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Describe That Possible Signs, Symptoms, Indicators and Behaviours That May Cause Concern in the Context of Safeguarding.

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DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE
An abused child is any child, up to the age of 18, who has suffered from, or is believed likely to be at risk of, physical injury, neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or verbal abuse. (Source: www.yesican.org)
It is recognised that that it is abuse when someone inflicts harm or fails to prevent it. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or by a stranger, for example, via the internet. Child abuse can have major long-term effects on all aspects of a child's health, development and well being. The main forms of ill-treatments are:

1) Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is deliberately causing physical harm to a child. This might involve …show more content…

The extent or the severity of each case is determined by the time span of abuse, the more serious the abuse, the younger the child is and the relationship of the child to the abuser. Once sexual abuse has been identified the support of an adult who believes the child helps, starts to help the child understand the abuse and can therefore offer help and protection to the abused child.

4) Neglect
Neglect has been described as the “most serious type of child maltreatment and the least understood” (Crittenden 1999: 67). It is the most common reason for inclusion on the child protection register in the UK. In the year ending 31st March 2006, 43 per cent of child protection registrations in England related to children considered to be at risk of neglect (Source: DfES, 2006)
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Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological needs, which is likely to affect the child’s health or development. Neglect is when a parent or carer fails to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment), medical care, or protection from physical and emotional harm or danger. Additionally failure to ensure access to education or to look after a child because the carer is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, is considered as Neglect.

4.1 Signs of possible neglect
• Dirty skin, body smells, unwashed, uncombed hair and untreated lice
• Clothing that is dirty, too big or small, or inappropriate for

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