Voluntary groups advised on child abuse

A scheme to help small community organisations develop policies and practices to keep children safe from abuse is to be piloted by the NSPCC with a grant of £717,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. The NSPCC points out that local community groups, including mother and toddler groups, are often unregulated and rely heavily on volunteers, making them vulnerable to predatory adults. While larger organisations have the resources to train staff to recognise and respond to possible signs of child abuse, many thousands of smaller organisations do not.