Q&A about child protection with NSPCC - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

We're joined this week for a Q&A with the NSPCC, the UK's leading child protection charity. Last week the NSPCC's All babies count campaign was our Campaign of the Week.

Your questions will be answered by Chris Cuthbert, from the All babies count campaign, Kam Thandi, NSPCC helpline team manager, and Jane Petrie NSPCC Parenting Officer. They will be answering your questions about the work of the NSPCC, the NSPCC helpline, the All babies count campaign, and how Mumsnetters can protect children. Send in your questions to the NSPCC before 5pm on Monday 6th February and we'll be linking to their answers from this thread on 16th February.

Chris says: 'It's great that mumsnet is supporting All babies count campaign. Almost a half of the most serious cases of child abuse and neglect relate to babies under the age of one. Evidence shows that with the right services in place it is possible to prevent many of these tragic cases. We hope Mumsnetters will support us by signing our online petition. I look forward to answering your questions about the campaign.'

Kam adds: Unfortunately we can't allow you to use the Q&A session to share concerns about a specific child. If you are worried about a child right now - even if it's just a doubt, please contact the NSPCC's free 24 hour helpline immediately for advice from our trained helpline counsellors.'

Call:0808 8005000
Email [email protected]
Text 88858
(If you are texting from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, 88858 will not be available to you. However, you can text the NSPCC Helpline on 0778 620 0001. This service is not free, and you will be charged at your standard network rate.)

This Q&A has been sponsored by the NSPCC

catsrus It's the NSPCC's stance on warning of dire consequences for leaving children (ie under-16s) 'home alone' that rankles - You could be prosecuted for neglect .

I also feel its advice on not allowing an under-16 to be at home with (ie 'babysit') a younger child is pathetic. My DCs are 15 and 14, and the NSPCC would advise me not to leave them if I were at work.

I have checked this advice out with my local council's Head of Children's Social Care who confirms that this is a fair interpretation of the NSPCC's advice.

I would also point out that many schools run babysitting courses with certification upon completion for 14 year olds.

How does the NSPCC square this with its own advice? Is the NSPCC criticising schools as well as parents?

I'd like to know why the NSPCC provides almost no child protection services in the South West since the closure of ChildLine Exeter, Young Witness Support Projects Exeter and Plymouth, Plymouth Child Protection Centre, Somerset Child Protection Centre to name just a few and yet still had the cheek to send out a "Connect" magazine to everyone in the South West this Christmas with a map clearly showing that just 2 tiny projects are now covering everything south of Gloucester and west of Southampton. Other regions have suffered similar cuts. Is the NSPCC just a short term project-building/trashing machine that trades on its reputation?

Is there a handy map that shows in which areas the NSPCC actually takes action to help vulnerable children? As I understand it Children 1st is their equivalent in Scotland, yet the NSPCC certainly spends a lot of money fundraising here

I hate the misery-spreading ads. There is never an indication of what good this "raising awareness" is meant to do. Never any indication of any positive measures taken by the NSPCC, who seem to see spreading suspicion as an objective in itself. They subject everyone to these fear mongering campaigns, even making new mothers a particular target with their vile baby names book.

Contrast the NSPCC website, with its advertising speak and obfuscation with that of Barnardos - they are able to be open about how they help and what they do with our donations.
www.barnardos.org.uk/

Are you doing any research into the growing phenomenon of family annihilators? There have been a spate of men murdering their children recently, why is this happening and what are you doing about it?

What is the salary of your chief executive and team of senior managers?

i feel a bit bad for you that this sounds like being attacked but i think there are clear themes of concern here such as transparency and it seems the dislike of the advertising/fundraising format is widely disliked and that there is a lack of clarity about what you actually do front line with the funding raised (and where you do it). good opportunity for you to address these areas. like others i am also interested in why people have the impression that phoning the nspcc is like phoning social services and whether this stands up to reality.

wow, I thought it was just me.

What proportion of your budget is spent on a) the production of misery-porn? b) chuggers?

I really take issue with this:

Around 198,000 babies in the UK have parents affected by domestic violence, substance misuse or mental health problems. These families can face significant risks and we can all do more to help

The guy on the video states it in even stronger terms, he says ' ... these babies face incredible risks'

I'll watch this thread with interest.

really disgusted with that plenty - to put mental health problems in with dv and drug abuse is incredibly stigmatising and misleading. nice to know that nspcc sees those of us who suffer with depression in the same bracket as drug addicts and wife beaters.

Another poster from the southwest. Why do your adverts imply that you can work with families?
My friend contacted you when her child was taken in to care and her other child was classed as at risk. No support was available.
And in answer to other posters who asked about complaints about adverts to the ASA, NSPCC ads are frequently investigated, and this can be viewed on their website.

I would also like to hear the answer to the question posed by memoo and others about why mental health problems have been included with DV and drug abuse as a major risk factor in child abuse.

And about the ages leaving children alone / babysitting which I have seen discussed on here many times and I agree with others that they seem overly cautious and frankly not possible anyway for many families.

Were you aware that you are such an ill thought of charity?

would you also stop getting money from those clothes bag people (the companies that post charity bags for collection with NSPCC on it though only a tiny bit of any profit goes to your charity) and so some company isthat basically make a fortune on the back of your name.

Do you have a clear audit trail of what happens to all the clothing, other textiles and other good, collected in the NSPCC's name.

What percentages are directly re-used; re-sold; recycled; end up in commercial residual waste for incineration; landfilled; other?

How does these figures compare to, say, the Salvation Army?

goods

This, from here ...

Nearly two thirds (60%) of referrals involved either parental substance misuse, domestic abuse or concerns about the parent?s mental health.

It's not a neutral decision to group these things together. You could just as easily have worked out what percentage of referrals involved concerns about the parent's physical or mental health and grouped those things together but I suppose that wouldn't have been so scary and dramatic.

It may have escaped your notice but MH charities are working really hard at the moment to destigmatise people with mental health issues. The message of your campaign is to be suspicious of people experiencing mental distress and to distrust their parenting. You're in danger of doing a lot of harm here. Did you consult with any MH charities before you created this campaign?

I agree with the comments about "promoting" a link between mental health issues and child protection referrals.

As if new mothers don't already find it hard to request intervention when they are struggling. How on earth does this protect babies? How about setting up some actual support groups for new parents, rather than producing dire leaflets in a stern font with the all-important donation slip attached.

Do you know what, I am so pleased to see the sanctity of the NSPCC being challenged on this thread. I wonder how many children physically attend NSPCC projects any more?

In fact, make that another question. How many children physically attend NSPCC projects?

(not including your highly questionable ChildLine schools service, which is being rolled out to introduce primary school children across the country to the subject of child abuse using a friendly green fluffy gonk).

Act now, and protect an entire generation

We call on UK governments to better protect babies by ensuring all new parents have access to the services they need.

Count me in

I want the government to know that I support the All Babies Count campaign. I back the call on administrations across the UK to ensure that all new parents have access to the services they need.

What does this actually mean? In a climate where services are either disappearing altogether or being cut to the bone what is it that NSPCC are actually doing on the ground to ensure that all new parents have access to the services they need?

This petition looks to me like a feel-good exercise.

The more I look round your website, the less I discover that you actually do.

"(not including your highly questionable ChildLine schools service, which is being rolled out to introduce primary school children across the country to the subject of child abuse using a friendly green fluffy gonk"

You what?

here

A friend of mine had to give feedback after her school took part in the pilot last year. She had a lot of "feedback."

It seems to be encouraging children to ring ChildLine, but they closed a load of ChildLine offices last year.

...oh and after the awareness-raising comes a fundraising activity for the kids.

I back the call on administrations across the UK to ensure that all new parents have access to the services they need.

Does this quote from the NSPCC mean that you would like the UK's councils to commission more from the NSPCC? If so what, and to what effect?

What does the NSPCC do to help parents with MH issues in regards to parenting and protecting their children?

What support do you give to parents with MH issues?

Would you consider showing school age children graphic abuse pitcures as found in your ads adusive?

What is your stance on a 14 year old looking after her own baby? Is this parenting or neglatful of her mother?

Do you think that some of your policies are out of touch with current family life?