Northern Trust strengthen their work in tackling the neglect of children in this area

1 October 2018

Neglect is one of the most common forms of mistreatment of children and young people in the UK. Northern Trust staff from different services recently came together at a conference, with colleagues from the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) and other agencies with a key role in child protection, to discuss and plan how we can identify and tackle neglect better. Everyone has to work together; medical staff, dentists, social workers, health visitors, teachers, the police and legal services to help make sure we don’t miss opportunities to protect children, support families and improve lives.

Early childhood experiences have a major impact on healthy development and positive mental health throughout all our lives. This clearly highlights the importance of a consistent approach to prevention and early intervention in cases of neglect – it is something in which we all have a part to play.

The SBNI has recently produced the Multi-Agency Neglect Strategy 2018-2022 which aims to help organisations across Northern Ireland who work with children and families, to take actions to prevent, reduce and manage the effects of neglect. This conference marked the start of the Northern Trust and others in this area working towards implementing this strategy which will strengthen our work in helping to protect children.

John Fenton, Assistant Director for Safeguarding Children/Family Support in the Northern Trust said, “Together with the SBNI we are looking further at how we can tackle neglect to help improve the physical and emotional development of children. We are considering how services can become more joined up so nothing is missed, were possible, and all opportunities are taken to support families in protecting their children.”

The Northern Trust is continuously working with a range of organisations and the community to improve the lives of children in our local area.

1st October 2018