How can parents do this?

When I worked in local government I worked with child social workers. I had no reason to respect them. All talk, numerous case conferences and very little action despite some very harrowing situations. That was 40 years ago. Maybe things have changed. Somehow I doubt it.

I do know how hard most people in social services work, nightowl and apologise if I offended you but cases like this one do slip through the net.
Young, inexperienced social workers, pressurised and working under strain may well make mistakes. Sometimes parents can be very plausible but surely warning bells should ring if teachers and others, who see a child daily, are alarmed.

I posted above that I don't think that Daniel's Law ever came near the H of C all those years ago, which would have given more powers when a child was thought to be in danger. Complacent politicians who could have taken action.

As for the police, who allegedly told the grandmother she would be arrested for breaking Covid rules if she went near the family, if true then not fit for the job is still my opinion.

I've seen horrendous photos, read lots of reports of child abuse and it never ceases to outrage and upset me, especially where authorities were alerted and no action was taken.

I have worked along side many Social workers and i was astounded at what situations they were willing to leave a child. They thought it was acceptable to leave a child who had been brave enough to tell about being sexually abused by her Mothers boyfriend in the house with him as they said if they removed her (or him) the child would feel guilty about breaking up a family and making her mum sad. According to one social work team a child being neglected was just a matter of different standards, the poor child was hungry had awful nappy rash and was never bathed or in clean clothes. Those are just 2 cases that i have dealt with. I have no time for Social services.

This is a horrific incident and my heart goes out to that poor child. As a social worker of over 40 years I still can’t bring myself to watch the video. It doesn’t matter what I have seen previously it’s never possible to become hardened to child abuse and children’s suffering.

Please don’t fall into the age old trap of believing everything you read in the media. There is good social work going on every day by brave social workers. Of course one child dying is always unacceptable, but it’s an unpleasant truth that social workers and other professionals are human beings and sometimes mistakes will be made. But it’s also true that they have to work within the law and it can be very difficult to reach a legal threshold to take action to remove a child from their carers. Social workers do not have right of entry even with police presence. The police have emergency powers but it is up to them whether to exercise those. In ideal circumstances social workers and the police work well together, but both services are impossibly stretched. These problems and questions are agonised over every single day in Children’s Services Departments. So talk of social workers being ‘hoodwinked’ and ‘not fit fit the job’ are usually pretty wide of the mark.

In no way am I making excuses for what has happened to this little boy, it is heartbreaking. But knee jerk blame will not help to avoid the next tragedy, which will surely come.

I know it is cowardly but I just couldn't watch that video clip - that poor child what a terrible sad life he lived. I truly hope the "adults" who thought it OK to treat him that way get very long prison sentences.

It’s about time it was made a criminal offence to turn a blind eye to child abuse. Much in the same way there’s international law making it mandatory to save people in peril in the sea. I, personally, wouldn’t be able to rest without doing something if I was witness to such behaviour.

I’d also be interested to know how the police knew about the hairdresser. I might be wrong but I believe that once little Arthur died the hairdresser probably contacted the police with her input. Pity she didn’t contact them before.

So the hairdresser chose to turn a blind eye SueDonim that's unbelievable. Hope she doesn't sleep at night either.

That dear little boy. . I can’t write in polite language what I’d like to do to the perpetrators of this crime.

I’ve heard via other channels that this occurred during lockdown so he wasn’t at school therefore not monitored closely. Also that the reason the hairdresser didn’t report it was because she was breaking lockdown rules by being in their house.

There’s another case of a 19mth little girl ongoing and a report last week about a weeks-old baby dying. I too remember Maria Colwell and yet nothing seems to have changed.

My heart breaks for this poor innocent child. I remember years ago a case where a social worker visited an at risk child. Mother and social worker sat chatting on chairs, the child was supposedly playing behind the sofa. The social worker did not go over to the child to look at her, and left, quite satisfied all was ok. The child was behind the sofa because she had a broken leg and couldn't move, was terrified of her mother, so didn't make a sound. I find it hard that other people who come into contact with these children, such as neighbours or extended relatives, school staff etc, do not intervene more, or at least probe into things more actively. I hope this couple get what they deserve when they are locked up.

From what I gather this stepmother’s own children were cared for. I think the little chap was disturbed and played up. His mother was in prison and he was sent to live with his father. He had already gone through a lot and was probably resentful of the stepmother. Children can’t express themselves like adults. He obviously had a grandmother that loved him but she wasn’t listened to. I think one of the reasons they don’t give them up is because don’t want to lose any money received for the child.

I remember other cases, Daniel Pelka being one, where the other children are cared for and try to help the abused sibling. I don’t believe they ever found out why he was so sadistically abused.

It’s been said repeatedly things have to change regarding child welfare but they never do. Parents are believed, children aren’t seen on their own. It’s heartbreaking.

So many options, don't have children, send him to a family member who does love him, have him fostered, adopted.... Anything
Yet, they don't because they enjoy abusing the child

Yes, that exactly.

We may wonder why, when so many would love to have a child but can't, that they do not give up the child for adoption to people who would love them.
But it is because they are sadists.
Sometimes it is just one child in a family, others are not abused.

Exactly VioletSky. Take him somewhere, say you don't want him, can't cope or whatever. Reading the details, they seemed to enjoy hurting him. Monsters. Many years ago, after reading about some particularly harrowing case, I set up a direct debit to the NSPCC. I still pay it. I can't bear this sort of horror.

It is not possible to understand how anyone can hurt a child.

Parents who do this should suffer the way the child did.

Usually I wouldn't ever say that but abusive parents just are the lowest form of life.

So many options, don't have children, send him to a family member who does love him, have him fostered, adopted.... Anything

Yet, they don't because they enjoy abusing the child and they never think they will lose control and seriously hurt or kill the child until it happens and they are caught.

Too many children with abusive/neglectful parents. Just too many.

AGA44. I can well believe that and I was going to say earlier that it’s better to go to the police if there’s real concerns as it’s a crime and they will treat it as such whereas sw’s see it as a case and are trained to work with the parents’ needs not the children’s.

I can't get the image of that poor little boy out of my head either. He was crying for his grandma at one point. How were these people able to carry on treating him like this for so long.

social services cannot film or out in camera without a Dols so I imagine it is off a device that the 'parents' themselves installed

Calistemon

^Katie1949. It was followed up by Social Services but the person that visited didn’t feel there was anything to worry about.^
I missed that too, tickingbird

Not fit for the job.
Another gullible person like those who sit on parole boards.

That is shocking if the grandmother and uncle were told that by a police officer. Another person not fit to hold down a job like that.

Yes, I know the vile parents are to blame but why are others so easily hoodwinked and frightened to act?

I remember a case year ago that my friend, a health visitor at the time, was asked to attend a child who continually had lice by the social worker.
She found the 7 year old was covered in bruises and called the social worker who said she didn't want to take th child away from her mother.
My friend called the police and they took the child into care.
As she was leaving the mother said to the health visitor that she was glad the police had taken the girl as she was going to kill her.

Who installed the cctv in their house? Social Services ?

Daniel Pelka's mother killed herself in jail after two years of her thirty years sentence. His stepfather killed himself in jail six months after that.
His story was the case study on my recent safeguarding training course.

I have just cried watching this.
That poor unloved boy. He must have been so frightened and in anguish living with those monsters.

And that huge bruise over his left scapula?
‘Normal rough and tumble’ according to the social worker.
My arse.
That poor lad will have been in agony with that, never mind the mental trauma re-living how he got it in the first place.

Grandma took the photograph and tried to show it to the authorities but ‘they were not interested’ as she wasn’t the legal guardian.

WHAT?

That little boy had a voice.
Sadly nobody heard him. And then it was too late.

Calistemon

Where were the other four children while this was happening?
Were they younger, didn't realise?

The article doesn't really say they moved into the home, it says the stepmother did - which vaguely suggests they stayed with their Father/s

I'm a bit boggled though that the child of a biological Mother arrested for murder and placed with the Father, wasn't followed up by social services after being placed there.

I think it's a bit unfair to blame the hairdresser. A lot of people are too frightened to speak out. I reported someone to social services recently (discretely via my daughter's social worker) but felt I might be labelled some sort of nosey parker but I felt I needed to do it but I've worked in support work and just felt I couldn't let it go iykwim

It's absolutely haunting me, I couldn't read either, I know it's burying your head in the sand but if there was something I could do I certainly would. I always remember losing one of my children when out shopping - some idiot had seen my son toddle towards the doors of a shop and opened it for him! A security guard found him outside, I was a total wreck, I just don't know how people can hurt children.

Kate1949

My heart goes out to the jurors.

A good point Kate1949. I did jury service recently. While it wasn't as harrowing as this case (hard to think of anything that is), it did involve sexual abuse of a young child. The jury were given no preparation, warning or support. When you think of all the warnings given with TV programmes nowadays, I was quite shocked by the lack of support - we were basically given a leaflet with the Samaritans phone number on it and sent on our way!

I couldn't read any of it, too upsetting; so obviously I don't know the details, only that it was horrific abuse. What I do know though is if one of my friends or a family member was abusing their child I would harangue the authorities day and night, shout it from the Town Hall steps if need be. If still nothing was done I would go to the house (easy enough to do if it was a friend or relative) and remove the child myself (probably get arrested, but it would certain highlight that something was dreadfully wrong). I just couldn't stand by a watch a child suffer day in, day out. Same with animals. I hate confrontation and am very easy going, but child or animal abuse just make my blood boil - no way could I keep my nose out.

Completely agree BlueBelle we need to read and be horrified so that we do something. We must have the courage to speak out and protect children.
Sometimes the authorities get it wrong which results in an uproar and creates a more softly softly approach.
Maybe it’s time the few mistakes become the collateral damage and not all the abused children.
I know there should be no collateral damage but life isn’t like that.