How could we have let Sara down so badly?

I took one of my daughter's step children to A & E because noone was sorting a skin infection he had which was agony for him. Couldn't go to school. Doctor gave him creams. The A and E doctor moaned at me for bringing on Saturday. I worked full time. I didn't care it had been going on for over 6 months. The Doctor when he saw the extent of it, apologised and thanked me. He was in hospital for 2 weeks. He was in primary school. I would do it again if I thought a child was suffering.

The tragedy of this case is that it is a repeated offence, that we hear of in the news again and again. Remember Nicola Bedford, poor little girl. She was visited by a social worker, and reported the girl smiling and happy, sitting on the floor behind the settee, playing. Social worker couldn't be ar**d to go over and look., so left. The child was sitting there with a broken leg....
It is just so heartbreaking, and sadly, is going to happen again, it's just a matter of time. RIP Sara.

Curlywhirly

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.

Absolutely agree.

From the firsthand experience I have had with Social Services, they are completely unhelpful. People who need closer observation don't get it and they are absolutely incapable of giving help where the parents are genuinely struggling with children who have behavioural difficulties but don't beat their children. They give conflicting advice, make mistakes which could blacken a person's name for life and make a stressful situation even more stressful. Yes, they are overworked, have awful workloads and struggle but the whole service appears to need a shake-up with a training regimen which means they are all singing from the safe hymn sheet.

Sadly, we will be talking about another child year in and year out unless lessons are really learned rather than the powers that be paying lip service to any investigation.

That means adequate funding. Time for training, proper supervision, enough time with families and children.

I worked in SSD in the late 80's when these things were available. Time for real caring, fortnightly supervision's, time for case conferences, time for liaison work , adequate short term foster care, and so on. (I wasn't in child work I shared an office as community worker)

Sara was on the at risk register from before her birth, seemingly because she was at risk of abuse from both her parents, who were allegedly repeatedly involved in domestic violence and repeatedly the police were involved. Given those circumstances, I think Sara should have been removed at birth and placed for adoption. Today it is rare for babies to be adopted, the prevailing wisdom is to leave the child with the parent(s) or place the child in foster care and observe the parents with the child during visits, with the objective of placing the child back with the birth parent(s). The birth parent(s) are perceived to be the best people to bring up the child, despite all evidence to the contrary. Why? Why aren’t people (who are often desperate to be parents) allowed to adopt a newborn baby? It’s because of the politically correct idea that the child should remain with the birth parent(s).

Well all I can say is:

that’s going well isn’t it?

Not!

Why was he here?
I found SS useless when a neighbour was being awfully abused by a young couple, i went to the police, the doctor, no one did anything, SS answerphone line was not taking messages. The old man died, then people interested for 5 minutes.
I hope my family look out for me, this man had no one.
Cannot read about this case or similar, but they both need the death penalty. A needle in the arm is nothing for what they did.
Why we should pay for their incarceration. They can’t be changed.

I dispute that we are all to blame. I have seen this title on an article written by a female journalist and a similar phrase as headline news on a tabloid. Cheap journalism.
The people to blame are the father, the stepmother, her sister, the uncle, the relative who helped them hide for a month in Pakistan; the social services who closed the case on Sara, the Headteacher who did not pursue it and the Family Court judge who originally gave Sara into the keeping of her known -to -be violent and abusive father.
The tolerance of the wearing of the hijab and the reluctance to interfere because of accusations of racism played a part. But there is little the general public can do as theit concerns are airily dismissed.

I think when people say we they mean society and I think society does hold some responsibility. That isnt levelled at us as individuals as such.
So it is society's responsibility to have conversations about homeschooling, abd all other factors.

It important to see Sara’s death in the context of the 480 children killed or seriously wounded due to domestic violence in the UK last financial year. Hyper focus on one case tells a tiny part of the full story, horrific though it is. More than 150 other children lost their lives too. It’s all too easy to try to apportion blame. I really wouldn’t want to be a children’s social worker, I feel for them.

If causes of death or injury are not available how can they be discussed

www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/data-breakfast-england-government-bbc-b2663152.html
I think the information must be available Anniebach, here’s a summary of the groupings of the cases.
NB you often have to keep trying if it locks you out of articles in the Independent, but it will let you read it in the end.

the Headteacher who did not pursue it

That is unfair.

Sara told her teacher her bruising was caused by "falling off her skates". She was a bright, happy little girl at school. She had been known to Social Services since the day she was born and after Sara did not give a consistent account of her injuries to her teacher, her school made a referral to Social Services.
They investigated but failed to follow up or take further action.

After this, Sara was removed from school and home schooled on two occasions

petal53

Sara was on the at risk register from before her birth, seemingly because she was at risk of abuse from both her parents, who were allegedly repeatedly involved in domestic violence and repeatedly the police were involved. Given those circumstances, I think Sara should have been removed at birth and placed for adoption. Today it is rare for babies to be adopted, the prevailing wisdom is to leave the child with the parent(s) or place the child in foster care and observe the parents with the child during visits, with the objective of placing the child back with the birth parent(s). The birth parent(s) are perceived to be the best people to bring up the child, despite all evidence to the contrary. Why? Why aren’t people (who are often desperate to be parents) allowed to adopt a newborn baby? It’s because of the politically correct idea that the child should remain with the birth parent(s).

Well all I can say is:

that’s going well isn’t it?

Not!

No, it certainly is not.

the prevailing wisdom is to leave the child with the parent(s)
Where the parents are known to have been abusive there is not an ounce of wisdom in that doctrine.

So it is society's responsibility to have conversations about homeschooling...

I wonder if society is aware that if a child is being home-schooled, the home schooling team do not have the right to demand to see the child. My cousin was home-schooling and she refused to all the Inspector to speak to the children as she said it caused them anxiety. All she had to do was to show some of the work they had done and show her plans of what she was going to teach them. As a family we were horrified and it raised red flags to me.

there are insufficient social workers, a significant shortfall in foster carers , a fear of upsetting people of a different culture, no system to check on home schooled kids COMBINED with the stupid belief that a child is better at home than in care. The news reported the poor soul was sent back to her dad as the mother had reportedly tried to drown Sara
Yes there were horrendous mistakes but where is the support system ?

rowyn

Let's face it. This country has become so 'WOKE' that practically everyone is afraid to take any action which might result in them being accused of being racist.
Far too many people are eager to jump on the wagon and join in the accusations and damnations often when they have no knowledge of the facts... and far too many people are ready to whip up an outcry when they too don't know the truth.
So the real villains get away with murder.
Isn't it time we got rid of 'Wokeness'?

Your comment makes me so angry I can't even articulate it

Primrose53

Witzend

TBH I can’t help thinking that the failure of SS to check on Sara - properly! - was very likely down -yet again - to the fear of accusations of racism towards a brown person, perhaps especially if they are also Muslim.

I doubt they’d ever admit it, though - the excuse is always that they’re sorely overstretched. Which I’m sure is true, but you’d have thought that in Sara’s case there were multiple red flags screaming for attention.

I agree with you. Just like the security guard at Manchester arena who noticed the non white man acting suspiciously carrying a rucksack but dare not report him in case he was called a racist.

*Principal responsibility for this missed opportunity lies with Showsec, who failed
adequately to train Mohammed Agha*

Manchester Arena Inquiry.

💔🤬

So just where do people think the threshold should lie for removing children from their parents and placing them for adoption? I’m quite confused, I thought there was a general outcry about social workers stealing babies from parents to meet supposed ‘adoption targets’.

This is a general question having read the thread. I don’t take anything away from the horror of this poor little girl’s suffering nor do I make any excuses for mistakes made by professionals. It is beyond belief or comprehension, and heartbreaking.

This is so tragic
Makes you wonder why anyone bothers reporting child abuse, these poor kids are always given back to their abusive parents.

Casdon

It important to see Sara’s death in the context of the 480 children killed or seriously wounded due to domestic violence in the UK last financial year. Hyper focus on one case tells a tiny part of the full story, horrific though it is. More than 150 other children lost their lives too. It’s all too easy to try to apportion blame. I really wouldn’t want to be a children’s social worker, I feel for them.

The NSPCC (I quoted it in an earlier post) gives these figures

In the last five years there was an average of 52 child deaths by assault or undetermined intent a year in the UK.

Children under the age of one are the most likely age group to be killed by another person, followed by 16- to 24-year-olds.

Child homicides are most commonly caused by the child’s parent or step-parent.

Not that it makes it OK in anyway just thats what was given.

How do the above figures compare with previous years and decades?

eazybee

How do the above figures compare with previous years and decades?

Also the reporting rate?

Yes, you start to build up a picture of the risk factors when you look at the different but related information that is published in various reports, don’t you. Improving mental health and drug addiction services would make a difference. I wonder how many of the babies who are killed or seriously injured are in the same position as Sara Sharif was, notified to Social Services before birth.