To report my friend to safeguarding?

[kurtz000]

My son is friends with a boy from his school (they're 7), I'm friends with his mum although not close, our children do a club outside of school together so I often pick up her son and take him to it, he also comes to our house often for playdates.

Over the summer, her son seemed a bit upset and when i asked him what was wrong he told me his brother (15/16) was drinking the night before and his mum was shouting, I put this down to a one time thing although it happened again a few months later and this time he told me that his brother had hit his dad. Around this time, my friend was telling me about how her son was refusing to go to school and his behaviour was getting worse.

This morning, I picked him up from his club and he seemed upset again and he told me his brother was drunk last night and swore at him and tried to hit him and he told me that his brother is drunk a lot and always horrible to him and his mum.

WWYD? WIBU to report my friend to safeguarding?

I would be tempted to raise it with the school safeguarding lead rather than social services yourself only because a school referral may then be more helpful

Well, it’s not your friend drinking and punching family members. So I would not be “reporting her to safeguarding” but I might consider talking to social services about some support for her and her husband with a troublesome son. Most likely I would have spoke to younger son’s school first and let them deal with it/ get the ball rolling.

Tell the school. They have processes they can follow.
I'm confused by your wording. It sounds as though your friend is being abused by her older teen yet you want to report her to safeguarding.

Please report it to his school's safeguarding lead. Please.

Surely you would first talk to your friend. She is obviously not ignoring it as she has already raised it in conversation. Make her aware that her younger child is affected to the extent he is talking to you about it. Why create a rift before it is necessary? Maybe you could support her in the first instance. Any kind of "reporting" surely comes after a conversation with her?

I would try and get the mother alone and share my concerns with her first.she might be being controlled by her elder son and need help.try and offer her a listening ear before deciding to report to anyone