CM club: should i phone social services?

[dmo]

i know it always happens to me
and being a cm i cant bounce off anybody i am the key person the child protection officer of my setting.
anyway i have an 8yr old boy (quite grown up for his age) he lives with his mum and his uncle (uncle has problems has a mental age of 15yrs)
so the mum has a new boyfriend and has been with him 8 mths he lives in Kent (about 5 hrs drive away) mum goes down most weekends on her own to visit boyfriend and leaves her son with his uncle.
last weekend mum took son to kent and on monday she was really cross with him when she dropped him off because he had embrassed her (didnt ask what he had done)
anyway mum picked son up on monday night all smiles as she had just booked to go to america for 2 weeks in march with boyfriend without son.
she drops son off this morning and tells me uncle is picking son up from me tonight as she is going to france for the weekend with boyfriend.
this got me thinking as i know uncle works nights.
so i asked 8 yr old if uncle still worked at night and he said yes, so i said who looks after you at night and he said he stays at home alone (uncle works from 9pm till 6.30am) i asked what he does and he said he has to stay in bed.
now i know this is all hearsay from an 8 yr old boy but the way he told me its as if it happens alot.
do i take what a 8yr old tells me (after all uncle could have booked time off work, or they have a neighbour/friend come over to look after him)
i did try to talk to uncle when he picked the 8yr old up asking if he had booked time off work but he really is like a child (get more sence out of the 8yr old) so i didnt get very far

just tell me your veiws cant really talk to anybody about this

I would ring social services. They can get the Police to go around and check he is not home alone.
Going to America for 2 weeks without her son?

Bloody hell I'm sorry I am not a CM but I would definitely report this or ring his mum at least and ask her. Say you are concerned. The poor little fellow

oh god sweetheart, your right, always you!..why does she bother with childcare through day if she leaves him ona night..i think you need to speak to the mum, tell her her son said something which concerned you and ask her to clear it up..if shes already gone, i would call one of this childs other contacts and ask thier help..might be a idea to call at boys home first to check he is alone or ring him??...good luck

certainly worth investigating..it might turn out that plans have been made for him to have care, for this weekend and the holiday..or not

but yes, i would call

i would phone the ss too

and the mother is bang on imo

good idea strawberry i was tempted to go round to his house about 10pm to check on him, but phoning would be a good idea
mum set off this morning son gets dropped off at 7.30am

oh bloody hell dmo why do you always get em?!
this is not a good situation is it? i would def ring either your area co-ordinater for advice or s.s.
seems totally wrong to me,for starters the uncle really shouldnt be left to care for an 8yr old if he has the mental age of a 15 yr old weather its for an hour or a weekend!
if i were in your position i would ring my area ncma co-ordinater first and go from there.
hth.

I would call ss, I would feel awful if I knew this information and there was an accident of some sort (IYKWIM)

There is no legal age for leaving a child home alone. If what the child is telling you is accurate, then he is being left home alone from 9pm to 6.30am.

Info from NSPCC The NSPCC says "it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so puts him or her at risk." "No child under 16 should be left overnight."

Perhaps you could seek advice from the NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000 to determine if this is something that should be reported to Social Services.

Oh my god - yes, I would too. Why would the little boy lie, is he normally truthful? You can't really take the chance, can you that a friend/neighbour will be looking in can you?

Also, I shouldn't think an uncle who is of that mental age is capable of looking after an 8 year old for the weekend much less 2 weeks!

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this, but go with your gut on this one.

Call to the local police tonight to say that you belive a child being left alone . Explain the circumstances.

This may be a small part of a big picture which SS and police may already know about .

Even if uncle wasn't wroking nights I would have conerns about a child of 8 being left for a weekend with someone who has a a mental of 15.

If you phone the SS they will only end up calling the police to check anyway , so bypass them and go straight to police.

thats why i'm worried if anything happened i would be so upset.
i do agree i wouldnt leave a child with the uncle, must have been happening for a while but i just never thought who looked after the boy when uncle was a work until today

feel a bit sick at the thought of phoning somebody

Do it anon of need be !

' if need be '

fab thanks nannynick (as always)

also thanks to everybody else

They wouldn't necessarily have to name you as the person who phoned though, would they? A concerned person surely is enough - plus she is obviously very open about her plans and her sons care!

It's easy for me to say, I would feel sick in your position too.

a childs health and safety is at stake here
what is there to feel sick about

you will feel even sicker if something happened to him and you were forwarned of this

I think you really need to phone someone on this if you strongly suspect that an 8 year old is home alone, dmo. I really know that sick feeling when you take things further, though. I think ringing the mum is a good idea. Does the uncle work weekend nights as well?

dont know summymummy
thats what i am worried about its the word of an 8yr old
think i will just phone the local police to check on him later

The whole scenario, is rining alarm bells to me.
What is the boy like in general?
Does he appear well cared for?

I feel you should be telling someone. The advantage with the NSPCC Helpline is that you do not have to give your name, address or phone number. They treat calls as confidential and then investigate the information received. However, it does help the NSPCC if you do give some personal information, should they need to get back in touch with you for additional info.

The NSPCC says:
"We will not disclose your name and address to the person or family you have concerns about. And if we need to share any details with the police or social services, we will ask them not to do so. The Helpline adviser will discuss with you any worries you may have about this."

My hubby is Police Sgt, he says go directly to Police, just to be sure.

I agree with scummymummy.
The only issue here is whether an 8yr old boy is being left alone.
Call the mother to explain your concerns and remind her of your responsibilities as a child care professional as written in your child protection policy. Maybe suggest having the boy overnight at your house if you are registered for overnight care (or could you speak to Ofsted explaining the circumstances and get permission for special overnight care? I don't know). Do you know of any babysitters you could recommend to her if necessary?
Do it in a way to help her, not anonymously.
As for her plans with her boyfriend - that is not for anyone to judge.
And on whose say so does the uncle have a mental age of 15? My 15yr olds were brilliant child carers. 15 is a red herring.

Id ring the advice line that nannynick gave and have a chat with them and take it from there.
If the child is being left all night on his own cos uncle is in work then surely he is being left all day to defend for himself too as uncle will be sleeping!
good luck and the sooner u ring the better really

child protection. you should alert ss now, they have emergency numbers. record everything he has told you, you may be called as a witness. you must do it, you would never forgive yourself if he came to any harm.

this woman is a disgrace