Adult Services have a role to play in identifying instances of child neglect. That was the message from the recent forum on 1 March 2017 at the Emirates Stadium.

Organised by Glasgow’s Child Protection Committee, the forum saw representatives from health, social care and the third sector (housing and homelessness sectors) look at child neglect and how Adult Services can help colleagues in Children’s Services identify children at risk.

Colin Anderson, Chair of the Child Protection Committee, said: “Children’s Services alone cannot fully support and protect children...we need to take a whole system approach to identify and help vulnerable youngsters. That’s why we put together this event: not only did it reinforce the critical role colleagues working in Adult Services have in the protection of children, but looked at ways in which we can embed child protection into practice.

“Staff in Adult Services are in a unique position to help us identify children at risk. They work closely with a range of adults who because of, for instance, an addiction or mental health issue are engaging in lifestyles that negatively affect their families.

“Colleagues might not see the child, but when assessing the service user they can ascertain whether or not that person is living with children or has a key role to play in a child’s life. By doing this, we can ensure that all children at risk of neglect are identified early and their family given appropriate support.”

He gave an example of a service user who was asked if he had any children. The man said no because he had no biological children, but he lived with a woman who did.

“It’s about asking the right questions and delving deeper,” Colin said.

Other speakers at the event included Mike Burns, Head of Children’s Services for Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, who gave the Glasgow context about the incidences of neglect; Christine Lavery, Head of Addiction Services, North West Locality, who spoke about the impact of parental substance abuse on children; and Deborah Chalmers and Kate Reid who gave an interactive good practice example on neglect.

Mike Burns revealed that there are currently 511 children on the child protection register in Glasgow, and 106 who are looked after by the Council or other organisation. A third of those children were on the register because of neglect.

He said: “We need to form a coalition with Adult Services and together look at what we do differently to identify neglect. I think we should do this by taking a whole system approach, ensuring earlier identification of children at risk.”

Mike cited GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child – a national programme in which Glasgow is taking part) as the key aspiration for every child in the city.

He added: “We want every child in Glasgow to feel safe, nurtured and respected. We want to instil in them the confidence to achieve whatever they want in life and to feel included. Children experiencing neglect have poorer life outcomes than their peers. All children have the right to a good life and by working together we can ensure we carry out early and effective interventions with children at risk of neglect and their families.”

The forum ended by looking at the next steps each service group could take and a plenary session chaired by Colin.