inspectors’ damning verdict leads to resignations
Three pay price for failings in Baby P case
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A damning report into failings exposed by the Baby P tragedy led to three senior figures at Haringey Council losing their jobs yesterday.
But director of children’s services Sharon Shoesmith remains suspended on full pay despite being removed from her post by the UK Government because of the “devastating” findings.
Inspectors were sent into Haringey in north London after the trial of those responsible for 17-month-old Baby P’s brutal death.
They identified a string of “serious concerns” about the council’s “inadequate” child protection services.
In a 16-page report handed to ministers yesterday, they condemned everything from poor record-keeping to a failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm.
Council leader George Meehan and the councillor for children and young people, Liz Santry, resigned.
Children’s Secretary Ed Balls used his powers to remove Ms Shoesmith and replace her with John Coughlan, currently Hampshire County Council’s director of children’s services.
He said the inspectors’ report was a “damning verdict” on Haringey.
Mr Balls went on: “Overall the inspectors’ findings are, I have to say, devastating.
“Their report sets out detailed recommendations, all of which must now be accepted in full. Having studied their report I’ve decided to take immediate action.
“My first priority is to put in place a new leadership and management team in Haringey children’s services to ensure that vulnerable children in the borough are properly protected.”
Ofsted inspectors will carry out unannounced annual inspections of children’s safeguarding services in every part of the country.
Haringey chief executive Dr Ita O’Donovan said Ms Shoesmith was suspended on full pay but would not receive a compensation package or return to her post.
“We have to follow the employment law of this country,” Dr O’Donovan said.
“That is what we are doing. It will be brought to as speedy a conclusion as possible.”
Also suspended from duty were Cecilia Hitchen, deputy director of children’s services, and Clive Preece, head of children’s safeguarding services.
Three other Haringey social workers – Gillie Christou, Maria Ward and Sylvia Henry – have been taken off child protection duties pending further investigation.
Baby P, who cannot be named for legal reasons, died in August last year. He suffered more than 50 injuries at the hands of his mother, 27, her boyfriend, 32, and lodger Jason Owen, 36, despite 60 contacts with the authorities over eight months.
Mr Balls told a press conference the public had been shocked by the case.
He said social workers, police and others who dealt with children’s safety often worked in “challenging circumstances”. But he added: “They must also be accountable for the decisions and when things go badly wrong people want to know why and what can be done about it.”
Mr Balls ruled out a public inquiry “for now” into the case, saying the priority was making management chan-ges to safeguard vulnerable children in Haringey.
He said yesterday’s report uncovered a “catalogue of failings”, including:
Failure to identify those children and young people at immediate risk of harm and to act on evidence.
Agencies working in isolation from one another without effective co-ordination.
Poor gathering, recording and sharing of information.
Inconsistent quality of frontline procedures and insufficient evidence of supervision by senior managers.
Inconsistent oversight of the assistant director of children’s services by the director and the chief executive, and failure to speak directly to children at risk.
Haringey is the same council that was severely criticised for failing to prevent the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in 2000.
Announcing he was standing down, council leader Mr Meehan said: “We strived at every step to make the improvements necessary to prevent the kind of harm that was inflicted on Baby P by his guardians, and we failed. As a mark of respect to Baby P and as a sign of the deep sorrow we feel, it is right and proper for me to resign.”
The three people convicted over Baby P’s death will be sentenced at the Old Bailey next spring for causing or allowing the death of a child.
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