Health visitors have been urged to recognise the specific risks and barriers faced by minority ethnic babies, children and families, following a review into the role that racism plays in child safeguarding failings.
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, an independent body set up in 2018 to oversee reviews of serious child safeguarding cases, this week published a report about safeguarding children from Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds.
“It’s imperative that we acknowledge the specific risks and barriers faced by Black, Asian, and mixed heritage children”
Georgina Mayes
The report explored what happened to 53 children from these racial backgrounds whose cases were the subject of child safeguarding reviews between January 2022 and March 2024.
These children were subjected to horrific abuse, including sexual abuse, assault and neglect, with 27 children dying as a result.
It comes as race and racism have, in recent years, had increased prominence in serious safeguarding case reviews.
The report highlighted that some progress had been made in understanding how race, ethnicity and culture can affect how professionals, including health visitors and other safeguarding practitioners, respond to children and families.
However, the analysis revealed too few examples of these issues being considered “in any depth or specificity”.
Overall, the report called for a “sea change” in how practitioners address issues of race in safeguarding, noting that it was vital to better protect Black, Asian and mixed heritage children from harm.
The publication revealed an “evidence silence about racism” in safeguarding, with many local areas failing to acknowledge the impact of race, ethnicity and culture on children.
It said this oversight had resulted in insufficient critical analysis and reflection on how racial bias impacts decision making and service offers to children.
In addition, it said this silence made the specific safeguarding needs of Black, Asian and mixed heritage children and families “invisible” in both practice and the system for learning from reviews.
The report also found that failing to acknowledge race, racial bias and racism had led to “missed opportunities” to learn from incidents where Black, Asian and mixed heritage children had been seriously harmed or died.
It said this could leave other children vulnerable, at risk of harm and without the support and protection that they need.
The report set out several recommendations for all those responsible for engaging with children and families from Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds, to better protect them from the risk of harm.
It called on local leaders to ensure that appropriate structures were in place to support practitioners to recognise, discuss and challenge internal and institutional racism.
Meanwhile, the report also said it was necessary to create conditions that “empower practitioners to have conversations” with children and families about race and identity.
“Racism and racial bias are completely abhorrent and should never be barriers to keeping children safe”
Janet Daby
This would include ensuring there are safe opportunities for self-reflection within teams and in supervision to acknowledge their own biases.
The report also called on child safeguarding partnerships to review their local strategies and approaches to addressing race, racism and racial bias in their work with Black, Asian, and mixed heritage children.
The Institute of Health Visiting professional lead for quality and policy, Georgina Mayes, said the report highlighted “a deeply concerning silence around race and racism in child safeguarding”.
She said: “To ensure we protect all babies and children, it’s imperative that we acknowledge the specific risks and barriers faced by Black, Asian, and mixed heritage children.
“As health visiting professionals, it is crucial that we address racism and racial bias, and listen to families, to ensure every baby and child receives the support and protection that they need.”
Annie Hudson, chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, said: “Racism is insidious, pervasive and deeply embedded in society.
“The recognition of racism and racial bias as a societal issue is a crucial step in reflecting on, and learning more about, how Black, Asian and mixed heritage children are protected from abuse and neglect.”
Ms Hudson said the panel had recognised the important work being undertaken in some safeguarding partnerships to address race and racism and to develop “anti-racist practice approaches”.
However, she said evidence from the analysis had indicated that too often “critical questions are avoided, evaded and sidestepped”.
Minister for children and families, Janet Daby, said: “Racism and racial bias are completely abhorrent and should never be barriers to keeping children safe and families getting the help they need.
“I’m grateful for the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s work to bring these injustices to light and I urge frontline professionals to challenge biases that could put children in harm’s way.
