Child protection charity unveils new Bradford service centre

Peter Smith and Ruth and Nick Streets, of Heckmondwike, also presented the charity with a cheque for £11,926.48, which was raised during their year as golf club captains at Hollins Hall Golf Club, in Baildon.

The event, at the renovated building in Leeds Road, was attended by more than 60 delegates, including professionals from social care, health, police, education and voluntary organisations.

They heard how the new NSPCC service centre, one of five in the Yorkshire and Humber region, will offer child protection services to some of the most vulnerable children and families in Bradford.

The Bradford centre will focus on providing services for babies under the age of one, as these children are nine times more likely to be involved in an incidence of child death or serious injury and are almost three times more likely to be on the child protection register.

Other children the centre will focus on include those experiencing neglect, which is the primary reason for 46 per cent of children being on the child protection register; disabled children who are three times more likely to suffer abuse and are less likely to be able to protect themselves or seek help and children from minority ethnic communities, who are over-represented on the child protection register.

Sharda Parthasarathi, service manager for the NSPCC in Bradford, said: “This is a very exciting time for the NSPCC in Bradford. The charity makes a huge difference to the lives of children across the UK and this new centre will help us expand our work and pioneer new approaches to address the significant child protection problems facing local children.

“A wide range of new services will be offered from the centre. These include services that offer help and support to babies, children and their parents who may be struggling with a range of issues that might affect their parenting capacity, and help for children whose lives have been affected by neglect.”