Identifying and Responding to Signs that a Child is Living with Domestic Abuse

At least one child in every Reception class has lived with domestic abuse all their life, according to an estimate this course quotes. Some of them will be in your school, and most won't tell you.

You'll learn what domestic abuse includes beyond violence, such as coercive control, financial abuse and checking someone's phone. Then there are the signs a child living with it may show: exhaustion, nightmares, headaches, not wanting to go home, lashing out or going very quiet. You'll also see why it so often sits alongside parental substance misuse and mental ill health, and what that can mean for a child's safety.

The course is clear about what to do next. Don't ring home to ask about it, because the child is unlikely to be the only person being hurt. Don't wait for a disclosure either. Pass what you've noticed to your designated safeguarding lead straight away.