How could we have let Sara down so badly?

What pis#es me off, too, is those who excuse appointments not kept, visits not made, reports not followed up...

Did I read that her real mother had been violent towards her the reason she was given to her father Two other children had been harmed one was taken away and hasn’t returned the other wasn’t taken away
Dreadful dreadful case and the ridiculous thing is the father had enough about him to admit to it all
Hopefully he will be in fear in prison …child harmers/ killers are not popular with other prisoners, the step mother too

I hope he never has a moment's peace for the rest of his, hopefully, long and drawn out existence.

Perhaps they will have a very short life.

It would be shorter still if I had my way.

How many more times will at risk and vulnerable children be returned to their violent parents / carers!? The child must be to priority every time - not the parent or carers. IMO once an adult is accused of such brutality that child should NEVER be returned to them - no second chances.
It beggers belief! That poor child, like everyone else my heart is broken for her. May she rest in peace.

There were lots going in that household. There’s a picture of her, dressed like an adult, with lipstick etc. I haven’t read the whole story. Too distressing. R.I.p. little one - no more pain 🥲

I can only agree with everything said here.

It makes me feel quite nauseous reading about and listening to what happened to this poor, defenceless little girl.

This "lessons will be learnt" which is so regularly trotted out exonerates nobody, convinces nobody and is clearly not the case at all.

Unforgiveable.

On my goodness, this is just SO terrible I'm completely lost for words. Poor poor little soul, how on earth could this have happened in this country in 2024? Lessons will be learnt!! Yeah yeah, we hear this everytime and EVERYTIME it happens again. So very shocking.

I think they should all be sent back to Pakistan to a prison there.. why should our prison services pay for them.. they chose to flee back there.. vile, disgusting people

I feel such horror when reading the details of cases like this.
The father seems to think he just went too far attempting to discipline Sara. Is an absolute obscenity. And I would advise anyone who thinks a child is being abused to swallow their fear of the community they live in or the family they are a part of and to REPORT NOW.
RIP darling girl.

I keep thinking what anxiety this poor little sausage must have felt at the end of every school day.

The thought of what that poor little girl went through breaks my heart.
Why was no one listening, why was she returned to her monster of a father.
Lessons must be learned, when will lessons be learned. This happens time and time again.
RIP sweet Sara xxx

I worked in childcare most of my adult life. Attended many courses on what was once called " child protection"
Sadly I had to contact social services on 3 separate occasions (3 different families). On each occasion I was asked did I have a personal problem with the mother!
Nothing was done to help the children
Sad
I have no faith in the system unfortunately

Absolutely horrific what this poor beautiful child went through, like others I hope the murders never get freedom again. Even hardened criminals can't abide child abusers in jail.
There are very good reasons why children should be denied access to violent parents. No access would be the best option.Social services need to wake up and be advocate for the child, not the parents, especially when previous abuse has been noted.
RIP Sara.

We have not let Sara down; it is the Authorities and most notably, the Social Services Team who spent six days 'examining her case'after the teacher reported bruising, then closed the case. I don't normally blame Social Services because i know the pressure they are under, and how manipulative some parents can be but in this case they were negligent and the child died because of it.
Sara had a case history dating from before birth; she had lived with her mother, removed to live in care, then given into the 'care' of her father, a man with a history of violence. When bruising was reported was this child even seen and medically examined? If so, previous injuries would have been identified. The past history of her father would be on file, and the point of the 'paperless office' is that documentation is available on line immediately, not hidden in files on dusty top shelves.
But the case was closed; soon the father removed her from school for 'home schooling' something else which can conceal a multitude of sins. No check was made, and he was allowed the last few weeks of Sara's life to abuse her at will with the collusion of his wife and brother.
I believe the ideology of the Social Services is also to blame. Support the family, no matter what; don't break the family bond. At case conferences, nothing like as appalling as this, the needs of the mother, or father, seem to take precedence over those of the child, and excuse after excuse is proffered in defence.
The case was supposedly discussed over six days; why were examinations and investigations not carried out.?When the family moved from a flat to another area, were the records not received by the school? Did the social worker not make contact? I have been contacted by social workers from hundreds of miles away, to fill the school in on a new child's background; some visit personally to check information has been received and the staff are aware.

Already excuses are coming: lack of staff, senior workers pulled back, lack of money, when it rests with the incompetence of social services and their skewed focus. .
I know this is a rant, and I am sorry, but I am so angry that this abuse was allowed to go unchecked when all the signs were there. But no-one bothered to follow it up.

eazybee

We have not let Sara down; it is the Authorities and most notably, the Social Services Team who spent six days 'examining her case'after the teacher reported bruising, then closed the case. I don't normally blame Social Services because i know the pressure they are under, and how manipulative some parents can be but in this case they were negligent and the child died because of it.
Sara had a case history dating from before birth; she had lived with her mother, removed to live in care, then given into the 'care' of her father, a man with a history of violence. When bruising was reported was this child even seen and medically examined? If so, previous injuries would have been identified. The past history of her father would be on file, and the point of the 'paperless office' is that documentation is available on line immediately, not hidden in files on dusty top shelves.
But the case was closed; soon the father removed her from school for 'home schooling' something else which can conceal a multitude of sins. No check was made, and he was allowed the last few weeks of Sara's life to abuse her at will with the collusion of his wife and brother.
I believe the ideology of the Social Services is also to blame. Support the family, no matter what; don't break the family bond. At case conferences, nothing like as appalling as this, the needs of the mother, or father, seem to take precedence over those of the child, and excuse after excuse is proffered in defence.
The case was supposedly discussed over six days; why were examinations and investigations not carried out.?When the family moved from a flat to another area, were the records not received by the school? Did the social worker not make contact? I have been contacted by social workers from hundreds of miles away, to fill the school in on a new child's background; some visit personally to check information has been received and the staff are aware.

Already excuses are coming: lack of staff, senior workers pulled back, lack of money, when it rests with the incompetence of social services and their skewed focus. .
I know this is a rant, and I am sorry, but I am so angry that this abuse was allowed to go unchecked when all the signs were there. But no-one bothered to follow it up.

👏👏👏 💔

Yes Petal 53 it was disgusting to hear how that little child suffered. It is a shame they got locked up in prison far too good for them, if they were let out I would be the first in the queue with my metal pole and cricket bat hopefully with others and give them what that gave that poor defenceless child let deserve to rot for what they done.

Poor child, how any adult could treat a child in such an inhumane way is totally beyond me, I can't begin to understand cruelty like this. Like others on here I find the failure of social services, school and everyone who came into contact with this child to act to protect her totally reprehensible however, I do know that in many if not most LAs the Social Services department is in total chaos.
Experienced social workers have been leaving in droves, nearly a third of social workers have less than two years service and are frequently given work loads and cases that are well beyond the suitability for their level of experience. At the same time, 67.5% of practitioners included ‘cuts to local services’ among the three biggest challenges facing the profession now and in the immediate future, with 62.2% citing a ‘failure to adequately fund social care". There is so little money available that LAs are cutting vital roles to save money eg a friend has been made redundant as a Director of Commissioning Children's Services for a big LA, she'd been recruited because she'd helped turn around another authority that was failing, is very experienced, highly motivated and totally professional but they've run out of money. I have to admit that she already looks ten years younger and she's seriously considering taking early retirement. If we want good services that protect children we can't afford to lose people like her. Austerity over the years has led to poorer services in lots of areas and I'm worried there are lots more Saras who will pay the price.
www.communitycare.co.uk/2024/03/20/most-social-workers-report-rise-in-number-of-experienced-colleagues-quitting-jobs/

On the numerous occasions when Sara was being beaten, you would think the neighbours would have heard her screams and the father cursing and shouting. I can't believe the beatings were a quiet affair. If my neighbours children were being attacked I would be hammering on their door and wouldn't hesitate to report it, on several occasions if necessary. Little Sara was let down by everyone, it makes my blood boil.

I recall Maria Colwell, how harrowing it was to read of that child's awful death, and the headlines ' Maria will not die in vain'. Changes were made to child care policy, but still they slip through the net. My close friend had a terrible time trying to get Social Services to intervene for a baby in the 'care' of a drug addict father; the end result was a dead baby. She almost had a breakdown, and was actually asked to 'go easy' with her evidence at the enquiry. When working in a school it was not uncommon to refer a child, only to receive a standard letter stating 'No further action needed' The feeling of helplessness when a child was clearly suffering neglect and having an utterly miserable life. That said, Social Services are overwhelemed, there are not enough foster carers, so what is the answer? Like other posters I cannot bear to read these reports, as they haunt me.

I felt physically sick reading some of the details that are coming out. That poor little mite. When it comes to the officialdom, involved, it seemed to me as though everything revolved around the parents/adults rights and the children came a distant second.

Dear little Sara. 😰

Some things are beyond belief. How could they? Why?

What horrors go on behind closed doors and how few are even detected, absolutely sickening
Tip of the iceberg

I believe the ideology of the Social Services is also to blame. Support the family, no matter what; don't break the family bond. At case conferences, nothing like as appalling as this, the needs of the mother, or father, seem to take precedence over those of the child, and excuse after excuse is proffered in defence

Sadly eazybee I’m even more cynical.
I think SS goes for the ‘cheaper option’ which is:
“Stay in the family home with a bit of monitoring”.

Less cost to the taxpayer and hopefully (they think) 9 times out of 10 no harm will come to light.

Poor kid she must have been so frightened going into that wicked house of horrors.