What is neglect?

Date: Tuesday, 01st Nov 2022 | Category: General

‘Neglect means that the parent or carer is unable to meet the needs of the child yet’.

The OSCB has 3 strategic priorities. The first is improving the way that we support children, when the parent or carer is unable to meet the needs of the child yet. Over the next few months, we want to tell you more about why this priority matters in Oxfordshire, where you can find advice and what resources you can use.

In Oxfordshire over 60% of children protection plans are due to the reason of neglect. We want to change this.

We want to improve how:

• we talk about it – the words we use
• we recognise it, when it is impacting on a child e.g. poor dental health, empty lunchbox, missed appointments
• we understand the daily lived experience of the parent/carer, who is struggling to meet the needs of their child

We want you to know:

• what makes a difference to a family in terms of receiving support
• what resources to use

A good place for you to start is the OSCB Homepage on neglect.