This in from the IWC on behalf of the Isle of Wight Safeguarding Children Board.
The details of this disturbing case are now available.
Ed
The Isle of Wight Safeguarding Children Board (IOWSCB) has today published an independent serious case review that it commissioned in 2013 into historic long-term sexual abuse within a family on the Isle of Wight.
The report identifies multiple opportunities that were missed by the authorities (children’s social care, police and the courts) to protect children from significant sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Multiple incidents of abuse within a single family
The independent chair of the IOWSCB, Maggie Blyth, said:
“This case spans almost two decades with multiple incidents of abuse within a single family. What happened to the victims is extremely upsetting and could have been prevented. The failure of the authorities to work together, coupled with the dysfunctional nature of the family and intimidating and challenging behaviour of the father meant the abuse continued for many years – which was unacceptable.
“The report identified deep-seated failings within the children protection system at the Isle of Wight Council. Findings which mirror those identified in an Ofsted inspection in 2012. Too much emphasis was given to reacting to the problem of the day rather than assessing the long-term wellbeing of the children. Children’s Social Care and the Police failed to follow up serious allegations of abuse when they were unsubstantiated for court purposes and there was an absence of multi-agency discussions about the family.”
Rapid improvements now in place
She went on to say,
“Thankfully, much work has been carried out to address these problems with a successful partnership with Hampshire County Council now underway. Rapid improvements have been carried out with the Isle of Wight children’s social care front door, through Hampshire’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and Children’s Reception Team, now safe. Changes in leadership and management, policies and practice, and systems and processes have all been overhauled and children’s social care on the Isle of Wight is now very different from the period of time focused on within this report. This was acknowledged in the more recent Ofsted inspection report published in November 2014.
“Hampshire Constabulary acknowledges that police managers should have been involved in the meetings to plan joint investigations, and that allegations of parents using excessive force to punish their children should have been investigated more thoroughly. This case shows a pattern of making decisions on the evidence for criminal action rather than looking at wider child protection issues and child care in the family.”
12 Recommendations
The report makes 12 recommendations to the IOWSCB. The IOWSCB has prepared a response to these recommendations which has been published alongside the serious case review report.
The report also identifies from each agency what is better now and what improvements they have put in place as a result of their learning from this review.
TAKE NOTE: The privacy of the children involved is protected by the Courts. Please DO NOT LEAVE ANY COMMENTS THAT MAY IDENTIFY THE FAMILY, their location or schools attended by the children.
