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UK failing its vulnerable children, inspector says
Vulnerable children are being let down by care and education services, with one in 12 children's homes declared inadequate, schools inspectorate Ofsted said yesterday.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:15 November 19, 2008
London: Vulnerable children are being let down by care and education services, with one in 12 children's homes declared inadequate, schools inspectorate Ofsted said yesterday.
"Too many vulnerable children are still being let down by the system and we are failing to learn from the worst cases of abuse," Ofsted Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert said at the publication of her annual report.
Ofsted took over the inspection of children's services in April 2007. It is now conducting an emergency review of care services at Haringey Council in north London where 17-month-old boy Baby P died from repeated beatings despite being on the authority's "at risk" register.
The child's death has raised widespread concerns about the adequacy of children's welfare across England and prompted the government to order a series of reviews. Ofsted said in its report that poor quality services existed "at every stage of the education and care sectors" for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"There are 59,500 children and young people looked after by local authorities, but some 8 per cent of children's homes are judged to be inadequate, with safeguarding and management the areas most frequently requiring improvement," it said.
"Concerns remain that staff in some services are less well equipped to recognise and respond to signs of abuse and neglect." Its inspectors had found that many of the serious case reviews conducted after the death or serious injury of a child known to welfare services were of poor quality.
Out of 92 reviews evaluated since April last year, 38 were judged as inadequate.
There were also long delays in producing the reviews, in one case as long as four years, restricting the potential to learn from them.
On Tuesday, the government said it would tighten child protection following the death of Baby P by making it a legal requirement for every local authority in England to establish a multi-agency Children's Trust Board.
The trusts aim to prevent abuse of children by bringing together health workers, police, schools and others to set a clear strategy for child protection in their area.
Welfare: Mother dons disguise
A mother who feared her children were about to be taken into care dodged police and social services by dressing in robes and head scarves.
Pictures released today show Natalie Bracht, who according to Northumbria police has a personality disorder, and her five daughters aged between five and 13, dressed in their disguises.
She may have been helped to hide from the authorities after claiming to be the daughter of a Libyan spy whose life was at risk, say detectives.
The family was seen on CCTV at King's Cross station, where it is thought she travelled to from her home in Sunderland. When seen on CCTV in Newcastle Bracht was wearing a red anorak but by the time she had arrived in London the entire family was kitted out in hijab-style clothing.
The pictures were released for the first time without the children's faces obscured after the High Court granted permission for them to be publicly identified to help trace them.
- Evening Standard
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