Child Safeguarding

Question 1

What are the 4 main categories of child abuse?

Answer 1

• Physical
• Sexual
• Emotional
• Neglect

Question 2

What are common features of a child’s history that indicate a safeguarding issue?

Answer 2

• Missing school
• Lots of past injuries
• Family history of mental health, abuse or drug/alcohol abuse
• Poor mental health
• History of violence
• Not eating enough

Question 3

What are common signs on examination of a child that indicate a child safeguarding issue?

Answer 3

• Weight loss
• Self-harm
• Dirty/unclean
• Wearing the wrong clothing - wrong size, old, damaged, dirty
• Very quiet or acting out lots
• Bruises or unexplained marks/injuries

Question 4

What are common risk factors that increase the likelihood of each type of child abuse?

Answer 4

• Toxic trio - Adult mental health issues, substance use issues and domestic violence witnessed or experienced by the child
• Lower social status - lack of money, unemployed, etc
• Parents/caregivers with lots of children
• Parents/caregivers who don’t understand the needs of a child

Question 5

What are the consequences of failing to detect and act on child safeguarding concerns?

Answer 5

• Child death
• Child seriously ill - physically and/or mentally
• Child in the future becomes abusive
• Child becomes violent or commits crimes

Question 6

What is the definition of ACEs in the context of child safeguarding?

Answer 6

Adverse Childhood Experiences - the affect that abuse has on a child impacting how they are in the future

Question 7

Which agencies/professionals are involved in investigating a child’s death?

Answer 7

Joint agency response - Police, hospital staff, GP, family, school, coroner, public health, social worker, lay members of the public (outside view)