Scandal of Britain's neglected children

* Protection system in chaos, says report; <br/>* Social services, schools, police to blame

Britain's most vulnerable children are at risk because of a chaotic child protection system that is underfunded, understaffed and too far down the Government's list of priorities, according to an official report due to be published tomorrow.

Britain's most vulnerable children are at risk because of a chaotic child protection system that is underfunded, understaffed and too far down the Government's list of priorities, according to an official report due to be published tomorrow.

The report – compiled by inspectors from eight government bodies – is a damning indictment of police, social services and schools.

Headed by the Chief Inspector of Social Services, the inspectors warn that too many local authorities attach too low a priority to child protection. During their inquiry, they encountered children who had seen five or six social workers in a single year, because of the continual turnover of staff. Understandably, the children had lost confidence in the whole system.

The report, Safeguarding Children, which has been sent to several Cabinet ministers, including the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, and the Secretary of State for Education, Estelle Morris, contains stark warnings about professional staff, particularly social workers, muddling through in chaotic conditions in a line of work that attracts minimal recognition or praise.

The report will also warn that many social services departments are so under-resourced that they struggle to keep abreast of even the most serious cases. It will also say that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services almost everywhere are short of money and staff, and have long waiting lists. It will make a series of recommendations that will be welcomed by professionals dealing with vulnerable children.

The NSPCC's Brendan Murphy, who had seen the report, said: "We strongly welcome its key recommendations, of the need for more priority to be given to the safeguarding of children, more commitment and resources to area child protection committees, and measures to recruit and retain child protection and child welfare professionals.

"It should be a government priority to attract people into social work and other caring professions. Child protection training for all those involved in social care must be given the priority that it deserves."

The NSPCC will launch its own campaign tomorrow, calling on the Government to commit to halving the number of child abuse deaths by 2010, and to reform the child protection system.

According to the NSPCC, one or two children are killed each week – most of them at the hands of their parents or carers. Britain is believed to have the highest child homicide rate in Europe.

The inquiry team also encountered complaints that social workers intervened only when faced with solid evidence of abuse or neglect, leaving alone situations where abuse was not proved.

In one area visited by the team, teachers admitted they had given up reporting suspected cases to the social services department because they had lost confidence that anything would be done.

The report will also warn of shortages of psychiatrists specialising in the treatment of children, paediatricians, health visitors and midwives, and will criticise the police for treating child protection as beneath them.

It will praise the work of specialist child protection teams set up by the police – adding a complaint that they are undervalued by their fellow police officers, who seem to take the view that preventing child abuse is not part of a police officer's job.