Child Protection Research

I've had several enquiries about child protection over the last couple of days - presumably some of you are writing an assignment on this topic? - so here's a brief overview of various resources that might be of use.

NSPCC Inform is a portal for anyone involved in safeguarding children. The site continues to grow, and includes statistics, research reports, factsheets, case reviews, and other types of useful information. It's difficult to highlight all of the site's useful pages in a brief post, but you can find areas devoted to resources tailored to each of the nations of the UK (click here to access the page for England). You can also view and access in full a complete list of their research reports, many of which have featured on this site when they were originally published.

For a more official angle, you should take a look at Working Together to Safeguard Children; this is statutory guidance which was introduced by the DfE in March last year. It's a pretty long document, so you should find this article useful, as it summarises some of the main points. You could also help your understanding of how social work with children has altered in recent years by looking at the various documents to come out of the Munro Review.

If you have an ongoing interest in child protection, then you're probably already aware of the Community Care website (if you're not, then bookmark it now!). The same team are responsible for the CCInform service - if you're lucky enough to be attached to an institution with a subscription to this resource, it really is a goldmine of practical, hands-on information. Or for news stories, you could simply pay regular visits to the child protection area of the Guardian website.

Some other documents from recent years that you may find useful:

• The State of Child Neglect in the UK (Action for Children, 2013)
• Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Early Years (NICE guidance, 2012)
• Safeguarding Children Across Services (2011)
• Effective Practice to Protect Children Living in 'Highly Resistant Families' (C4EO, 2010)

 For further reading, the TES has put together a detailed list of Safeguarding Teaching Resources. Or you can have a look at my own list of child protection bookmarks on the Diigo website.