46: What is child neglect and how to spot the signs

NSPCC Learning Podcast

Neglect is a form of child abuse that can have serious and long-lasting effects on a child’s life, but it can be difficult to recognise.
In the first episode, Dawn Hodson, the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect, Mandi Tambourini-Moore, a family support worker for Liverpool Children’s Services, Lisa Shannon, the Graded Care Coordinator from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Sharon Graham, an Early Help Manager at Shropshire Council discuss:

• what neglect is and some of the harder to spot signs of neglect
• the difficulties and challenges when conducting assessments
• issues and challenges that arise in relation to children’s age and stage; covering early years, adolescence and additional needs.
• what they’ve learnt from their experiences and what they find works when supporting families.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.
💬 About the speakers

Dawn Hodson is the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect. She has led on the development and research of several evidence-informed assessments and interventions in relation to neglect, including the only authorised update to the Graded Care Profile. Her work on implementation has led the way for the GCP2 to be adopted in over 90 areas in the UK.
Amanda (Mandi) Tambourini-Moore has over 25 years' of experience working with children and young people in child development, youth and play work, and targeted services. Mandi currently works as a Family Support Worker at Liverpool Children’s Services, where she is also the ‘GCP2 champion’, promoting the use of GCP2 to support families to fully understand neglect and improve the lives of children experiencing neglect.
Lisa Shannon started her career as an early years practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in that field. Lisa was also a family worker for 13 years. She is currently a Graded Care Coordinator for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
Sharon Graham is an Early Help Manager within Children’s Services at Shropshire Council and has a lead role around the prevention of neglect. Sharon has over 17 years experience of supporting vulnerable families and 11 years experience of managing Early Intervention services.
📚 Related resources

> Read more about protecting children from neglect

> Learn more about Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2)

> Read our case study evaluation of GCP2

> See our range of child protection resources

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros