Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse in Wales: What Foster Carers Must Know
Wales introduced a statutory duty to report child abuse through the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (Wales) Order 2024. For foster carers, this is not a minor regulatory update — it changes the legal footing of a duty that previously existed only as professional guidance.
Understanding exactly what the Order requires, who it applies to, and what the consequences of failing to report are is now a basic professional literacy requirement for anyone fostering in Wales.
What Changed in 2024?
Before the 2024 Order, foster carers in Wales operated under a professional and ethical expectation to report concerns about child abuse. The Wales Safeguarding Procedures set out that duty clearly, but it was guidance rather than statute — a meaningful distinction if a concern was ever not reported.
The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (Wales) Order 2024 converted that expectation into a legal obligation. It applies to specified individuals working with children, including foster carers.
The Order sits within Wales's wider statutory safeguarding framework.
Who Is Required to Report?
The Order applies to individuals in specified categories who have contact with children in the course of their work or voluntary activities. For fostering purposes, this includes:
- Foster carers providing care to looked-after children
The Threshold for Reporting
The duty to report is triggered when a person covered by the Order knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing, abuse, neglect, or harm.
The phrase "reasonable cause to suspect" is deliberately lower than proof or certainty. You do not need to have witnessed abuse directly. You do not need to be certain. If a child's behaviour, physical condition, or disclosure gives you reasonable grounds to believe that abuse may be occurring — or may have occurred — the duty applies.
The duty covers concerns about abuse, neglect, or harm involving a child in your caring role — for instance, a child in your own placement or a sibling group member in a different placement.
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Who Do You Report To?
The report must be made to the local authority (children's services) or the police. In Wales, children's services can be contacted through the single point of contact for each local authority's multi-agency safeguarding hub.
In practice, follow your fostering service's safeguarding procedure and tell your Supervising Social Worker (SSW), but make sure the report is made to the local authority or police as appropriate. If you cannot reach your SSW and the concern is urgent, contact children's services directly or call 999 if the child is in immediate danger.
The key point is that the legal duty to report runs to the statutory authorities — not just to your fostering service. If you believe a concern is not being acted on, report it directly to the local authority or police as appropriate.
What Happens If You Don't Report?
Failure to report is a legal matter under the Order and may also have professional consequences for a foster carer.
The threshold is suspicion, not proof. The law is designed to lower the barrier to reporting and allow safeguarding professionals to assess the concern.
The Relationship with Existing Safeguarding Duties
The mandatory reporting Order does not replace the existing safeguarding framework in Wales — it reinforces it. Foster carers continue to operate under the Wales Safeguarding Procedures, the statutory requirements of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services in Wales.
The All Wales Induction Framework (AWIF) — the structured learning programme that Welsh foster carers are expected to follow — includes a Safeguarding area. This covers identifying signs of abuse, the process for making referrals, and awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and online safety risks. Completing this area is now more than professional development; it is the foundation of meeting your mandatory reporting obligations competently.
Practical Implications for Foster Carers
Several practical habits follow from the 2024 Order:
Keep a contemporaneous record. If a child says something that concerns you, write it down immediately — time, date, the child's exact words, and what you observed. This contemporaneous record is your protection if the concern is later investigated.
Act on disclosures the same day. Do not wait to see if a behaviour repeats itself or to gather more evidence. The threshold is suspicion, not proof. Report and let children's services determine what happens next.
Know your local authority's contact number. Foster carers should have the out-of-hours emergency number for their local authority's children's services saved before they need it.
Include household members in your understanding. If you have a partner or another adult living in your home, make sure they understand how to raise concerns under your fostering service's safeguarding procedure.
Distinguish between reporting a concern and making an allegation against someone. The duty to report does not require you to identify who is responsible for the abuse. If you suspect a child is being harmed — whether by someone in your own household, a birth parent, or someone else entirely — report what you know and let the investigation determine responsibility.
The Wales Fostering Approval Guide covers the mandatory reporting framework in full, including the AWIF safeguarding area, the reporting threshold, and what to do if your concern is not acted upon by your supervising social worker. If you are preparing to foster in Wales and want to understand your legal obligations before your first placement, the complete guide is available here.
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