Reporting someone to NSPCC

Not within the MASH. That's why I referred to reviewing limited partner information.

Not forgetting that we need the parents consent to even contact partner agencies.

Again, social workers aren't police. We work with consent. All we can do at the beginning is review limited partner information and speak to the parents. If no concerning partner information is provided and the only evidence is a single report from an individual, if the parent denies it and declines further involvement there is absolutely nothing we can do.

Unfortunately this is the case. Social services are overwhelmed and they prioritise the worst life threatening cases. This means that some families who need help don't get it because they are "not bad enough". In the case I referred to the child was clean and well fed, but was emotionally abused in a complicated situation. Social services did latterly get involved but not as soon as they should have.
Another case I know of, the school and GP had alerted the authorities about neglect and family drug use but nothing was done till a third party reported an incident and the child was permanently removed from one parent.
The more people who report their worries the better.

That doesn’t make sense. One person reports something appalling, but they ignore it because there is only one report? It can’t possibly be the case. I hope it isn’t.

Not the NSPCC but I have reported another mum to my local social services. I was given the option of it being an anonymous call, I didn’t want to do that because I wanted them to be able to contact me in the future for anymore information, evidence.
I know it’s not easy but this is about the children and it’s really important that you report.

That doesn’t make sense. One person reports something appalling, but they ignore it because there is only one report? It can’t possibly be the case. I hope it isn’t.

Not the NSPCC but I have reported another mum to my local social services. I was given the option of it being an anonymous call, I didn’t want to do that because I wanted them to be able to contact me in the future for anymore information, evidence.
I know it’s not easy but this is about the children and it’s really important that you report.

Legally they do.

Legally they do.

They really shouldn’t need a wealth of evidence to act.

This thread seems to have gone off on a tangent from the original post.
OP, best to email the local social work department with your concerns. I have done this about a child that I was concerned about, in fact I contacted social work department twice about the same child. Although I signed the emails, my name was not mentioned to the family and the child was already known to them. Things seem to have improved for the little soul but lots of people knew about the situation and did nothing, due to fear of recriminations. The more evidence and contact from concerned adults, the more likely that social services will intervene in a situation.
Please do what you can to try and help, doing something might help both the child/children and also your conscience.

I don't know what they are likely to do, but the NSPCC is the only charity that does have statutory powers.

Anything statutory goes straight to children's services. Nspcc is a charity and will not get involved.

Recently I send ss an extremely detailed email of 'complaint'.
They printed it off and sent it by post to the family.
With my name at the bottom.
Nearly blew up my life..

Sorry that happened. Tbh I don't really understand why NSPCC still act as a middle man for referrals, all it does is muddy the waters. Maybe someone else will come on to explain the benefit but it seems like a hangover from when they used to have a different purpose, ie before social services had the statutory functions they do now. Like the 'authorised person' status, which wouldn't make any sense to use, and I can't imagine when it was last used.

I know it wouldn't change the outcome, but did the NSPCC ask you if you were wanting to remain anonymous, and if so, did you challenge social services about how your information was used? Stating the obvious but if it's an anonymous referral then the relationship of the referrer to the parent shouldn't be disclosed. It's like saying 'we got an anonymous referral from your ex husband'.

I did mine over the phone, rang the nspcc for a chat and they took the report. No warning of the level of sharing at all. The only warning I remember was that it was all being passed to child services and was I happy? Which of course I was if it met their threshold

I didn't mean to imply it was a vague report, I meant if it was converted to a vague report in order to protect the identity of the referrer. The investigating worker would only have the power to speak to the parent, and they have no other powers to investigate, which means the referral would be pretty much pointless, as the parent would shut it down and that's that. No consent, no specifics, no way forward.

I've never worked in a MASH, where initial referrals are dealt with, but I've often had parents or relatives approach me when I've been working with a family because they want advice on another situation (eg they have a worry about another family member, neighbour etc) I always made it explicitly clear before they told me any details what I would have to do with that information and how. The reality is that unless it's something that's happened in public witnessed by many, such as a child being verbally abused at the school gate or in a supermarket, the chances are the pool of people who most referrals could have come from is usually pretty small. If it's something that's been heard through the walls or from the garden it's a couple of neighbours it could have been. If it's something that happened at a particular home, it's who was in the room. If it's multiple examples, it's a person who sees the child regularly. That isn't to say I ever tried to dissuade anyone from sharing a concern with me but I would talk about that reality and what the impact might be and what we could perhaps do, either in terms of thinking how the referrer could be protected, or if for example it would be likely to mean contact with the child would be impacted (common for grandparents reporting concerns about a grandchild and worried a parent would stop access) how we could ensure there were still eyes on that child if that happened.
In the places I've worked the referrals are done online, unless there's a reason the referrer can't use a computer and then they're taken over the phone. I know the online forms set out the limits of anonymity, ie that professionals don't have the right to be anonymous, members of the public can have their details withheld but that the content of the referral could mean that it's identifiable to the parent. I'm sorry if you haven't had something similar.

My view is one of being furious.

Had they told me how inept they were, I have the basic intelligence to have reported only giving details that I knew others had witnessed, or that had happened in public places. One of the (many) issues was that the mother was a drug user. This was partly discovered by the child describing the effects of the drug use. And that child could have told me, a family member, a teacher, a friend, a friends mum...etc etc. And social services could have been told "on xx June, the child reported you, the mother, to have injected yourself and then been unable to wake you". And that would have been anonymous. She'd have had no idea who the child had spoken too. Or at least not known how many people the child had told, who then might have told their neighbour, their best mate etc etc...

As it stands, the fuckwits read out, in effect, "On xx June, my partner's cousins child reported to me that their mother had injected herself..."

A damn toddler could have made that anonymous. Idiots.

And yes, as a result, that child lost all contact with the people who actually looked out for them. Livid is the only way I can describe it. Livid.

The NSPCC are a charity. They have no authority to 'do' anything other than pass on what you have said to social services or police. In this case the only people who realistically have powers to do anything are the police as they are the only ones with the right to do door to door enquiries which was what was needed.

Not if they are doing a meaningful, effective, safeguarding investigation. I'm guessing you haven't done one, I have done many, and without discussing details of the report it would go something like this:

'we've had a report that you're harming your children'
'in what way?'
'i can't tell you any specifics. Someone said you're not looking after them properly'
'What's your evidence?'
'i can't tell you that either'
'What's been said?'
'i can't tell you'
'Ok, well I'm not. Come back when you've got some evidence'
'ok'

Oh so they can only search databases by name? Sounds like they have shit databases then. The family have lived there for years. So people can only report safeguarding concerns if they know the children's first and last names and what school they go too? Guess there's no point in anyone ever reporting anything unless they know all the intricate details of an abused child then 🙄 good to know. I won't bother at all in future.