Too many meetings and not enough protection for children at risk, new guidance warns

Children at risk of serious violence and exploitation outside the home are not receiving the coordinated support they need, according to new guidance published by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), which is calling for a single safeguarding pathway, one plan and one accountable lead for every child.

The guidance warns that while children's services have well-established responsibilities for responding to abuse and neglect within the family home, responses to extra-familial harm – including violence, exploitation and risks encountered in communities, schools and online – remain inconsistent and fragmented.

According to the YEF, children affected by harm outside the home can find themselves discussed in multiple meetings and subject to numerous plans, with no single professional holding overall responsibility for their safety.

Research cited in the guidance found that children experiencing extra-familial harm were discussed in as many as 7 to 11 core meetings across six case study areas, raising concerns that safeguarding arrangements have developed alongside statutory processes rather than being integrated within them.

The charity is urging local authorities and safeguarding partners to make extra-familial harm a core safeguarding priority and ensure children receive a single coordinated response.

Gail Gibbons, Assistant Director for Children’s Services at YEF, said: “For children experiencing harm outside the home, the system can feel fragmented and confusing at exactly the moment they need stability and protection. Too often, they are passed between services without anyone clearly accountable for their safety.

“Our guidance is about putting that right — strengthening how services work together so children are better protected.

“Children’s services and social care are undergoing historic reform, and this is a real opportunity to strengthen safeguarding for children at risk of serious violence.”

The guidance highlights concerns about the consistency of local responses to extra-familial harm. A survey of 66 chairs of Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) and similar panels found fewer than half included serious violence within their remit, raising concerns that some children at risk may not be consistently identified or protected through local safeguarding arrangements.

The research also found that only 52% of panels routinely collect data on protected characteristics and just 5% review that information at every meeting. Where disproportionality is identified, fewer than a third of panels always take action.

The YEF warns that these shortcomings are particularly significant given the overrepresentation of Black children in cases involving extra-familial harm and evidence showing they are more likely to experience escalation into care or custody while being less likely to receive early support.

The guidance places particular emphasis on children in care, noting that placement instability, disrupted relationships with trusted adults and out-of-area placements can increase vulnerability to exploitation and serious violence. The charity recommends that care and placement plans explicitly assess risks linked to extra-familial harm and set out how those risks will be reduced.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza backed the recommendations, arguing that children harmed outside the home should receive the same level of protection as those experiencing abuse within their families.

“Children who experience serious violence or exploitation outside of the home need the same protection and support as children experiencing harm within their family. Too often, services designed to support children do not work together leading to a fragmented responses and missed opportunities to keep children safe. Clear accountability, joined up safeguarding and a single plan for each child are essential if we are to provide the consistent support that vulnerable children need and deserve.”

The guidance comes as children's services prepare to implement wider reforms through the Families First Partnership programme and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. YEF argues these changes present an opportunity to embed responses to extra-familial harm within mainstream safeguarding arrangements rather than treating them as a separate area of work.

Carlene Firmin, Professor of Social Work at Durham University and a leading expert on contextual safeguarding, said current arrangements risk leaving children without effective protection.

“It’s really important for children’s services to prioritise extra-familial harm as part of the reform conversation because at the moment it straddles community safety and criminal justice pathways and safeguarding pathways. That means there’s always a risk children will be criminalised before they are protected or lack an efficient and effective safeguarding response.”

The guidance also draws on the experiences of young people themselves. Nio, a member of the YEF Youth Advisory Board, described the challenges created when professionals and services fail to work together.

“One thing I found as a young person [is] my school, my social worker and my foster carers, not only did they struggle to work together, but sometimes there would be hostility between them because there would be conflicting opinions or conflicting approaches. It only made it harder for me because you don’t know what path to go down - you’re the one who’s vulnerable, in need of support.”

Among its recommendations, the YEF calls for stronger multi-agency working, access to high-quality mentoring, evidence-based family support and therapy programmes, and proactive safeguarding arrangements for children in care.

Sir David Holmes, Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, welcomed the publication and urged safeguarding partners to implement its recommendations.

“The Panel welcomes this important guidance from the Youth Endowment Fund, which rightly highlights the urgent need for a more joined-up approach to protecting children at risk of serious violence or harm beyond the home. Extra-familial harm can have far-reaching consequences across entire communities, so it is vital that safeguarding systems are clear, coordinated and focused on delivering consistent support for every child, no matter the circumstances.

“The emphasis on shared responsibility, strong multi-agency working, and a single, accountable plan is particularly encouraging. The Panel encourages all safeguarding partners and agencies to engage fully with this guidance and take concrete steps to embed these recommendations into local practice.”