Terrible, Just Terrible...

[Sonic Glitch]

I vote these people should be starved with ample food left in plain site...

Starved girl Khyra Ishaq's death 'was preventable'


The death of a seven-year-old girl who starved to death could have been prevented, a report has found.

Khyra Ishaq was mistreated by her mother and her partner at a house in Handsworth, Birmingham, and weighed just 2st 9lb (16.5kg) when found.

The Serious Case Review into her death found there were a catalogue of missed opportunities by professional agencies.

It also said better assessments and more effective communication could have stopped her death in 2008.

Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB)'s 180 page Serious Case Review is the first of its kind to be published in full.

Some professionals "lost sight" of their responsibilities to protect Khyra, who succumbed to an infection after months of starvation and cruelty, and instead focused on the rights of the girl's mother and her partner, the review found.

It pointed to a severe lack of communication between her school, social workers and other agencies dating back to March 2006.

The review found social workers did not listen to school staff members' concerns about Khyra, and contact by two worried members of the public was not acted on.

Tony Howell, head of children's services, said the report found two fundamental failings that occur through a huge range of services.

"One is the inability on occasion for them to follow their own procedures so they don't complete the task that needs to be done," he said.

The second one is communication between departments and agencies, he said.

"I think one of the issues that we have to be honest about (is that) all the agencies and indeed the safeguarding board's view is that we did fail Khyra in this case," he said.

"We will do everything we can to see our safeguarding procedures are better in future," he added.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "It is beyond anyone's comprehension that a child could die under such tragic circumstances.

"Today's serious case review confirms that all the agencies in Birmingham failed to protect this vulnerable child."

The seven-year-old's mother Angela Gordon, 35, and her partner Junaid Abuhamza, 31, were jailed earlier this year after they admitted Khyra's manslaughter.

Khyra and five other children in the couple's care were deprived of food and prevented from entering the fully-stocked kitchen by a bolt on the door.

Khyra was taken out of school by Gordon in December 2007 and concerns were raised about home education in the report.

Mr Gove said local authorities needed to develop "positive relationships" with their home-educating community.

"Clearly lessons need to be learned by the tragic events in this case, and I will consider the letter I expect to receive from Birmingham shortly, to see what changes need to be made to the existing arrangements, and reply in due course."

Birmingham City Council confirmed three staff directly involved in the Khyra Ishaq case have been removed from front-line duties and said it had "already acted" on most of the report's recommendations.

Hilary Thompson, BSCB chairwoman, said: "The serious case review concludes that although the scale of the abuse inflicted would have been hard to predict, Khyra's death was preventable.

"The report identifies missed opportunities, highlighting that better assessment and information-sharing by key organisations could have resulted in a different outcome."

It said three incidents in March 2006 were not progressed "either by failures of paperwork to reach the correct departments, failure to follow safeguarding procedures, or to conduct thorough checks prior to case closure".

The report also highlighted a "major safeguarding flaw" within home education legislation in relation to her death.

It said: "The situation is particularly advantageous for parents who may wish to conceal abuse."

A complaint made by Gordon against a social worker who visited their Handsworth home "generated a reluctance" to complete an assessment, the BSCB said.

It continued: "Whilst a number of agencies and individuals sought to deliver effective services to the child... there were others who lost sight of the child and focused instead upon the rights of the adults, the adults' behaviours and the potential impact for themselves as professionals."

School medical staff were criticised for not adequately addressing concerns by school staff.

The report made 18 recommendations for specific action across groups including the city council, the safeguarding board, West Midlands Police and the city's primary care trusts.

A further 53 areas for improvement were identified.

Recommendations included that school height and weight checks should be properly recorded and that social care must review its screening process.

Mr Howell said children's social care had undergone a major review and the management team had been strengthened.

Les Lawrence, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said the council re-affirmed its commitment to "create a children's social care service that better protects our young people from those who would harm them".

"Let this be Khyra's legacy," he added.

A joint health statement from the city's primary health trusts said they had made good progress at implementing recommendations made by the report.

Meanwhile, West Midlands Police said one of the recommendations directly related to the force and this had been addressed.

"Over the course of the last 12 months a new public protection department has been created," a spokesman said.

Gordon was sentenced to 15 years and Abuhamza was jailed indefinitely for the public's protection, with a minimum term of seven-and-a-half years.

They have been given the go-ahead to appeal against their sentences.

Reliant: Is this an example of the type of situation your dad deals with?

[Tsukiyumi]

I vote for...

Wait... best to not post that on the internet.

[Deepcrush]

We have some friends in Pakistan who would be perfect for handling this.

[stitch626]

I'm with Tsu. Even under a fake name, I'm keeping my thoughts to myself. Dangerous thoughts.

They mentioned in the article that the man was being held for the protection of the community... I think its for his protection.

[Deepcrush]

Truth is that if/when thhe goes to prison, they'll be general population. Even in there, harming kids is a grounds for 'punking penance'.

[stitch626]

Truth is that if/when thhe goes to prison, they'll be general population. Even in there, harming kids is a grounds for 'punking penance'.

Good.

[Reliant121]

I vote these people should be starved with ample food left in plain site...

Starved girl Khyra Ishaq's death 'was preventable'


The death of a seven-year-old girl who starved to death could have been prevented, a report has found.

Khyra Ishaq was mistreated by her mother and her partner at a house in Handsworth, Birmingham, and weighed just 2st 9lb (16.5kg) when found.

The Serious Case Review into her death found there were a catalogue of missed opportunities by professional agencies.

It also said better assessments and more effective communication could have stopped her death in 2008.

Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB)'s 180 page Serious Case Review is the first of its kind to be published in full.

Some professionals "lost sight" of their responsibilities to protect Khyra, who succumbed to an infection after months of starvation and cruelty, and instead focused on the rights of the girl's mother and her partner, the review found.

It pointed to a severe lack of communication between her school, social workers and other agencies dating back to March 2006.

The review found social workers did not listen to school staff members' concerns about Khyra, and contact by two worried members of the public was not acted on.

Tony Howell, head of children's services, said the report found two fundamental failings that occur through a huge range of services.

"One is the inability on occasion for them to follow their own procedures so they don't complete the task that needs to be done," he said.

The second one is communication between departments and agencies, he said.

"I think one of the issues that we have to be honest about (is that) all the agencies and indeed the safeguarding board's view is that we did fail Khyra in this case," he said.

"We will do everything we can to see our safeguarding procedures are better in future," he added.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "It is beyond anyone's comprehension that a child could die under such tragic circumstances.

"Today's serious case review confirms that all the agencies in Birmingham failed to protect this vulnerable child."

The seven-year-old's mother Angela Gordon, 35, and her partner Junaid Abuhamza, 31, were jailed earlier this year after they admitted Khyra's manslaughter.

Khyra and five other children in the couple's care were deprived of food and prevented from entering the fully-stocked kitchen by a bolt on the door.

Khyra was taken out of school by Gordon in December 2007 and concerns were raised about home education in the report.

Mr Gove said local authorities needed to develop "positive relationships" with their home-educating community.

"Clearly lessons need to be learned by the tragic events in this case, and I will consider the letter I expect to receive from Birmingham shortly, to see what changes need to be made to the existing arrangements, and reply in due course."

Birmingham City Council confirmed three staff directly involved in the Khyra Ishaq case have been removed from front-line duties and said it had "already acted" on most of the report's recommendations.

Hilary Thompson, BSCB chairwoman, said: "The serious case review concludes that although the scale of the abuse inflicted would have been hard to predict, Khyra's death was preventable.

"The report identifies missed opportunities, highlighting that better assessment and information-sharing by key organisations could have resulted in a different outcome."

It said three incidents in March 2006 were not progressed "either by failures of paperwork to reach the correct departments, failure to follow safeguarding procedures, or to conduct thorough checks prior to case closure".

The report also highlighted a "major safeguarding flaw" within home education legislation in relation to her death.

It said: "The situation is particularly advantageous for parents who may wish to conceal abuse."

A complaint made by Gordon against a social worker who visited their Handsworth home "generated a reluctance" to complete an assessment, the BSCB said.

It continued: "Whilst a number of agencies and individuals sought to deliver effective services to the child... there were others who lost sight of the child and focused instead upon the rights of the adults, the adults' behaviours and the potential impact for themselves as professionals."

School medical staff were criticised for not adequately addressing concerns by school staff.

The report made 18 recommendations for specific action across groups including the city council, the safeguarding board, West Midlands Police and the city's primary care trusts.

A further 53 areas for improvement were identified.

Recommendations included that school height and weight checks should be properly recorded and that social care must review its screening process.

Mr Howell said children's social care had undergone a major review and the management team had been strengthened.

Les Lawrence, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said the council re-affirmed its commitment to "create a children's social care service that better protects our young people from those who would harm them".

"Let this be Khyra's legacy," he added.

A joint health statement from the city's primary health trusts said they had made good progress at implementing recommendations made by the report.

Meanwhile, West Midlands Police said one of the recommendations directly related to the force and this had been addressed.

"Over the course of the last 12 months a new public protection department has been created," a spokesman said.

Gordon was sentenced to 15 years and Abuhamza was jailed indefinitely for the public's protection, with a minimum term of seven-and-a-half years.

They have been given the go-ahead to appeal against their sentences.

Reliant: Is this an example of the type of situation your dad deals with?

Meh, that's a relatively mild case by dad's standards. Admittedly, it has become a lot more serious since a fatality has occured and at least one social worker in the department is going to have his head on a platter. But, thats still quite mild.

Problem with social work is second guessing yourself every single moment. You make a mistake, your fucked. both in the media, and in your career prospect. That mistake can be getting a report to someone a day later than intended because of trying to manage the other 30 cases you're handling (when your only supposed to have a maximum of 15, yet most social workers get AT LEAST Double they are supposed to). Something goes wrong, your screwed. Dad's got it worse because hes a practice supervisor. He manages all the social workers, as they do their job. So if they fuck up, hes the one that gets the killing for it.

Luckily, the new posting came up and while its a good £3500 less money (which is making finances more...difficult) it wont have anywhere near the stress since its a private firm. Private firms can turn away cases when they just have too many, the problem with local Authority is they are, by law, unable to turn down a case. The Courts are constantly trying to tell social workers what to do, and how to manage their job and eventually, under those conditions, most social workers break.

[Mikey]

Hmmm. Over here, it wouldn't just be the social services people who's heads would roll. The public education staff supposed to be in contact with the family and child would be facing criminal charges, not just professional issues.

[Reliant121]

Unfortunately, its the social workers that seem to get the brunt of the backlash here.

[Mikey]

Over here, it is a criminal offense if an educational professional involved with a child notices any indication of abuse or neglect and fails to report it. Of course, there's no provision to protect the teacher from a violent and irate parent.

[Reliant121]

Oh, I'm pretty sure that the education staff have to do much the same here. All I'm saying is that the media explosion, and public outrage as well as the courts seem to aim their assault at social workers, and education staff seem to get off lightly.

[Sionnach Glic]

I'm with Tsu. Even under a fake name, I'm keeping my thoughts to myself. Dangerous thoughts.

They mentioned in the article that the man was being held for the protection of the community... I think its for his protection.

Indeed. I daresay that line could be more accurately changed to "being held for protection from the community".

Though Deep's right. Even in a prison full of the worst scum of civilisation, those that harm children in any way are reserved a special type of loathing from the other inmates. There's a reason child molesters are segregated from the rest of the criminal population, after all.

[Deepcrush]

Though Deep's right. Even in a prison full of the worst scum of civilisation, those that harm children in any way are reserved a special type of loathing from the other inmates. There's a reason child molesters are segregated from the rest of the criminal population, after all.

Not over here they aren't. They aren't a "Risk to their fellow inmates" so pretty much always general population.

[mwhittington]

This kind of abuse and neglect, followed by the incompetence of the government, just makes my blood boil. And when there's a child's death as a result... makes me want to inject battery acid in someone's eyeballs.

[Deepcrush]

Nah, putting them in prison is the best way to pay them back for what they've done. These people are weak and cowardly, by the end of their first year they'll be wishing for the death penalty.