300 plans put in place to protect Cumbrian children
More than 300 children in Cumbria have been protected against neglect and physical and sexual abuse, latest figures reveal.
Cumbria County Council said just over 300 child protection plans were put in place for various reasons including neglect, physical and sexual abuse last year.
A child protection plan is only used for children deemed to be at most serious risk. The figures come as a charity revealed 151 children aged 11 or under in the north west were counselled about sexual abuse last year.
The NSPCC report said more than one in 10 children, who contacted Childline because they were sexually abused or feared becoming a victim, were of primary school age.
In June, Cumbria County Council’s children’s services department was judged inadequate by Ofsted inspectors for the second time, prompting calls for its director, Julia Morrison, to resign.
But now, both Cumbria police and children’s services are reassuring the public that every possible step is taken to protect children from abuse.
A Cumbria County Council spokesman said: “Any allegations of abuse are taken extremely seriously by the county council.
“In some cases issues will be referred to us by another agency or individual, in other cases victims get in touch with us direct. This contact will trigger a series of actions to ensure that the child is safe.
“Every situation is different and children’s services will conduct an assessment of the child’s needs to identify what the appropriate steps to take are.
“For those children deemed to be at most serious risk a child protection plan will be put in place.”
Detective chief inspector Nick Coughlan, from Cumbria police’s public protection unit, added: “Thankfully abuse against young children in Cumbria is relatively rare. However we do still have cases reported and we take any allegations of sexual abuse very seriously and thoroughly investigate any claims.
“I would encourage anyone who believes a child is being abused or who has experienced abuse as a child, no matter how long ago, to report it to the police or children’s services.
“It is everybody’s responsibility to keep children safe in Cumbria.”
National child protection charity the NSPCC says it’s impossible to know how many children in Cumbria are contacting its Childline service regarding sexual abuse.
But Kemi Olubodun, Childline service manager for the north west, told the News & Star the latest figures could be the tip of the iceberg.
Kemi said: “These figures are very concerning but what we don’t know is probably more than we do know in terms of sexual abuse because children don’t talk about it.”
Kemi added that children who contact Childline are only referred to outside agencies, such as police and social services, once they give their permission for that to happen.
