Introduction
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely than other children to be abused or neglected. Sometimes this is because of high care needs, difficulties expressing their concerns or because they don’t understand that what is being done to them is abusive.
Parenting children with SEND comes with additional stresses and challenges which can heighten the potential for abuse or neglect, especially in the context of a society where there still remains prejudice towards and barriers for disabled children and their families.
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Professionals can sometimes miss the signs of abuse due to the complexity of young people’s needs, an acceptance of things being how they are, or allowing their recognition of the challenges facing parents/carers to cloud their judgement leading to abuse or neglect being under-reported.
We must recognise the individual needs of children with SEND and their additional vulnerability to risks such as bullying (including prejudice-based), neglect, sexual abuse, cyberbullying, exploitation and radicalisation, whether on or offline.
Definition of a child with special educational needs
“A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
- has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
- has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.”
Definition of a child with a disability
A child has a disability if they have “a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”
Children with SEND are more likely to develop poor mental health because of the impact of their needs on their lives and/or the abuse they may experience.
According to The Big Ask survey by the Children’s Commissioner for England:
- 6% of children with SEND were unhappy with their safety, compared to 4% of children without SEND.
- Over a third of children with SEND (36%) said they often, always or ‘some of the time’ felt lonely, compared to 23% of other children.
6% of children missing education have an education, health and care plan for special needs, compared to 4% of pupils nationally. They are also more than twice as likely to have a child protection plan.
Additional vulnerability
Disabled children are more likely to be abused by someone in their family compared to non-disabled children. Most disabled children are abused by someone who is known to them.
Disability is a common feature when children have experienced abuse.
Children with disabilities at greatest risk of abuse are those with behaviour/conduct disorders.
Other high-risk groups include:
- children with learning difficulties/disabilities;
- children with speech and language difficulties;
- children with health-related conditions;
- children completely dependent on others for all their care;
- d/Deaf children.
As well as experiencing prejudice related to their disability, children with SEND may also experience challenges relating to other parts of their identity, such as:
- ethnicity;
- sexuality;
- gender;
- mental health;
- having been in care;
- where they live, how much money they have and how much access they have to education.
Spot the signs
Look for:
- behavioural changes (including different patterns of usual behaviours);
- unexplained bruising;
- pain or itching in the genital area, bruising or bleeding near the genital area;
- sexually transmitted infections;
- unusual or extended absence from education;
- aggression;
- withdrawal;
- fear.
What to do
We must maintain professional curiosity and an open mind about what we see and hear. For example:
- Don’t assume that an injury has resulted from the child's needs - consider what other causes there may be.
- Consider behaviour such as self-harm as a possible indication of abuse.
- Recognise the potential for fabricated or induced illness.
Does your child protection policy reflect the additional barriers/risks (both online and offline) faced by children and young people with SEND and support them in dealing with these?
Everyone should ensure the needs of children and young people with SEND are being met and that they feel as safe as their non-disabled peers.
Consider extra pastoral support and attention for these children and ensure appropriate communication support is in place.
Listen to/understand the child’s voice (including non-verbal communication) – ensure all children and young people have appropriate ways of disclosing abuse:
- Communicate with the child or young person via their preferred method.
- Ensure children are provided with sufficient vocabulary in their method of communication to be able to describe abuse.
- Be alert to behavioural disclosure.
- Remain supportive and non-judgmental.
- Focus on the child’s emotional needs, experiences, wishes and feelings.
Ensure children and young people with sufficient ability know how they can report their concerns about abuse; e.g. if they cannot make voice calls, they can now contact the 999 emergency services by SMS, once registered with emergency SMS.
Create an environment based on equality and informed choice – help young people think about the issues and attitudes faced by children with SEND.
Some children with SEND may find it more difficult to express their concerns or disclose abuse, however, children with SEND are most likely to turn to a trusted adult they know well for help, such as family members, a friend or a teacher.
Ensure young people know the risks in an age and ability-appropriate manner -ensure that your PSHE and R(S)E programmes are accessible and understandable by all the children and young people you work with.
Check young people have safe relationships – create an environment where it’s okay to communicate even the most difficult things.
Know the signs and know what to do – use the checklists above and your safeguarding procedures, and be confident to raise concerns about any form of abuse of children with SEND.
Raise all concerns with the designated safeguarding lead. Any reports of abuse involving children with SEND will require close liaison between the DSL (or a deputy) and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) or the named person with oversight for SEND at the setting.
Establish clear lines of communication between all involved in the child’s care so that concerns can be discussed and referred when necessary.
Take action – and keep taking action until you know children and young people are safe
Resources
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Social Isolation and Online Relationship-Risk Encounters among Adolescents with Special Educational Needs
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d/Deaf children and children who have disabilities: learning from case reviews
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Deafness and me
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Reflecting Upon Safeguarding and Young People with SEND
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STAR SEND Toolkit
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EHC plans when a child or young person moves
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SEND code of practice: 0-25
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Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school
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Council for Disabled Children
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Mencap
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