AIBU to be furious that all the finger pointing in the Daniel Pelka case...

[PeriodFeatures]

Is being aimed towards the Head of Children Services and there is no mention of the Doctor that misdiagnosed this little boy with an eating disorder ? I mean FFS what kind of eating disorder leads a child to picking up food off a floor and scavenging in bins...

[insancerre]

I have studied a bit for my degree in childhood studies and it seems that the same things are said after each serious case review, about how agencies need to work closer together
the last government was committed to this vision and set up something called contactpoint, a central database of children
the new government pulled the plug
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ContactPoint
maybe they need to reconsider?

[HeySoulSister]

If proper concerns had been taken notice of then it may have escalated to a child in need conference, where all teachers and family doctor meet together with children's services..... It would have been instantly apparent that no eating disorder existed

[filee777]

I think the blame really lays with the social services who did not properly investigate the house when the school made a report. They came round but didnt check his bedroom? That is not acceptable.

[viewwitharoom]

Every time I read the comments which point the finger at Social workers, teachers etc I ask myself how do we manage to recruit and retain quality staff? Who would want to work in Social Services, most departments I have had contact with are understaffed and moral is low. We need properly resourced departments with staff who are able to do their jobs.
Child protection is the responsibility of everyone, what about the neighbour who hears the child crying in the night but thinks that it is just nightmares?

[GoshAnneGorilla]

The common thread in the Victoria Climbie case, the Kyra Ishaq case and no doubt this case too, is that no one took the child to one side and asked "What is happening to you?".

The child who is at the very centre of things, or should be, yet all the interactions seemed to focus on the parents.

Again it seems to be emerging that those visiting the house were impressed by how spotless it was - because they were geared up towards looking for a neglectful parent, not an abusive one and it seems all "investigations" were skewed towards that angle.

[HeySoulSister]

Yes, but then look at the state of baby p home.... It's hard to know anything from looking at a house

[JuliaScurr]

Yes Gosh- he could have been asked at school by a known, trusted adult

[edam]

I'm afraid some of the news reports have said the mother ordered him to lie to teachers and anyone who asked him why he was hungry - the evil woman promised him some food if he kept the secret.

Neither of the bastards showed any remorse during the trial, nor any emotion during sentencing. I know it's dangerous to judge someone by their reactions, people can appear aloof when they are merely scared or nervous, but in their case... hearing about his terrible suffering, did they not feel one shred of sorrow?

[JuliaScurr]

the other prisoners are often quite unpleasant to child killers
30 years is a long time

good
(but I feel guilty for thinking that)

[edam]

Yeah, but do we really think it's honourable when wife-beaters or armed robbers attack child murderers? They don't exactly have the moral high ground.

[MissMarplesBloomers]

Nothing will change anyway, there will be all this talk of reviews, investigations etc etc and statements "this must never happen again"....and sadly it will.

^^ THIS ^^^

I remember vividly the case of Maria Colwell in 1973 it haunts me as it was the first time,as a 12 yr old, that the reality of some childrens lives hit home and the realisation of how lucky I was.

"Despite the local authority commissioning its own response to Fisher?s findings, Children at risk : a study by the East Sussex County Council into the problems revealed by the Report of the Inquiry into the case of Maria Colwell and repeated ?it must never happen again?

The tragedy captured the public?s attention and the press called for action. Despite the publication of a book urging the tragedy not to be forgotten it took over 30 years before agencies were required by law to guarantee the free-flow of information."

And yet it continues, Heidi Coseder, Jasmine Beckford, Toni-Ann Byfield,Victoria Climbie, Baby P

Every time we have another Maria the same old crap is spouted, "lessons must be learned" ....and they NEVER .FUCKING .DO

There will always be evil bastards who fool the authorities and abuse kids. But all the cases I mentioned above, and many more, are full of red flags and warning signs that could have been heeded.

The SS are horribly understaffed and overworked as are many support services but we have to invest in them, training & support of them and the exchange of inofrmation from anyone involved in childrens welfare.

Sorry for rant but it is one of my bugbears.

[MissMarplesBloomers]

Oh can I also add that No we don't hear of the successes in CP cases only the failures so maybe the SS should be allowed to blow their own trumpet, if the case details can be kept condfidental, as they deserve to get credit when & where it is due.

[anklebitersmum]

xylem8 In response to your question, as regards what should they do rather than gossip over their respective fences?

I would suggest they report, report, report..as high up the chain as possible instead of saying 'oh, well I'm sure someone's already doing something'.

It's much harder to 'miss' a problem when everybody's pointing at it..

[JuliaScurr]

exactly, edam
that's why I feel guilty
well, that and the general brutalisation

[edam]

YY but it's hard to resist feeling 'good' if they do get attacked, isn't it?

MissMarple, indeed, I was thinking of Maria Caldwell and the depressing litany of cases of horrible abused and murdered children, every time met by the promise 'lessons will be learned'. Yet they never are. Or not the right ones, anyway.

Same thing happens in healthcare - every time there is a high profile scandal about abuse or deaths that should never have happened, we are told 'lessons will be learned'. And they never are.

In healthcare, I think it's because the managers and especially senior managers are measured and rewarded not on the quality of patient care but on money. Not just balancing the books but 'growing the business' and making their trusts bigger and more important. And the politicians are constantly meddling and 'reforming' and demanding huge reorganisations that cost billions and distract everyone from looking after patients.

When there's a need to save money, the cuts made are made to the detriment of patient care, and are stupid and self-defeating - cutting home care services and joined up services means people get worse and end up in crisis and in A&E, which is far more expensive.

I suspect some of these issues are common across health and social care.

[filee777]

Really disturbing read this but interesting

What stands out for me is that nobody listens to the children, they don't even have to see them apparently!

www.communitycare.co.uk/articles/11/01/2007/102713/what-have-we-learned-child-death-scandals-since-1944.htm

[filee777]

www.communitycare.co.uk/articles/11/01/2007/102713/what-have-we-learned-child-death-scandals-since-1944.htm

[helenthemadex]

there are two people who are ultimately responsible for Daniel Pelka's murder

There were however many failed opportunities to stop his suffering and prevent his death.

Every time a child dies in horrific circumstances such as this there is a lot of hand wringing, finger pointing and a prolonged and expensive enquiry, all of these enquiries seem to come up with same or similar conclusions but still nothing changes and children continue to suffer and die

[filee777]

Then that is the first thing that needs to change

[LaVolcan]

Then that is the first thing that needs to change

And then a whole load of people will come onto MN complaining about how they are treated like criminals by Social workers when they have done absolutely nothing wrong.

I do wonder if they could have more social workers either directly attached or directly contactable by schools. Teachers and TAs may well have the most contact with a child but their training is education not social work and they can easily get out of their depth with a child with complex problems.

[filee777]

Its irrelevant how good or bad people feel about it, a social worker is entering a home to check on the well being of a child, that has to include a look at the bedroom they sleep in and the kitchen and a playspace

[DameEdnasBridesmaid]

If Teachers and educational staff have any concerns or suspicions they should report it to their Child Protection Officer or Safeguarding Officer, they will ref to Children's Social Services, who have a duty to investigate.

If something doesn't feel right, trust your instinct. Have a healthy cynicism. I work on the premise of 'if this was my child what would I do'.

Don't back down with CSC if you think things aren't right. They are there to protect children - and we have to make sure they do it.

[LaGuardia]

I wonder what all his teachers were doing? Probably on an inset day.

[itchyandscratchy26]

I don't think that serious case reviews and public enquiries acheive anything. First Victoria Climbie, then baby P, now this. All that happens is that a nicely presented dossier is produced, it is pronounced that 'lessons must be learned' and some poor social worker/teacher/doctor/school
Nurse is made a scapegoat. Each case hits the press and a few more people are put off social work as a career, and a few more doctors give child protection work a wide berth. Soon the services are even more over stretched than before, and do he cycle repeats itself, with even more likelihood of more cases being missed. So no, let's NOT pin our hopes on a case review, or look for a scapegoat to blame ahead of his evil mother and her partner. Let's instead spend resources on recruiting more social workers and healthcare professionals willing to work in child protection, and give them the support to make brave decisions when abuse is suspected.