National Context

In October 2018 the Children’s Commissioner Report ‘A Crying Shame’ highlights why babies within this age group are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on their caregivers to keep them safe and happy. Babies under 1 are vulnerable and not able to speak for themselves, and unlike older children, may not attend universal services such as education where adults outside the family have a chance to see them. Unfortunately babies are disproportionately represented in safeguarding learning reviews with instances of death and serious injuries.

In 2020 the chief inspector of Ofsted at the Association of Directors of Children Services Conference highlighted there had been a 20% rise in babies either harmed or killed during the first national lockdown and 40% of the 300 incidents reported involved infants (not just under 1’s). Ofsted also identified a toxic mix of isolation, poverty and mental illness as key factors causing the rise in these incidents.

Salford's response to Safeguarding Babies

In March 2022, the Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) established the Safeguarding Babies under 1 group due to the identified need to co-ordinate and strengthen identified the need to co-ordinate multi agency practice in relation to safeguarding babies under one year of age. Between 1st April 2019 and 30^th January 2023, babies appeared disproportionately in serious incident notifications (SIN’s) made to the SSCP. During this timeframe, ten referrals were made to the SSCP where babies in Salford under one year had suffered serious harm or sadly died due to abuse or neglect. The reasons for referral varied and included physical abuse, non-accidental injury, abusive head trauma, sudden infant death, overlay and drowning.

Babies are extremely vulnerable as they are wholly reliant upon their caregivers to meet their needs. They are not frequently seen by agencies, who rely on engagement from parents and carers to see them in their home environment. Risks to babies often occur in the family home related to contextual modifiable factors in the family, such as domestic abuse, parental mental ill health or parental substance misuse which significantly increase the risk of harm or abuse to babies under the age of one.

The Children’s Commissioner Report “A Crying Shame” identified nationally, 15,800 babies under one were considered vulnerable or had high level needs but were still living at home (Children’s Commissioner, 2018). Child Protection data, available for England, shows that at 31^st March 2020, there were 90 unborn babies and 470 children under one subject to child protection plans due to physical abuse (ONS, March 2021).

The national data reflects local data in Salford - a snapshot of Salford's data shows that on 27^th November 2023 in Salford there were

• 25 children under 1 year and
• 6 unborn babies subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP)

The safeguarding baby’s subgroup membership consisted of colleagues from across all agencies that work with babies and their caregivers. The group aimed to develop a whole system response underpinned by the key principle that “Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”. Our approach was aligned with the overall ambition for the Safeguarding Children Partnership to ensure that all children under the age of one are effectively safeguarded in Salford.

The subgroup has carried out a range of activities to support practitioners in relation to safeguarding babies for example :

• raising awareness across the partnership
• sharing training opportunities and information provided nationally,
• developing resources to be used locally
• contributing to the development of frameworks and assessment processes including the Thriving Families tool, and the development of a safer sleep risk stratification tool to support practitioners to provide the right information at the right time and ensure that safeguarding babies remains a priority
• aligning with local initiatives such as promoting working with Dads to ensure that practitioners engage with both parents
• creating 7 minute briefings to share key messages relating to safeguarding babies (see below)
• enhance skills of practitioner by considering the voice of the child /lived experience of babies in SSCP training

Below you will find a range of tools and resources to enhance learning and assist practitioners when engaging with families . This webpage will continue to be a repository of learning for the workforce across Salford providing updated information key messages, and learning opportunities relating to safeguarding babies.

Safe Sleep

There is evidence from many long term studies of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that some of the infant deaths associated with bed-sharing, co-sleeping and other factors associated with SIDS can be prevented. There is no advice that guarantees the prevention of SIDS but parents should be informed that by following the advice in this Safe sleep 7 minute briefing, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of SIDS occurring.

Safe sleeping guidance can also be viewed on the policies and procedures page

Drinking alcohol while caring for a baby is one of several risk factors highlighted in the Safe sleep 7 minute briefing,. A series of videos have been created to share with parents to highlight the risks. Who's in Charge? Been out for a drink - YouTube

Further resources and information for parents in Salford can be found here :

Parents and Carers - Safe Sleep

The Lullaby Trust

Water Safety

The number of children dying from drowning in Greater Manchester has doubled since 2020. Data from Greater Manchester Police serious case review team highlights 8 incidents in 2022 where four children were under-five years old and a further 4 were adolescent children. Six out of the eight deaths were referred for a statutory safeguarding review due to a lack of appropriate supervision whilst the child was in water. Drowning is usually a rare cause of death in childhood, however in terms of accidental or incidental deaths, it is one of the more common alongside death by Road Traffic Collisions

A young child left alone unsupervised in water, for even the shortest time can be potentially life threatening (CAPT 2022) babies can drown in as little as 5cm (2inches) of water. It is vital that children are supported to grow up in a safe environment; professionals who have contact with children and families can all play an important role in ensuring children are kept safe by their care givers

Water Safety - 7 minute Briefing

Infant Crying - How to cope

ICON is a programme aimed at helping parents and carers with young babies to cope with infant crying.

Most babies start to cry more frequently at about two weeks of age, with crying becoming more frequent and longer lasting during the next few weeks and reaching a peak at six to eight weeks. The ICON programme offers the support to let parents and carers know that this behaviour is completely normal and that they are not alone in dealing with this situation. It is completely natural for babies to cry and it is important to remember that this will stop. After approximately eight weeks babies start to cry less and less each week.

ICON provides the important messages below on how to cope with a crying baby:

I – Infant crying is normal and it will stop

C – Comfort methods can sometimes soothe the baby and the crying will stop.

O – It is OK to walk away, if you have checked the baby is safe and the crying is getting you. After a few minutes when you are feeling calm, go back and check on the baby.

N – Never, ever shake or hurt a baby; it can cause lasting brain damage or death