The Sara Sharif case: what is the point of taxpayers funding these failing organisations?

[softstone]

This appalling case has highlighted catastrophic failures of many organisations. If I failed in my job to this extent I would be sacked and possibly jailed. Yet the upshot of this report seems to be oh dear yes it’s a terrible shame, never mind.

Why is my tax funding these useless departments? This is not part of the social contract. We’re supposed to live in a civilised society. It’s awful.

Which crucially was left out of the report to family court.

Maria Colwell (1973), Victoria Climbié (2000), Peter Connelly (2007), Daniel Pełka (2012) and all those who didn't elicit official enquiries, institutional hand-wringing and regurgitated clichés about lessons being learned...

Thats great if you are able to flex time and work late.
For many their day is pinned you must finish on time to get to nursery or afterschool.

My big question is why was he given custody of her in the first place.

Social services should absolutely be held to account. a local child safeguarding practice review found that a Surrey County Council social worker's report submitted to the family court failed to reference significant safeguarding concerns about Urfan Sharif. She should never have even been there.

as for the HS department even IF and it’s a big IF they were let in AND identified immediate risk of harm I doubt they would have been listened to - the school certainly wasn’t when they raised concerns!

Why is my tax funding these useless departments?

My tax. Lol.
Setting aside the sainted taxpayer's arrival, I imagine the answer is a very simple, your (or indeed, anybody's) tax doesn't fund these departments, to anywhere the level they would actually need funding to get the job done properly, that's the point.

This story is heartbreaking nothing was learned from the BabyP case at all. Social Services whilst there must be some successful cases like everything we only hear the bad. It’s so hard to restore confidence when in this day and age so many children and other vulnerable are suffering. I have no answers but fully agree OP.

I agree with this, I can't believe they're not checked on.

This. There are too many people needing help and not enough helpers and that seems to be the same across all services at the moment. I don’t envy social workers, they have a very stressful, thankless, risky job and I’m sure most are doing the best they can in very reduced circumstances. If things don’t improve there will be more cases like this poor little girl who undoubtedly deserved better.

Exactly, with his history?

This nails it. ^

I agree. I think someone tried to mock me up thread when I said tax. How do people think services get funded I wonder. Yeah current tax could be distributed more efficiently bla bla bla but root of the matter is, there isn't enough money to go around due to years of underfunding schools, social services and NHS. And yes homeschooling can be used as a disguise for abuse in the current system. Noone is saying all hs parents are abusers. But hs kids esp in known case need to be watched very closely. I dont think these are minority views. And saying parents kill or ss can't catch all is really unhelpful. So what. We shouldn't strive to improve? Just accept child abuse? Some kids can and are saved. That's worth it.

Edited for typos

Exactly. The pro contact culture, mimising an abusers behaviour. That judge bears huge responsibility for this. He ordered that child to live with a violent perpetrator and without proper follow up. The family court is not fit for purpose.

Logan Mwangi, Star Hobson, Arthur labinjo Hughes, Hakim...

With regards to taxes to pay for the most vulnerable to be protected, do not allow the narrative that all the money gets spent on these services and the only thing we can do is pay more tax. What about all the billions and billions of pounds they get wasted on bogus, poorly executed, unnecessary and wasteful military projects which do nothing but pump tax payer money into the bank accounts of the arms industry?
www.declassifieduk.org/how-britain-is-wasting-its-defence-budget/

I agree with you heads should roll and people should be in jail

These things don't happen in a vacuum, our institutions have failed and keep failing.

It is a thankless job but most councils have too many managers and not enough front line staff sadly. I speak from experience.

Time and time again in these cases that do make it to the paper it always seems as if steps are missed or just not taken for fear of being phobic.

A news article today said about not asking her to remove her headscarf which would have shown bruises. In other cases not being investigated properly due to them being homosexual relationships or involving the travelling community and such.

When it comes to protecting children our government bodies should not be cutting corners incase of cries of phobic.

It’s always lessons will be learnt but it doesn’t feel they are when there is a possible “card” that could be played. They then air on the side of caution and tragedy happens.

All child deaths of this kind elicit official enquiries.

The family court is a disgrace. It allows abuse to be made into a game to be torn apart by lawyers. That is not what children need, but is an exercise in advocacy, which is subject to manipulation by abusive people. These cases are made into granular excuses, which adults would never tolerate. As adults, we can leave if we are hit or beaten or abused. There is no such choice for children and if such behaviour is not dealt with early in a child’s life, that abuser is inevitably emboldened and gets worse.

It’s often said on Mumsnet that abusers escalate towards adult partners. What’s little discussed is that same dynamic towards children. Slaps, punches, kicks, all called discipline but simple violence. And children have even less chance of understanding it’s wrong.

It would help if abusive men weren’t considered as people who need help but what they actually are. Violent. You’ve got a better chance of getting a stranger prosecuted for hurting you or your children than someone who lives in your home. This guy should have been in prison. Not given custody

Nothing was learnt from baby P? That could not be MORE wrong. And of COURSE there are 'successful cases'. Every single day social workers are out there removing children from potentially life threatening conditions. The numbers of children who are protected from harm are immeasurable.

family court also got a lot to answer for

We don't hear about so many of these cases because they don't make national news.

It’s only when you work in a setting that tries to make referrals to social care, that you realise how atrocious and unfit for purpose the service is. Lessons have not been learned, no matter how many times we hear it. I despair.

A child died horrifically because her parents abused her and no one did anything to stop it