Nursery World - Thousands of babies at risk of 'severe harm'

Nearly 16,000 babies under the age of one are growing up in ‘toxic’ households at risk of severe harm, warns a new report from the children’s commissioner.

'A Crying Shame' suggests that there are 15,800 babies under the age of one who are considered by local authorities to be ‘vulnerable’ or ‘highly vulnerable’ and at risk of harm, but still living at home.

The report by the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) for England, Anne Longfield, is based on the latest local authority data.

It reveals that as at 31 March 2017 there were 19,640 babies under one identified by local authorities as being ‘in need’, largely due to risk factors in the family home.

Of these, 3,829 were being looked after by local authorities. A further 640 babies had been placed under special arrangements with someone other than their parents and an additional 300 had been adopted.

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