Businesses with staff who regularly visit customer’s homes are being urged to sign up to new training from the NSPCC aimed at helping them to recognise children at risk of abuse and neglect.
The charity’s ‘It’s Your Call’ training is designed to equip UK professionals such as housing inspectors, plumbers, door-to-door salespeople, telecom technicians and builders with the knowledge and confidence to spot possible signs of child abuse.
The safeguarding training, which covers all types of abuse, also provides them with guidance on who to tell if they have concerns about the wellbeing of a child they come across while working in or around customer’s homes.
Brad, a telephone engineer from Gateshead, called the NSPCC Helpline about a toddler who he feared was being neglected following a visit to a customer’s house to install satellite TV.
Brad said: “She looked unhappy and was very dishevelled. She had dirt on her bare legs and, as a dad, I knew that the dirt wasn’t mud from playing out or that she’d made a mess with her food; it was a build-up of dirt and she looked like she hadn’t been washed in a while.
“I knew I had to do something straight away. I had considered reporting it to someone when I thought it was just the adults there but I thought it was their life and it wasn’t for me to intervene. But knowing they had a young child in that mess was just unthinkable and someone needed to speak up for her.”
NSPCC Head of Helplines John Cameron said: “Professionals who come into contact with people and their homes through their jobs, may see or hear things that others may not. While it is not their job to decide if what they have seen is abuse or not, it is their responsibility to talk to someone to discuss their concerns.
“Some may have already come across signs of child abuse or neglect and not known what to do about it. This course is designed to equip them with the knowledge and confidence to help them trust their instinct and report their concerns. By being prepared and knowing what steps to take they can make a real difference to a child’s safety and wellbeing.”
