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Children under One

During 2020, the independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel received 482 Serious Incident Notifications (SINs) relating to 514 children; 35% of these concerned babies under 1 year old. Since its establishment in July 2018, the Panel has considered 257 rapid review cases of babies under 1 year old, seriously harmed or killed through non-accidental injury (NAI). Significantly, in these cases, men (fathers and stepfathers) were a greater source of physical abuse to these babies than their mothers.

Babies – the most vulnerable of all children – face the greatest risks. Every life lost is an incalculable tragedy, for the child, their family and also for everyone, including professionals, who have known them. The Panel, safeguarding professionals and government have a clear responsibility to make sure that there is a deeper understanding of what happened to these children, and what should be done differently to protect babies better in the future.

This is the biggest category of all notifications that the Child Safeguarding Practice Review panel sees.

Child Safeguarding Practice Review panel’s report: “The Myth of Invisible Men”

There is some evidence that the rate of SINs relating to abuse to babies increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-21) but the rise does not seem to be significant when seen over a longer time frame. They all described issues with self-esteem. These are often described as ‘adverse childhood experiences’ (ACEs) and can manifest in adulthood as attachment disorders.

Factors that played a part were:

  • Domestic abuse
  • Substance misuse
  • Adult mental health issues

and these were combined with the impact of contextual factors:

  • Young parents and care leavers
  • Race, culture and poverty

Further information:

Psychologist report: National Review of Non-Accidental Injury in under 1s

Fieldwork report: National Review of Non-Accidental Injury in under 1s

Safeguarding Children under 1 from non-accidental injury (Powerpoint presentation slides)

Safer sleeping for babies

Royal Borough Windsor & Maidenhead Safeguarding Adults Children Partnership - Safer Sleeping for Babies