Possible child abuse next door

[bethy15]

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the correct place to put this, but I'm unsure what to do.

Next door have a lot of children, possibly six, but I'm not sure, there seems a lot come and go at times.

There's one girl, who is in the middle of their ages, she's 12. I'm not sure if she's OK mentally. She's very, very cruel, she's thrown scissors, Swiss army knives, a compass and many other things at my dog. She also has very strange behaviour with other things. But mostly it's extreme cruelty.
They have a trampoline and many times I've heard her standing on their heads or arms, refusing to get up, then she hisses at them that she'll hurt them more if they tell. Most of the times it's when I'm in the garden I'm hearing this, although the screams are so loud we hear them through the walls all the time, it can be quite distressing.

Every day, especially after school, the littlest girl is crying and screaming and in utter despair. Her family seem to pick on her. The middle girl, the cruel one does things to her. Yesterday I was in the garden when I heard the little girl begin to cry/sob and was in pain. She said the girl had kicked her in the mouth. The middle one then says all calmly that no, she was just walking and she was on the floor and that's where her foot was going. That seemed to be perfectly fine to the mother.

All the time though, the family seem to ostracise this little one, treat her meanly and frequently blame her for the other girls behaviour. Ironically, she's the sweetest of all of them. The middle girl seems somewhat sociopathic in her behaviour, I won't let the dog out in the garden if she's there.

They are a bit of a strange family. It's hard to put it down in writing, but they've not really got toys of any kind except their trampoline. They used to just stand at the fence and stare at us all of the time we was in the garden. They said things like 'we had a ball once' or 'we had a stuffed toy once' when talking to us about someone they knew with one.

I'm unsure what to do really. Do I call social services? Contact their school? Do I say I believe it's mostly targeted at the youngest one? I'm sure something is just not right over there. Can it be done anonymously?

If only the Turpin children in California had a concerned neighbour like you.
Or Daniel Pelka that beautiful little boy treated so harshly and murdered.
Or Jordan Burling just recently.
Please do report your concerns OP.

I know it’s difficult because you don’t want to believe that abuse is happening,

I mean, I suppose I don't want to, however, I understand and know it can and does happen. I am the survivor of different forms of child abuse, so understand what's at play. It's why I feel the need to do something and report it, I just didn't know which channels would be best and also do I just report them as a family or the younger one?

I'm guessing I just express concern about the whole family in general and her in particular and then they go from there.

Yes you can report it anonymously if you wish
You can but don't expect them to do anything.

I know that a family in my road is abusing and neglecting their six kids and no-one cares, not the NSPCC or the "safeguarding team".

When (not if) one of their kids is killed or seriously injured and someone says "lessons will be learned", I will have all the proof that I tried for three years to get some help for these kids and I was told that the family said they were being victimised because of their "alternative lifestyle".

Yep, just ring them up and tell them what you’ve told us

I would worry about what's actually going on behind closed doors, the older kids have learnt that behaviour from somewhere. It's an awful situation to be in, I hope everything works out. Good luck op.

*Yes you can report it anonymously if you wish
You can but don't expect them to do anything.

I know that a family in my road is abusing and neglecting their six kids and no-one cares, not the NSPCC or the "safeguarding team".

When (not if) one of their kids is killed or seriously injured and someone says "lessons will be learned", I will have all the proof that I tried for three years to get some help for these kids and I was told that the family said they were being victimised because of their "alternative lifestyle".*

In complete and total honesty, I have been wondering if something similar may happen here due to the religious element.

I'm so sorry that nothing seems to have happened even when you know there is abuse happening.

Very difficult situation for you to be in op. Very difficult indeed. I fully understand why you are worried about me repercussions. And sometimes it is difficult to believe that what you see/hear with your own eyes/ears.

I'm so sorry that nothing seems to have happened even when you know there is abuse happening
I spent nights crying about those kids and days being told by the children's team that I had to accept that they had a different lifestyle to me and neither was better than the other.

No 18 month old child of mine ever stood outside in December in a vest crying for me and got told to "fuck off you cunt" multiple times as they were banging to be allowed back inside.

Sorry I sound super angry because I am, not at you but I still can't believe that I couldn't get them any help.

Persiancatlady - that is So So heartbreaking

Persiancatlady - that is So So heartbreaking
It is.

Persiancatlady, I think you are well within your right to be angry at this situation. Don't worry, I didn't think you was angry with me.

There must be so much anger and frustration for you.

I know someone mentioned Daniel Pelka, but actually, services were involved there and the police were called many times.

Clearly you've tried many times to get help for these poor children, and yet they're still in a position that makes you cry it's so bad.

PersianCatLady

Have you ever filmed any of these instances? I honestly don't know how child services can back these people up and allow this to happen to children. It's bloody heart breaking.

OP. It sounds like you are going to report it. Good.

@PersianCatLady. I empathise. I experienced something a little similar and got fobbed off by people who seem d to scared to intervene in case they caused cultural offence. In the end I took myself to the police station and refused to shut up until it was investigated. Could you do something similar? Laws around domestic abuse have improved - might it be worth another try?

@bethy15

The additional comments you’ve made indicate likely neglect due to absent parents.

Violence, agression and abuse can be inflicted by siblings. It still needs to be reported. Social services can do a site visit and check on the home to see if the children have the basic necessities. If there are any red flags they can escalate it.