Daniel Pelka

Is it true that staff in other agencies are not 'allowed' to pass on their concerns to children's services? As a child protection social worker I have taken calls from staff at all levels over the years, and concerns are always taken seriously in my experience. I would be very concerned if this was no longer the case because of artificial barriers to referral making. I know there are designated child protection coordinators in schools for example, but when they made referrals I would always ask to speak to the member of staff with greatest knowledge of the child and the current concerns. I never came across any situation where this was denied or even seemed to be a problem. And I would point out that anyone can phone children's services anonymously and the information will always be listened to.

It is a crying shame no-one called in about poor young Daniel , or any of the other children that were harmed !

It's true that anyone can raise a concern, nightowl but in some agencies simple reasons like who has authority to record professional comments on a computer-based case record, or who is the one with the filing cabinet of case files, means the same individuals are left with the task of ensuring follow-up. Those individuals could be in the admin or head teacher's office in some schools, as a friend has found when she became social worker/safeguarding officer for three local schools. Teachers were bringing concerns to her and she had quite a time getting them to relinquish their system to tighten up practice.

I have been out down shops all afternoon . However I am still of the opinion that it was a great , great pity no-one saw fit to report what they thought about poor, poor Daniel and all the other poor darling , innocent children who have been harmed over the years .

Hmmm

It is so very , very

And everyone agrees with you that it is terrible, there are no posts disagreeing, and no-one's opinion has changed over time. Perhaps someone did try to report it, Nonu, but ran into the same bureaucratic difficulties that some posters describe here.

That is possibly true Elegran !
Still though !

Yes, and

If someone had cared more for John Venables when he was a darling little boy maybe his life would not be the living nightmare it is now...for everyone involved and hurt.

Pens. you are right on the money .!!!

when that is just bonkers. I do hope any teachers in that situation would have the courage to phone in their concerns anonymously.

I am sure that there are procedures in place if individuals feel that their concerns have not been acted upon. Also anyone can call NSPCC to report a concern and I believe they will act, either by contacting local SS or independently. My DD1 reported a neighbour once and it was acted on.

Half of me agrees with you penstemmon and half of me wonders if it is actually possible for someone to be born - dreaded word coming up! - evil.

Jon Venables has been given every chance to make a decent adult life for himself.

Almost 12,000 people - including four MPs, two of whom are shadow ministers - have now signed this petition for Daniel's Law; to make it the law for those working in regulated activities (e.g. schools) to report suspicions of / known child abuse.

The objective is to support and require people to come to the aid of children in distress by reporting to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or to the police; a legal obligation will remove any doubt or hesitation, fear of recrimination or reprisal.

Daniel Pelka's serious case review will report mid-September and we hope it will be bold enough to make some 'radical proposals for improvement' (Geoffrey Robinson, MP for Coventry North West). Whatever the recommendations of the report, government and support agencies agree that something is not working. The five charities represented by Mandate Now are convinced that the introduction of mandatory reporting in regulated activities will spearhead the overhaul we so badly need in our approach to child protection.

Many other countries have such laws - Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the USA to name but a few. Why not the UK?

Please read and, if you agree, sign via the link below.

www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/change-the-law-to-better-protect-vulnerable-children-like-daniel-pelka

You can also follow campaign progress via
Twitter @paulabarrow
www.facebook.com/changethelawforDanielPelka

I have said it before and been jumped on , not that it bothers me you understand , and I will SAY it again .

it is all in the genes !!

Venables has been released for the 2nd time . really wonder what is going on , as must the family of the darling innocent child James Bulger.

Nonu I think that genetic tendency is scientifically very questionable. In plain English rubbish. Neglectful and/or abusive parenting is a far more important factor.

I will say again please don't phone the nspcc if you have concerns but phone children's services direct. The nspcc will only pass on the referral to children's services and a lot of vital information can be lost in the chain. Children's services have a social worker on call 24 hours a day.

I agree with Nellie that the impact of early abuse and neglect on a child will be more an influence than genetics. It might be genetics that make some children able to overcome/ not overcome early trauma. Maybe a person like JV brought up in a loving and supportive environment may still have tended towards being a bit of a bully but may not have developed the extreme violent behaviour that he did. I don't know enough but it makes more sense to me.

I am afraid I do not agree with you Nellie , IMO genetics play a big part in everyones life . So imo it is NOT rubbish !!

Yes, I agree - bonkers, nightowl staff hoping and assuming things are being dealt with because they've done their bit. Others feeling powerless to question their bosses about their practice. We all come across it.

nonu there are too many responsible, protective people with murdering, abusing fathers and grandfathers for your theory about genes to stand up. A learned propensity to violence that has been shaped in an uncaring and/or neglectful environment is the most likely explanation.

And sadly, murdering and abusive mothers as well sometimes. Definitely neglectful and abusive, if less often murdering. Sorry that's terrible English.

Again , genetic !!

Yes, agreed. My last job before retirement was with female offenders. Not a lot of maternal love and care to write home about over their children then when you read their case histories you wonder how they survived their own childhoods.

What do you found your belief about genetics on, nonu Genuine question - I would like to read your source of this information. There have been a few geneticists who have searched for a criminal gene or cited the XYY chromosome, but this is found in the general, non-criminal population, too.