'Think carefully' about leaving kids home alone during summer holidays, charity warns
The NSPCC has launched a campaign urging parents and carers to think carefully about leaving children home alone or unsupervised as the summer holidays start.
The children’s charity receives the highest number of calls about this issue during the warmer months and says it is preparing for another spike this summer.
It comes as the NSPCC made a higher number of referrals to external agencies in the West Midlands during the pandemic than in the previous year.
In 2020/21 it made 566 referrals – a 23 per cent increase from 2019/20.
A referral to agencies, such as the police and social services, is made when the charity considers that information given in a contact to the helpline warrants further investigation.
The charity says the cost-of-living crisis is now the pressing issue affecting families and is encouraging people to continue to look out for the children in their communities.
There's no legal age a child can be left home alone as every child matures differently, but it’s against the law to leave a child alone if it puts them at risk.
Blakemore Retail, which runs 263 SPAR stores in England and Wales, is supporting the NSPCC’s ‘Home or Out Alone’ campaign, which aims to help parents make the right decision about leaving their children at home safely or letting them leave the house unsupervised.
Kam Thandi, NSPCC national services director said: “As the school summer holidays begin, we want to encourage parents and carers to think carefully about leaving children home alone or unsupervised, and also remind members of the public to look out for the children in their communities.
“During the pandemic we saw an increase in the contacts we received about this issue, as many people were at home and more aware of what the people around them were doing.
“The summer months can present a particularly challenging time for parents and carers when it comes to making the decision about whether to let their children stay home alone or go out unsupervised.
"We launched our Home or Out Alone campaign with Blakemore Retail to help them navigate these decisions that we know can be tricky.”
Visit nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/in-the-home/home-alone-quiz for more information.
