Covid-19: Drop in child protection referrals during lockdown

There has been a "sustained, noticeable drop" in child protection referrals since schools closed to the majority of pupils at the start of the new term.

That is according to the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI), whose members said they were concerned about the trend.

They urged the public to contact the police or social services if they have concerns about a child or young person.

Most pupils have been learning remotely since the start of term in January.

Vulnerable children and the children of key workers are still allowed to attend school.

Concerns that referrals to children's social services had fallen when most pupils were not in school had previously been expressed by the Department of Health (DoH).

On 18 November 2020, Eilís McDaniel from DoH told Stormont's Education Committee that the number of referrals to children's social services fell in the earliest days of the pandemic when schools closed.

"By the week commencing 6 April 2020, a weekly average of 646 referrals had fallen to 542," she said.

"We knew from discussions with officials in other parts of the UK that that was a trend that was being repeated in all four jurisdictions.

"The key concern was that children were no longer visible to services in Northern Ireland when it went into lockdown."

But Ms McDaniel told the committee that trend had "quickly reversed".

"That was an indication that the restrictions were increasing pressures on many already vulnerable families," she said.

"Many families were not able to access the same level of support from services as they could before lockdown, and school closures created particular challenges for families."

Now, the SBNI has again highlighted concerns that referrals of vulnerable children to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and social services have initially fallen in the latest lockdown.

"The current government regulations in Northern Ireland, including the closure of normal school arrangements and the associated nursery and early years provision, is likely to have contributed to the reduction in child protection referrals," the board said.

"The SBNI wants to highlight that the main statutory child protection agencies tasked with keeping children safe and investigating child abuse are open, and that social services and the police are [responding] and will continue to respond to safeguarding and child protection concerns.

"The Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts, the PSNI and the Education Authority are continuing to work together in partnership and with other community and voluntary organisations, to identify vulnerable children and families to provide them with the support and care they need."

The Independent chair of the SBNI, Bernie McNally, said that the public should also come forward if they had concerns.

"There are some children who will be 'unseen and unheard' and it is vital that if you are concerned for a child that you contact your local Health and Social Care Trust Children's Services Gateway team or police on 101," she said.

"In an emergency, the police should be contacted on 999."

Northern Ireland's mental health champion was recently among child health experts who warned of the wider "devastating effect" of the coronavirus pandemic on children.

Prof Siobhan O'Neill was among more than 50 UK signatories to a letter calling children's welfare "a national emergency".