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Physical Abuse

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.

Physical harm may also be caused when a parent fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child.

This also includes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Some of the following signs may be indicators of physical abuse:

  • Children with frequent injuries;

  • Children with unexplained or unusual fractures or broken bones; and

  • Children with unexplained: bruises or cuts, burns or scalds, or bite marks.

A Partnership Model

When families need some support, that doesn't meet the threshold for Social Care involvement, the Early Help System is available. Early Help is made up of three types of services. These are shown below, select the cards to show more information:

Universal services

Made up of schools, early years settings, post-16 education, family hubs, children’s centres and youth centres, GP surgeries, libraries, maternity services, specialist public health or community nurses and community co-ordinators.

A child not attending school because their parent is under the influence of alcohol and is unable to take to them to school impacts on their educational and social development needs.

A child is not being fed because their parent is fearful of leaving the family home to go to the shops impacts the child if they have become underweight and malnourished as a result.

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