Fears grow over youngsters left home alone

CALLS to the NSPCC about children left home alone shot up by a fifth during the first year of the pandemic.

And 60 per cent of the calls were deemed so serious by the charity they were passed to police or social services.

The NSPCC believes lockdown was the main reason for the spike and fears the cost of living crisis and rise in childcare costs will lead to a further increase in abandoned youngsters. It is preparing for a rise now the school holidays are here.

According to its analysis released today, 6,017 people contacted the NSPCC helpline during the 2020/21 financial year, warning about children left alone.

Many calls were from adults seeking

By Lucy Johnston

guidance on when it is appropriate to leave children unattended but 3,584 were judged to be cases in which children were at serious risk.

In one case, a neighbour called the helpline to say: “I am worried about two children, one has a physical disability. I am concerned the children are being left alone unsupervised between 10am and 9pm each day during lockdown.

“The last time I saw the children, their mother was screaming and swearing at them. I challenged the mother a few days ago and she threatened me.”

NSPCC national services director Kam

Thandi said: “During the lockdowns many parents had to go to work and were not allowed to use childcare facilities and couldn’t go to extended members of the family.

“They had no choice but to leave children home alone.

“Now, with the crisis around the cost of living and soaring childcare costs, parents are again in a very difficult position.”

The NSPCC has launched a Home or Out Alone campaign, with Blakemore Retail, which runs 263 Spar stores in England and Wales, to help parents make the right decision about leaving their children at home safely or letting them leave the house unsupervised.