional, 2003, Sep, 3(3), p33-40
158
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Richards, P. Lessons to be learned from the Victoria Climbié inquiry. (Recommendations of the Laming Report (2003) concerning child protection in primary care.). Primary Health Care, 2003, Jun, 13(5), p16-7
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159
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Eaton, L. Government proposes shake up in child protection services. BMJ 2003 Sep 13, VOL: 327 (7415), P: 577
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160
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Cameron, G. and Karabanow, J. The nature and effectiveness of program models for adolescents at risk of entering the formal child protection system. Child welfare 2003 Jul-Aug, VOL: 82 (4), P: 443-74
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161
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Murphy, M. et al. When training and prevention meet. (Outline of a child protection programme for parents and extended family in Bolton as part of the Sure Start initiatives.) Child Abuse Review, 2003, Mar/Apr, 12(2), p107-13
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162
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Spratt, T. Child Protection Work And Family Support Practice In Five Family Centres. Child Care In Practice, 9(1), January 2003, p18-30.
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163
Topic: Child Protection
Reference: Kinnair, Donna. Child Protection: Lessons From The Recent Past. Community Practitioner, 76(4), April 2003, p121-122.
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164
Topic: Child abuse
Reference: Peake, A. Child abuse: The hidden narrative. Educational & Child Psychology; Vol 20(1), (2003), p. 34-42.
165
Topic: Child protection tool
Reference: Fowler, J. A practitioner's tool for child protection and the assessment of parents. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London: (2003)
Key points: A checklist for collecting and interpreting information for risk assessment in all aspects of child protection work. Focuses on assessing attachment issues for case conferences, as a core assessment in care proceedings, or for statements in public and private law matters.
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166
Topic: Parents who abuse
Reference: A comparison study of characteristics of parents of abused and non-abused children. Fundudis-T et al. Educational & Child Psychology; Vol 20(1), (2003), p. 90-108; 7
167
Topic: Child abuse data
Reference: Sidebotham, P. et al. Child maltreatment in the "children of the nineties:" Deprivation, class, and social networks in a UK sample. Child Abuse & Neglect; Vol 26(12), (Dec 2002), p. 1243-1259;
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168
Topic: Parents with mental health issues
Reference: Pearce, J. Parental mental health and child protection: making the links through training. (Benefits of multiagency working and training for the understanding of mental disorders and their impact on child protection where children live with a parent with mental health problems.) Child Abuse Review, 2003, Mar/Apr, 12(2), p114-8
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169
Topic: Detecting child abuse
Reference: Lindberg, M.A. et al. Comparisons of three different investigative interview techniques with young children. The Journal of genetic psychology; 2003 Mar, VOL: 164 (1), P: 5-28
170
Topic: Families with mental health issues
Reference: Stanley, N. et al Working on the interface: identifying professional responses to families with mental health and child-care needs. Health & social care in the community 2003 May, VOL: 11 (3), P: 208-18. 8
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171
Topic: Mental Health
Reference: O'Daly,J. Parental borderline personality disorder and child protection. Community Practitioner, 2003, Jan, 76(1), p18-20
Key points: Includes a case study involving multi-agency teamworking.
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