Neglect is defined as “The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
• provide adequate food, clothing, and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers)
• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment
• provide suitable education
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs”
This can be found in the document Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance
Children have the right to a positive childhood experience, including having their basic needs met. In sessions with young people in 2024-2025 they told us that they;
Parent/carer fails to provide a stimulating environment or show an interest in the child’s education at school/education provision. They may fail to respond to any special needs and fail to comply with state requirements about school attendance.
Parent/carer is unresponsive to a child’s basic emotional needs. They may fail to interact or provide affection, undermining a child’s self-esteem and sense of identity. (Most experts distinguish between emotional neglect and emotional abuse by intention; emotional abuse is intentionally inflicted, emotional neglect is an omission of care.
Parent/carer minimise or deny a child’s illness or health needs and/or fails to seek appropriate medical attention or administer medication and treatment.
Where a child does not receive adequate calories or nutritional intake for normal growth (also sometimes called ‘failure to thrive’). At its most extreme, nutritional neglect can take the form of malnutrition or obesity.
Parent/ Carer does not provide appropriate clothing, food, cleanliness, or living conditions.
Where a parent/carer fails to provide an adequate level of supervision and guidance to ensure a child’s safety and protection from harm. For example, a child may be left alone, abandoned, left with inappropriate carers, or they may not be provided with appropriate boundaries about behaviours (for example, under-age alcohol use).
In 2025 Salford Youth Council reviewed the ‘Hands of Need’ and added the following areas of need:
Their main message to professionals was that:
"YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THEIR RIGHTS".
During sessions carried out in 2024-2025 a group of Salford young people engaged in a mature and thoughtful discussion with professionals about recognising and supporting their peers whose needs may not be met. One example was given of a group of friends paying for another friend’s lunch as their friend never had a packed lunch or lunch money.
Children said they would go to a youth worker, other family member, sibling, teacher, or their best mate if they were worried. They said they would not post on social media, as ‘social media is for happy things’.
Young people were keen to see a campaign aimed at children to improve this, to include posters, assemblies, inclusion in school mentoring programme.
They felt the following would help prevent neglect across the different age groups:
Details of all the latest news from the Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership.
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