News and insight
Guidance, updates and stories for foster carers, kinship carers and the professionals who support children in care
Adultification bias: what Child Q taught us, and why every professional needs to know
In 2020, a 15-year-old Black girl, known as Child Q, was strip searched by police at her school after staff suspected she smelled of cannabis. No drugs were found. The local Child Safeguarding Practice Review, published in March 2022, concluded that she should never have been strip searched and that racism, whether deliberate or not, was likely to have been an influencing factor.
What is adultification bias?
Adultification bias happens when children, particularly Black children, are seen as older, more streetwise and less vulnerable than they really are. The Child Q review described how this can lead professionals to treat a child as a threat rather than as a young person who needs protecting. The result is often a disciplinary or criminal justice response where a safeguarding response was needed.
Why it matters for everyone working with children
Adultification can shape decisions in schools, children's homes, foster homes, police stations and social work teams. It can affect how a young person's behaviour is recorded, whether they are believed when they disclose harm, and whether they are seen as a victim of exploitation or as someone making choices. Children's safeguarding law and guidance start from the same principle: the child's welfare comes first. Recognising adultification is part of keeping that promise.
What you can do
- Ask yourself whether you would respond the same way to a white child of the same age.
- Record what you saw and heard, not assumptions about attitude or maturity.
- Challenge language such as "streetwise" or "knows what they're doing" in reports and meetings.
- Put the child's safety and dignity first, every time.
Courses that help
Adultification Bias: Recognising and Challenging It gives carers and professionals the language and confidence to spot and challenge this bias. It is part of our Training your staff bundle, alongside courses on cultural competency, unconscious bias, strength-based practice and challenging Islamophobia.
If you lead a team, the Training your staff bundle is a practical way to build a shared understanding across your service.
Leave a comment