Ofsted: Disabled children slipping through child protection net

Ofsted is urging councils and LSCBs to improve child protection support for disabled children after research revealed the needs of many are being missed

Local authorities are failing to identify the child protection needs of disabled children, according to a report published by Ofsted.

The report, which looked at the effectiveness of child protection work for disabled children in 173 cases across 12 local authorities, found too many disabled children are at risk of slipping through the child protection net.

In some cases, inspectors found parents were neglecting their children, but the impact on the child had not been clearly recognised by children’s services. As a result, the focus on the child was lost.

Missed concerns

Serious concerns regarding the neglect of a young person with autism, for example, were only uncovered after an investigation into the alleged abuse of a sibling, even though the young person and the family were receiving support for the child