Little Arthur

nightowl look at the pedigree of the head of social services in Salford, details above.

How can anyone defend her appointment and the clearly disfunctional department she ran.?

Germanshepherdsmum

I worked with child social workers in the early years of my career. Bloody useless in the face of harrowing cases. Endless case conferences going round in circles with no decisions made. Naming might instil responsibility.

I suppose a public lynching might be even better

I’m not defending her appointment or the department Monica. I don’t know enough about either to have a view. I’m not actually defending anyone, just giving some information from a personal viewpoint about what day to day social work is (or used to be) like.

I’ll read the serious case review as I always do, and once more thank my lucky stars this wasn’t me, or any child I knew and cared about.

Trouble is nightowl, it’s always someone else’s responsibility, above my pay grade, I’ve passed it to my manager etc etc. Never anyone’s fault. I worked with it and couldn’t stand the mentality. Part of the reason they have so many files to deal with is that they don’t actually deal with any of them, just shuffle the pile, have another case conference and hey, it’s time to go home! As I said, I worked with it on the legal side until the mentality drove me into private practice where action, not file shuffling, is required.

Germanshepherdsmum I simply do not recognise the scenario you describe. I have no illusions, I know there are faults in the systems and I know there is poor practice, as there is in any profession, but what you describe really doesn’t fit with my own experience.

Perhaps mine was earlier than yours - 1970s.

It is heartbreaking. How could anyone be so evil, poor little soul. I can’t understand how this happened especially after Baby P a few years ago. Too awful for words. I hope they get what is coming to them in prison, may they rot there.

I have read a great deal about what has been reported about this case this evening.
What you have said nanenet01 resonates with what I also think.
There is so much to this, so much incompetence, it is difficult to even understand tbh and very very hard to believe could happen.
Bless little Arthur I wish someone had gone in and taken him away from them. God rest his soul

I think they should put the step mother in the same cell as the biological mother, who is locked up for stabbing and murdering her partner. I'm sure she would like to meet her!

From reports, Arthur's biological mother sounded as if she was a well-educated, intelligent young woman until she met Hughes and drink and drugs took hold of her.

How many more innocents have to suffer before LESSONS are learned.

It doesnt fit mine either and I have spent 30 years in childrens services in one form or other.

My only dealing with social services was over the care of 2 relatives.

I found them endlessly prepared to talk on the phone, all day if necessary, but DO anything, you must be joking. They would not visit because the part of the council area they lived in was too far from their office (20 miles). I was sometimes doing the journey twice a day. Every one requiring hospital treatment in that area was taken to a hospital 5 miles away in the next Council area - they would not visit there as it was 'out of county'.

I could go on. I made an official complaint and drove it quite away before obfuscation and endless delays meant I gave up.

I am sure there are good and effective social workers, but too few.

My only dealing with social services was over the care of 2 elderly relatives.

I found them endlessly prepared to talk on the phone, all day if necessary, but DO anything, you must be joking. They would not visit because the part of the council area they lived in was too far from their office (20 miles). I was sometimes doing the journey twice a day. Every one requiring hospital treatment in that area was taken to a hospital 5 miles away in the next Council area - they would not visit there as it was 'out of county'.

I could go on. I made an official complaint and drove it quite away before obfuscation and endless delays meant I gave up.

I am sure there are good and effective social workers, but too few.

I have cried so many tears over the last 24hrs thinking about what that poor little boy went through.
We have safeguarding lectures at work to make us aware of the ‘signs’.
But what’s the point if concerns are not taken seriously? What can we do to protect these innocent children?
I really don’t think any news article has affected me as much as this has

I don't know the details because I haven't been able to read about them or listen to what they did. Just enough of the news to know she got 29 years and he got 21.

I hope they don't get released a single day earlier.

the grandmother took photos of the bruises on the childs back and sent them to the police ...How could she have let him return to the stepmothers house,,,,,,,

I’ve read a lot about the trial over the past couple of weeks but not everything as I find it too distressing. I know better than to watch the video as it would break me. I have been in tears several times over the past few days and have to turn the news off now.

I’ll just say that one of the worst things I read was that he would tell him he was taking him to his grandmother and then just drive round the block. An act of such spite it breaks my heart. Cutting up his beloved football shirt in front of him. I wish I’d not read about it tbh because it’s haunting me.

lemsip

the grandmother took photos of the bruises on the childs back and sent them to the police ...How could she have let him return to the stepmothers house,,,,,,,

I’m sorry that’s uncalled for. She loved him and tried again and again to help him. I feel for the woman, she must be tortured.

I agree tickingbird. My heart goes out to her.

Pre retirement, I worked for a Council Child Protection department, for a number of years, as administrator, and after all I’d heard, seen and dealt with there, I thought nothing else could shock or surprise me, with how some people can treat children.

However, watching that video, and reading about it, I must admit I felt choked and sick with sadness for that poor little boy. Let down by people that should have protected him.

There have been endless reviews, enquires etc after previous cases, yet nothing seems to change much, and, apparently, Covid lockdowns etc has made the problem worse.

It’s good that the parents got hefty sentences, but nothing will bring the little chap back.

Tragic.

I read this morning that his birth mother is in prison having been sentenced for stabbing her partner. That poor little boy never stood a chance.

Humbertbear

I read this morning that his birth mother is in prison having been sentenced for stabbing her partner. That poor little boy never stood a chance.

It's sad; she is a well-educated young woman who unfortunately met Hughes, dropped out of university and then into drink and drugs. Despite that, she was apparently a good mother to Arthur.

It is not just Arthur's life that Hughes destroyed.

This child has been tortured to death - why are the people responsible not given life imprisonment? Why are they given there apparently arbitrary sentences of 29 years for her and 21 for him. The sentences are not appropriate for their disgusting behaviour to an innocent child - all the more awful because of his age - he knew what they were doing to him.
The law and social services are a clumsy machinery that is not able to give protection or even proper punishments for such depraved behaviours. The old ways were actually better for dealing with these types of people. Like for like. Then they might be a fraction aware of what their victim suffered.

Tom16 thst's just it, he knew what they were doing to him, he tried telling people, nobody listened to a little 6 year old, yet he was old enough to know what was being done to him, its heartbreaking