Concept of significant harm

The Children Act 1989 introduced the concept of significant harm as the threshold that justifies compulsory intervention in family life in the best interests of children. The local authority (LA) is under a duty to make enquiries, or cause enquiries to be made, where it has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm (s.47). A court may only make a care order (committing the child to the care of the LA) or supervision order (putting the child under the supervision of a social worker, or a probation officer) in respect of a child if it is satisfied that:

the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm; and
the harm or likelihood of harm is attributable to a lack of adequate parental care or control (Section 31 of the Children Act 1989) .

Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, updates the definition of "harm" in the Children Act 1989 s.31(9). The addition is "including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another" and has the effect of strengthening the case for significant harm through domestic violence, or the abuse of another in the household. This came into effect on 31st January 2005.

Sometimes, a single traumatic event may constitute significant harm, such as a violent assault, suffocation or poisoning. More often, significant harm is a compilation of significant events, both acute and long-standing, which interrupt, change or damage the childs physical and psychological development.

There are no absolute criteria on which to rely when judging what constitutes significant harm. Consideration of the severity of ill-treatment may include the degree and the extent of physical harm, the duration and frequency of abuse and neglect, and the extent of premeditation, degree of threat and coercion, sadism, and bizarre or unusual elements in child sexual abuse. Each of these elements has been associated with more severe effects on the child, and relatively greater difficulty in helping the child overcome the adverse impact of the ill-treatment.

To understand and establish significant harm, it is necessary to consider:

the family context;
the child's development within the context of their family and wider social and cultural environment;
any special needs, such as a medical condition, communication difficulty or disability that may affect the child's development and care within the family;
the nature of harm, in terms of ill-treatment or failure to provide adequate care;
the impact on the child's health and development; and
the adequacy of parental care.

Last updated: 27 January 2010