Every practitioner whose work brings them into contact with children and families should be alert to the signs of abuse and neglect, know where to turn to if they need to ask for help, and be able to make referrals to children’s social work or to the police, if they suspect that a child is at risk of harm or is in danger.

Children will rarely share when they are exposed to abuse and neglect themselves and, if they do, it will often be through behaviour or comments. This can make it difficult for professionals across agencies to identify abuse and neglect. We know that it is better to help children as early as possible, before issues get worse. That means that all agencies and practitioners need to work together, the first step is to become Professionally Curious.

While the presence of a potential indicator of neglect does not necessarily mean that a child is being neglected, further discussion and exploration should take place.

Practitioners need to be ‘professionally curious’ to ascertain further information in the interests of the child. It is essential that professionals engage in professional curiosity at all times as it is likely that signs of any form of abuse including neglect will be identified when dealing with an un-associated incident.