Best Practice

Safeguarding: What is affluent neglect?

What is affluent neglect, why do we need to be aware of this phenomenon, and how do we spot the signs? Elizabeth Rose offers some practical pointers for school safeguarding teams
Image: Adobe Stock

Neglect is a persistent failure to meet a child’s physical and/or psychological needs. It is the most common form of abuse in the UK and around 1 in 10 children have been neglected.

Neglect can include failing to provide adequate food, shelter or medical attention, failing to ensure a child is properly supervised and could include a neglect of a child’s basic emotional needs.

The updates to the statutory guidance Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2023) also include a “failure to provide suitable education” within the definition of neglect.

Schools spend a considerable amount of time discussing neglect with staff throughout the year and the number of police-recorded child cruelty offences is increasing – which may be due to earlier and more effective identification and reporting (see NSPCC, 2024).

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here