Guidance

• Oxfordshire neglect guidance and joint visiting– updated 2023

What Families Tell us they want

“I want to be told what’s happening in my life” – Child aged 16

“She was open with everything. She told me it straight. She was great with the boys and they had a great relationship; they felt they could talk to her” – Parent, about social worker supporting family to address neglect concerns

• Simple, jargon-free explanations, clarity and honesty
• To be listened to and for professionals to act on what’s important to the child
• Positives to be identified, shared and built on
• Practical help and advice
• For professionals to play with the children and spend 1:1 time with them
• To have family needs at the heart of our work
• For abrupt endings and new beginnings with workers to be minimised, as these make a difficult situation worse

Guidance for Older Children

Working with families where neglect of an older child is a concern presents specific challenges.  Growing up neglected: a multi-agency response to older children examines the multi-agency response to older children who are living with neglect following 6 inspections of local authority areas.

If you have any safeguarding concerns about a child, please see Concerned About a Child