Hundreds of young Scottish children taken into care have experienced significant neglect, report says

Nearly all of children taken into care at an early age have already suffered "significant neglect and maltreatment" according to the research.

Researchers found almost 90 per cent of under-fives removed from the care of their parents had been mistreated, suffering neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

The study suggests more than 1300 under fives who became 'looked after' last year will have suffered such maltreatment.

Researchers found that the neglect and abuse suffered by 71 per cent of the children while living with their parents was of "high severity".

Other reasons for young children being taken into care included parental mental health issues, substance misuse or bereavement.

The study also found that parents had often also experienced difficult and disrupted childhoods. The report showed 62% of mothers and 33% of fathers of children who were heading towards likely adoption had experienced neglect themselves as children.

The findings come from a survey of social workers in 19 local authorities conducted as part of the wider research project Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland, which is published today (Thursday).

Undertaken by academics from the Universities of Stirling, York and Lancaster, the full study is the first of its kind to track the experiences and pathways of all 1,836 children in Scotland who were made subject to the care system at home or away from home, in 2012/13, when they were aged five or under.

A team of experts discovered 384 out of the 433 children involved in one strand of the study had directly experienced abuse or neglect – and two-thirds of those had suffered multiple forms of maltreatment - before being removed from their parents.

Lead academic, social work expert Dr Helen Whincup from the University of Stirling, said the report was the first to look in depth and decisin making and the progress and outcomes for children who became looked after at the age of five or under.

“Our findings highlight that prior to becoming looked after away from home, family life was difficult for these children, and some had experienced multiple ‘types’ of maltreatment.”

Dr Whincup added: “The finding that neglect features in the childhoods of such a large proportion of these parents emphasises the need for early, proactive and sensitive support services to be available to parents.”

Half of the 433 children were under a year old when they were removed from parents, including almost a third (32%) who were under six weeks old. One in five of the children (21%) were less than seven days old.

Dr Linda Cusworth from Lancaster University said: “The decision to remove children from their parents was generally based on significant maltreatment, together with the experience of multiple problems - including parental substance misuse, domestic violence and mental health problems. Often these factors came within the context of poverty and housing issues.”

Professor Nina Biehal from University of York, who co-directed the study said the nature and the severity of the maltreatment experienced by children before they entered care showed that counter to the image some had of social services, the threshold for intervening is usually high.

The wider study also found that two to three years after becoming looked after away from home, children had levels of emotional and behavioural problems two to three times higher than seen in the general population of children, however the support accessed by carers varied.

Kinship carers – grandparents or other extended family members - reported receiving far less support than foster carers or adoptive parents.

Robin Duncan, Director of AFA Scotland, who supported the research said it had uncovered a phenomenal amount of detail about children's experiences. "This should now guide how support to vulnerable children and their families is provided", he added.