Group members: Helen Raziafficeffice" /> Zoe Teresa Farhana   Evidence-Based Childcare Presentation Learning from the Victoria Climbie Inquiry           Question 2:              Guidance and law since the enquiry into ffice:smarttags" />Victoria’s death   Law and guidance are often enforced in workplaces, yet the effectiveness of most laws and guide lines are only some times tested and amendments are made through the experience of some one else’s misfortune, in this case Victoria Climbie, a young girl who was horrifically abused, tortured and eventually killed by her great aunt and  the man with whom they lived.   In response to the report into the death of Victoria Climbie, the government published a Green Paper called “every child matters” in 2003.             The Green Paper built on existing plans to strengthen preventative services by focusing on four key themes:- -                          increasing the focus on supporting families and carers – the most critical influence on Childs life   -                          Ensuring necessary intervention takes place before children reaches crisis point and protecting children from “slipping from the net”. It was pointed out in Lord Lamming’s report that there were 12 occasions over the ten month period in which Victoria was known to the services in which to save her life, but were not taken.   -                          Addressing the underlying problems identified in the report into the death of Victoria Climbie – weak accountability and poor integration   -                          Ensuring that the people working with children are valued, rewarded and trained- respecting workers work loads and setting realistic targets.   The aim and outcomes of the Green Paper was to give children and young people from birth to age 19 the support they need to: -           Be healthy- physically, emotionally, mentally and socially -           Stay safe- from neglect, violence and to be cared for -           To enjoy and to achieve-education wise -           Make a positive contribution -           And to achieve economical well being   A new minister for children was recruited in 2003, responsible for children, young person and family. The five main aims stated above were at the heart of transforming children’s services. The Children’s Act 2004 provides the legal framework for this reform.   The over all aim of the Children Act 2004 is to: -                          Encourage integrated planning, commissioning and dealing of services -                          As well as  improve multi disciplinary working, remove duplication -                          Increase accountability and improve the co-ordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities. What does this mean for children and families?   Although too late for Victoria Climbie, as the system was a total let down to her including failings: -           To intervene early enough -           To share information -           Accountability -           Prior management and ineffective training   The Children Act 2004 and Green Paper have helped by making it easier by:   -           Easier access to information and advice service at a local level -           Children Act 2004 gives a particular responsibility to local authorities in ensuring effective co operation between local partners such as the N.H.S, police, schools, district councils, youth offending teams and voluntary sectors. -           Easier support for parents experiencing difficulties -           Practitioners from social services and education working together in teams -           One point of contact for information and contact -           Ensures the welfare and safety for children and young person who may be at risk.   From this we can see there were many gaps especially between letting the children “slip” through the net which raises questions of how did it happen? Who is to blame? If any thing, this case has made the system realise that collaboration between organizations that provide services to children from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary services need to start working together for fast efficient effective results for the wellbeing of children.     Question 3:    Consider Anti-Discriminatory Practice in Relation to this case   ‘A term used to describe how practitioners seek to reduce individual and institutional discrimination, particularly on the grounds of race, gender, disability, social class and sexual orientation. ‘ (Collins Dictionary of Social Work)   ‘Anti-discriminatory practice refers to Social Work that is specifically aimed at the unfair, discriminatory treatment experienced by specific groups in society.’ (Collins Dictionary of Social Work)    Good Social Work practice is anti-discriminatory practice.  When a Social Worker works with a client they have the chance to either empower the client or oppress them.    ‘There is no middle ground: intervention either adds to oppression (or at least condones it) or goes some small way towards easing or breaking such oppression.’ (Thompson 1992a pp.169-70)   A Social Worker must take into account the issues of oppression and discrimination that an individual client may be facing, to work with them in an effective manner.  However, it must also be understood that there is an undercurrent of multiple oppressions in society.    ‘Race, class and gender and so on are separated out for analytical purposes but they are not entirely separate processes; they occur simultaneously and affect people in combination’ (Anti-Discriminatory Practice, Third edition, Neil Thompson)   PCS Analysis   PCS analysis can be used to understand how discrimination and inequalities occur in a client’s social circumstances.  It is split up into three levels; Ø      P – Personal – an individual’s level of attitudes, feelings etc... Practice - How workers interact with clients.  Prejudice – how people’s minds are not flexible in their thinking, which inhibits non-judgemental and fair practice. Ø      C – Cultural – shared ways of seeing, doing and thinking.  It relates to; commonalities, consensus and conformity.  It is basically a matter of shared meanings.   All of these sections interlink and become internalized.  This model helps us to understand the basis for the oppression and discrimination that is suffered by many in society. It also shows the basis for institutional oppression.   Anti-Discriminatory practice in this case   There is a suggestion that the professionals involved in this case didn’t act as thoroughly as they would have if Victoria had been a white child.  They were scared to act in a way that would be considered ‘racist’.    It was assumed that by giving the case to a black Social Worker, Victoria’s needs would be automatically understood because they were the same colour.  An assumption about a person’s culture is unprofessional and highly dangerous as Victoria’s case demonstrates.  Each person has a different culture which relates directly to them and their culture is not a by-product of their ethnicity. Even two people from the same area can have completely different ideas about their own culture and what it entails.   “Assumption based on race can be just as corrosive in its effect as blatant racism…racism can affect the way people conduct themselves in other ways.  Fear of being accused of racism can stop people acting when otherwise they would.  Assumptions that people of the same colour, but from different backgrounds, behave in similar ways can distort judgments.” (Statement of Neil Graham QC to Lord Laming)   All the professionals in this case ignored Victoria and didn’t consult her.  The key to good Social Work Practice is communication and because Victoria wasn’t able to speak to them and express her problems, she was dismissed.  In section five of the enquiry, “Working with Diversity” Lord Laming gave some recommendations to workers in this area, one of which is stated below:   Recommendation 18 Interpreters should be used with children whose first language is not English.  Any decision to dispense with interpreters services should be documented.    Essentially, all children have a right to feel safe and secure, regardless of any ‘perceived differences’ such as colour or country of origin.   The child’s safety is paramount.     Question 4:                                                               Think about research, articles, and books that would help you when working with a child like Victoria   We are approaching this question from the perspective of being the social workers involved in such a case.  We will look towards guidelines from research in making decisions for effective and appropriate interventions.   We think that assessment is the first and foremost key method of intervention.  Although it is a legal requirement Victoria did not receive an assessment at all, which we feel is one of many significant factors in the devastating outcome.  Laming (2003) reinforces this by saying “The centrality of good social work assessment is emphasised by the enquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie”.   ‘Social Work Practice: Assessment, Planning, Intervention and Review’ (2005) establishes many responsibilities that need to be considered in making an assessment.  These stand as guidelines which we as social workers can follow:   ·        Speak alone to the child (which Lisa Arthurworrey did not do) ·        See and speak with carers (which Lisa Arthurworrey did not do) ·        Seek and consider the views of other professionals (which Lisa Arthurworrey did not do) ·        Visit the child’s accommodation ·        Agree to plan to provide for the child’s welfare (recommendation 40)   As social workers we could seek further guidance on assessment from ‘The assessment framework and legislation’ (specifically relation to child protection).  The framework for the assessment of children in need and their families provides for a systematic assessment of children and their families.  This framework embraces three key areas/dimensions:   ·        The child’s developmental needs ·        Parenting capacity ·        The wider family environmental factors The aim of the assessment is to identify and clarify the needs of the child in relation to their overall development and safety (Further reading on Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs).  Assessment of the child’s/family’s race and culture should be addressed integrally.  Consideration should be given as to whether any racial/cultural stereotyping of Black or minority ethnic families has occurred.  One issue relating to this which stems from Victoria’s case is that a Black social worker was assigned to the case because there was a similarity between the family and the social worker.  This was based on the assumptions that there was a cultural understanding, which however was not present.   Since 2000, the Department of Health released two timescale models, one of which relates to the completion of assessment, following a request/referral to social services.  The other relates to the initial and core assessments for child protection procedures.  We are obliged to follow these procedures, aiding to raise the competency of practice. (Social Work with Children and Families, 2005)   To ensure that an effective assessment is carried out appropriately communication needs to be taken into account.  There was very little communication between Victoria, the social worker, and other professionals. Victoria’s first language was French.  This may have been recognised as a barrier however nothing was done to overcome it.  Consequently, Victoria’s voice was never heard.  Without making an attempt to arrange visits with a translator, not only did they ignore Victoria but also did not make an effort in establishing her wishes and feelings.  The ‘Messages from Research’ (Department of Health 2001) highlights the importance of taking into account the wishes and feelings of the child. Social work values reinforce this. In addition, there was also a breakdown in communication between the professionals involved.  According to the ‘Dictionary of Social Work’ (2002) “there is increasingly an expectation that services will be delivered collaboratively by several agencies or that a particular problem can be addressed only if professionals work together in the same organisation or team”.  This was a clear flaw in the handling of Victoria’s case.   Section 47 (9) of the Children’s Act 1989 provides for various persons (any local authority; any education authority; any local housing authority) to assist the local authority in their enquiries (Brammer 2002).  A core group of all professionals involved with the family (for example, in reference to Victoria, the health visitor, hospital staff, previous social worker and social services staff) would be contacted, and information sharing and joint working would be established.    There was little exchange of information between the hospital and social services.  Counsel to the Inquiry Neil Garnham QC said “this led a battle of conflicting assumptions where each body believed that the other was fully aware of the suspicions”.  This reiterates the importance of multi-disciplinary work.   To conclude we feel that the most reliable and important piece of research a social worker could do in this case is to find out about the legal requirements and follow them. Other useful areas that could be researched could be around signs of neglect and abuse, theories and methods, and cultural differences.       Bibliography   Brayne, H. and Carr, H. (2003) Law for Social Workers, 8th ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press   www.communitycare.co.uk   http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/   www.doh.gov.uk   Thompson, N. (2001) Anti-Discriminatory Practice, 3rd edn. Basingstoke, Palgrave   Johns, R. (2005) Using the Law in Social Work, 2nd edn. Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd.   Pierson, J. and Thomas, M. (2002) Dictionary of Social Work, 2nd edn. Glasgow, Harper Collins   Jowitt M, O’Loughlin S, (2005) Social Work with Children and Families,  1st end, Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2702643.stm www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2062590.stm www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2449743.stm www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2122256.stm   Handout from Geoff - Victoria’s story http://www.20six.co.uk/swbedsuni/nextEntries/1iu2poq2a6vvi   Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming (2003) www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk

27.1.06 12:05 Permalink / comment

VICTORIA CLIMBIE PRESENTATIONfficeffice" />     This presentation is in behalf of Becky, Rachel, Nicole, Anna and Sha.     Question 1: Relate to the handling of the case using the legislation of the time, Children Act1989.   The Children Act 1989 is a comprehensive piece of legislation which integrates and simplifies the Law regarding children. In the term of child protection, the Act seeks to strike a balance between family independence and the protection of children, recognising that the welfare of the child is paramount.   The main points of the Act are: The Act is comprehensive and consolidates earlier law dealing with children. It was implemented in October 1991. It seeks to be ‘user-friendly’’, i.e. Comprehensible. The upbringing of children is primarily the responsibility of parents A balance between children and undue interference in family is sought. Child protection is improved by the introduction of child assessment orders and lower threshold for Emergency protection orders. Emergency protection order may be challenged in court after 72 hours by parent. In courts ‘the child’s welfare is paramount’’. A court order should not be made unless it is better for the child than not making an order. A timetable will be set by the court to avoid undue delay.   Relating to Victoria Climbie’s case, sect 8, 17, 20 and section 47 should have been taken into account. .   In this case, if the Social worker had taken into account the welfare checklist which involves communication, knowledge of the Act and key skills. The noted that the welfare of the child is paramount i.e. priority should be given to the child.S1 of the Act.   Although the Act does not define the child’s welfare. It does, however, list various factors which must be taken into account when ‘safeguarding and promoting’ the child’s welfare. These factors include (a) the wishes and feelings of the child, and the child’s parents (and anyone else with a relevant interest); (b) the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background.   In this case, the social worker did not involve the child in her assessment; she had one contact with the child. She focused on their housing problem. She did not talk to the child to get an insight of her wellbeing. Considering the fact that the social worker focused on housing problem, S1 (3) requires the SW to talk to the child about changes in living situation and other people concerned and this section also requires SW to take into consideration a child’s age and understanding (communication).SW did not ask the aunty how the child was spending her day, she was not enrolled in any school and did not take part in any day care activity. Education Act 1996 state the provision of education for every child between the ages of 5-16. The SW informed the Aunty that ‘council only accommodate children who were ‘at risk of serious harm’. But it is the responsibility of the LA to provide accommodation for a ‘child –in –need.S20 of the Act if there being nobody who has PR and S20 (4) LA must provide accommodation for a child within their area (even though a person who has PR for him is able to provide him with accommodation. A child is taken to be in need if (a) the child is unlikely to attain a reasonable standard of health or development (emotional, social or intellectual) if the service is not provided;(b) the health is likely to deteriorate if a service is not provided;(c) the child’s development is likely to suffer, or be significantly impaired, if the service is not provided;(d) the child is disabled. Section 17 of the Act noted that it is the duty of LA to provide services for children in need, families and others. In ffice:smarttags" />Victoria’s case she was emotionally distress, that is why she bed wet or soil. Which are the symptoms of emotional distress. Although the Aunty and the boyfriend were able to hide these evidence from the SW but there were other evidence. A child’s development include intellectual. Victoria was always in the flat; she doesn’t go to school and has no playmates. How will she be able to improve her English? Intellectually she is unable to develop and she falls in the category of a child in need. The SW failed Victoria.   Section 47 is the duty of the LA to investigate. Ms Ackah was sufficiently concerned by what she had seen of Victoria in the street, she had lost weight and she made two anonymous telephone calls to Brent social service and these calls were not investigated. Offence under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 ,section 1-cruelty to(including assault, ill-treatment or neglect) a person under 16.There were evidence that are visible which shows that Victoria with cruelty-belt marks, burns ,fingers were oozing pus etc. No investigation was carried out, no arrest was made. Lack of knowledge of black skin, doctors diagnosed scabies.   Question 2: The guidance and the law since the enquire into Victoria death.   Inter-Agency Cooperation to Improve the Well-being of Children. Guidance on the Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP). Working Together to Safeguard Children. Guidance on the Duty to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children. Information sharing. Multi-agency working Common Assessment Framework Common Core of Skills and Knowledge 1. Effective and engagement with children, young people, their families and carers. Skills: Listening and building empathy Summarizing and explaining Consultation and negotiation. Knowledge: How communication works Importance of respect Confidentiality and ethics Sources of support. 2. Child and young person development. Skills: Observation and judgment Empathy and understanding Be clear about your own job role. Knowledge: Understand context Understand how babies, children and young people develop. Know how to reflect and improve. 3. Sharing information. Skills; Information handling. Clear communication. Engagement. Knowledge; Importance of information sharing Role and responsibilities. Awareness of complexities Awareness of laws and legislation. www.everychildmatters.gov.uk Guidance on discharge management and community support for children using long-term ventilation. Core principle underpinning the organization and delivery of service. 1.     Children’s rights and equality of access. 2.     Key working and multi-agency working. 3.     Sharing best practice. 4.     Parent and child involvement. 5.     Safeguarding children. 6.     Risk management and clinical governance. By Barnardo’s Giving Children Back Their Future.   The children Act report 2003.   1.    Secure attachment and stability.   To ensure that children are securely attached to carers capable to providing safe and effective care for the duration of childhood.   2. Protection from Harm. To ensure that children are protected from emotional, physical, sexual abuse and neglect (significant harm).   3. Life chances of children in need.   To ensure that children in need gain maximum life chance benefit from education opportunities, health care and social care.   4. Life chances of children looked after.   To ensure that children looked after gain maximum life chance benefit from education opportunities, health care and social care.   5. Life chances of care leavers. To ensure that young people leaving care, as they enter adulthood are not isolated and participate socially and economically as citizens.   6 services for disabled children and their families.   To ensure that children with specific social needs arising out of disability or a health condition are living in families or other appropriate settings in the community where their assessed needs are adequately met and reviewed.   7 Assessment and decision making. To ensure that referral and assessment procedures discriminate effectively between different types and levels of need and produce timely service responses.   8        Effective regulation. To ensure that through regulatory power and duties children in regulated service are protected from harm and poor care standards. (NCSC 2003).   www.cwdcouncil.org.uk         In spring 2003 the government asked all the local authorities to develop preventative strategies which included improved systems for the Identification Referral and Tracking of vulnerable children and young people.   AIM.   The aim of IRT is to ensure that any child deemed to be vulnerable does not ‘fall through the net’. This is too achieved through greater partnership working.   www.everychildmatters.gov.uk       Question 3 - Consider the anti - discriminative practice relating to this case. (Victoria Climbie Inquiry)   Anti discriminatory practice could have saved Victoria Climbie's life at several points in her case. This part of the essay will define anti­discriminatory practice and illustrate how a different outcome could have been achieved through empowerment, equal access to resources and diversity work.   When looking at the Victoria Climbie inquiry and considering anti discrimination and discriminative practice many issues could be considered:   Black social worker working with black family Poverty among black minorities Cultural differences Language barriers Individual interviews Assessments Educational needs Empowerment Equal Opportunities        Discrimination means identifying individuals and groups with certain characteristics and treating them less well than people or groups with conventionally valued characteristics. (Payne.M 2005)     Thompson 1993, 34 defines anti-discriminatory practice in social work as an approach seeking to "reduce, undermine or eliminate discrimination and oppression". He goes on to say those social workers occupy positions of power and influence which can result in intentional or unintentional discrimination. Social workers need to be wary of their own potential to discriminate and to be able to challenge when others are discriminatory in their practice. They also need to be aware of social inequalities in society and work towards maximising opportunities to counter discrimination. Discriminatory practice can influence workers at personal, cultural and structural levels as demonstrated by Thompson 1993, Norton 1978, Dalrymple and Burke 1995. (Payne 1991, 278)   A diversity approach that values celebrates and sees differences as strengths rather than problems to be solved could have been saved Victoria's life, Thompson 1993, 34. The allocation of Victoria's case to a black social worker was discriminatory. The intention was presumed to solve a problem by matching a black worker with a black client because they share a common race (colour). This assumption was based on wrong ideologies and anti-discriminatory practice could have looked into understanding diversity and building onto strengths that diverse people poses.     In the case of Victoria Climbie, it was thought that as the social worker was black that no discrimination would take place, but in occurred anyway this is due to a lack of understanding from the Social Work Agency that just because someone is black does not mean that they know and understand all black cultures, this lack of understanding and awareness led to discriminatory practice taking place.   The social worker involved in Victoria’s case concentrated on the housing issues of the child in need, but did not carry out a child in need assessment.  Although statistics show that people from BME backgrounds consistently live in poorer accommodation, (www.statistics.gov.uk) the social worker seems to have ignored this maybe as she did not want to be seen as being discriminative because of their cultural background.    Under section 1 part 3 of the Children Act 1989 states that certain information should be collected to determine the welfare of the child including physical, emotional and educational needs, any harm which he may or be at risk of suffering and the capability of parents or any other person relating.  What seems to be clear in this case is that the social worker did not take these issues into consideration even after the allegation of sexual abuse from Aunt’s boyfriend. All the time that the social worker had spent with Victoria and her Aunt, there seems to be no evidence that she questioned why Victoria was not registered at school at it states in the Education Act 96 that all children between the ages of 5 -16 should be in education.   It is good practice for individuals to be seen separately for the social worker to inform a good understanding of situations. It gives individuals a chance to speak openly without feeling scared, demoralized or being interrupted wrongly by a family member.  In the case of Victoria she was only spoken to once by her social worker and another member of staff in English with regards the sexual abuse claim the Aunt made of her boyfriend, who later retracted the allegation.  The social worker did not take into consideration that Victoria who was black African; French speaking and therefore would have responded better if they had used an interpreter, these two points may have resulted in her life being spared.       Anti discriminatory practice in Victoria’s case could have been used in an empowering way rather than what is evident in the inquiry into her death. The social worker and other professionals involved in her case acted unethically during their engagement with Victoria. None of them realised that communication in another language involves more than just words but involves other things like intonation, emphasis, volume, pace, contact and non-verbal gestures. www.ethnicityonline.net. This chance was not allowed Victoria comprehend and to express herself in her first or second language but third. In this respect language was disempowering instead of empowering her to articulate her heeds. that was used was disempowering Victoria. In all but one of the interventions by professionals Victoria was. invisible. They learnt about her needs from a third person, or worked totally from assumptions. This breached her rights, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 12 says, Children have the right to say what they think should happen, when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into aCCO1.lnt www.anationalvoice.orglright. with Victoria.     The forth question will require you to think about research, articles and books that would help you when working with a child like Victoria. Your answer to each question should include at least 3 quotes and they should be from different sources. As I consider the various directions to approach the topic a quote from  Niel Garnham QC to the Inquiry comes to mind concerning the social worker. "She never troubled to speak to Victoria during those two visits. She never sought to discover how Victoria spent her days ... she never sought to take any active steps to address the fact that Victoria was not receiving any education." These were some of the basic points raised at the Inquiry that brought to light implorable practice by seemingly profession     Mary Marsh Chief Executive and Director NSPCC. The extent of the failure to protect victoria was lamentable, it required nothing more than basic good practice.   In recent years there has been a renewed effort to improve safeguards for children. The Childrens Act 2004, Every Child Matters, The Care Standards Act 2000 and programmes like Quality Protects and Sure Start. One of the many initiatives after the death of Victoria Climbie was Keeping Children Safe. After the death of Victoria the government set upo a statutory inquiry into the events surrounding her killing in order to find out whether or not it was time again to look at the statutory framework for Child Protection in this country   Lessons Learnt From Experience (117-121) Keeping Children Safe would help me should I work with a child like Victoria as it states that: -         Many staff are not adequately trained in safeguarding children. This is a particular problem for staff who come into contact with children and families on a regular basis but are not considered to be child protection specialists.   Keeping Children Safe goes on to explain that an effective system to safeguard children would be to have staff working in a multi disciplinary way. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) provides a common approach to needs assessments that can be used by the whole Childrens     Conclusion   In this presentation we have looked at the law, anti – discriminative practice relating to the Victoria Climbie case and how to inform ourselves to make our practice better in the future. We realise that there were many mistacks made in the Victoria Climbie case by the social worker, the supervisor, past social services lack of communication  and  medical practitioners which sadly lead Victoria to her death. But we also realise that because of this case their have been new laws put in place as well as new assessment models and new training measures for socail workers to inform better practice in the future.     Bibliography   Payne M, 1991, Modem Social Work Theory, Third Edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke.   Thompson N, 1993, Anti-discriminatory Practice, Third Edition, Pal grave, Basingstoke.   http://www.ethnicityonline.net/cross cultural communication.htm#barrie rs, (24/01/06) http://www.anationalvoice.org/rights/rotchiI2.htm (24/01/06) The Childrens Act 20004   The Victoria Cvlimbie Inquiry   Every Child Matters   Safeguarding Children   Keeping Children Safe   DOH Website – What to do if you suspedct a child is being abused   Race Equality Unit        Children Act 1989   Children Act 2004   Education Act 1996   The Care Standards Act 2000   www.cwdcouncil.org.uk                                                       www.everychildmatters.gov.uk   www.statistcis.gov.uk

27.1.06 11:52 Permalink / 1 Comment / comment

Presentation by Franco Genovese, Laura Lee, Sam Jagusz and Tracey Kibble Here’s our presentation submission.  Group members and tasks are as follows: Franco Genovese completed question 1, Laura Lee question 2- (she will submit this by email to you Geoff), Sam Jagusz question 3 and Tracey Kibble question 4.  We all played a part in planning how to ‘tackle’ the task.  We also all checked each other’s work and provided feedback before submitting this completed version.fficeffice" />   Question 1:   The Victoria Climbie inquiry report uncovered that child protection staff missed at least 12 chances to save ffice:smarttags" />Victoria.   This part of the presentation will look to explore the opportunities and draw on the legislative framework for safeguarding children as set out in the Children Act 1989 and its implementation.    Ealing social services, spring 1999 ·        Staff who saw Victoria had two concerns. Firstly, some noticed that the relationship between Kouao and Victoria was not one of mother and daughter. ·        Secondly in  Victoria's appearance ·        Ealing wanted Kouao to return to France, arguing that she had no rights to benefits. ·        Anonymous phone call to social workers in Brent and warned that Victoria was in danger. ·        Two social workers tried unsuccessfully to see Kouao on 14 July, almost a month after the warning. No further action was taken by the authority.  First hospital admission ·        At the inquiry, Dr Schwartz said that while she did not suspect physical abuse, she did have other concerns. ·        Letter to social services, written by yet another doctor, said that there were no child protection issues. Visits to Ealing social services ·        Staff at the office said that the case, which they considered to be a housing issue, was closed.                                                           Second hospital admission ·        Social services did not ask Victoria what had happened until she had been in hospital for two weeks, by which point she was being discharged to the care of Kouao. ·        There were no arrangements for her to be monitored. With Kouao and Victoria now living with Carl Manning, the case was in Haringey council's hands. ·        Social worker Lisa Arthurworrey eventually made two visits Carl Manning's flat after Victoria had been discharged, the first being on 16 August 1999. Sexual abuse allegations ·        Kouao telephoned Haringey social services on 1 November 1999 and alleged that Carl Manning had sexually abused Victoria Final visits to Manning's flat ·        Lisa Arthurworrey told the inquiry she attempted to contact Kouao in person with three visits to Carl Manning's flat between December 1999 and January 2000. On all three occasions she received no answer. ·        Ms Arthurworrey told her supervisors that it was possible that the pair had finally returned to France. Social services responsibilities throughout this period were to safe guard and promote Victoria’s welfare in accordance with the Children Act1989. I n response to a clear child protection referral, she had an allocated social worker.   Ealing social services failed to address Victoria’s needs as an individual and instead treated her as part of Kouao’s homelessness case. (Victoria Climbie inquiry 2003) The social worker could have requested s20 accommodation order in respect of the carer being prevented from providing suitable accommodation or care. Victoria would then be assessed as a child in need of services. The Act makes specific reference to the need to ascertain and listen to the wishes and feelings of children and young people and to take in to account their racial, cultural, linguistic and religious background. It appeared that Victoria’s wishes were not considered. Victoria’s appearance should have caused social services to question the possibility of neglect. Parental responsibility was never questioned and at the time of hospital discharging Victoria, at this stage she could still be considered a child in need.  The anonymous phone call should have been treated as a potentially serious child protection case. S 47 states ‘cause to make such inquires’; the police and social services were given opportunity to investigate. Had they done so at the appropriate time, they would have discovered that the girl was suffering serious and continual abuse. A prohibited steps order could have been requested under the Children Act . The team believed the information related to a child not attending school, this to should have been followed through. Where by conflicting assumptions were made where each body believed that the other was fully aware of the suspicions, social services have the lead responsibility for children about whom there are welfare concerns. Other agencies look to them for advice, support and guidance when they have concerns about the welfare of children. Social services set the threshold for undertaking inquiries and coordinate the assessment of need and risk of significant harm, working in partnership with other agencies, the child and parents and carers.(DOH 2000) The social worker never troubled to speak to Victoria during those two visits.   She never sought to discover how Victoria spent her days ... she   never sought to take any active steps to address the fact that Victoria was not receiving any education. Question 3: Steps needed to be taken - steps that largely focused on making contact with Kouao, Manning and Victoria.            “colour blindness”       “cultural sensitivity”           “cultural deficit”             Diagram 1: Webb et al, 2002 -it appears the lines used to fully display this diagram cannot be submitted to the weblog.     The above diagram demonstrates the difficult balance in trying to be culturally sensitive without becoming colour blind- treating everyone equally and not accepting differences between culture or being culturally deficit- accepting or applying lower or different standards. I think it is a useful tool when discussing anti discriminatory practice in relation to the Victoria Climbie case.   Cultural blindness What constitutes as appropriate parenting will vary considerably between groups of people. For example, studies on attitudes to smacking (Webb et al, 2002) parenting styles (Davies et al, 1993) or female genital mutilation show differences between cultures. On a more personal level, as a social work student it is important to recognise that I am capable of judging others by my own standards.  As Thompson (2001) would suggest, good social work practice cannot take place without an acknowledgement of discrimination and oppression. It is therefore important:   “…to develop a greater awareness and understanding of self- identity and its impact on our ability to engage and work with others.” (Furness, S. 2005. P.249)   As a social work student it is important to acknowledge that a eurocentric attitude can lead to the imposition of one set of beliefs and practices (Williams & Soydan, 2005) and lead to inappropriate or inadequate social work intervention.   Cultural deficit However, anti discriminatory practice also helps us to acknowledge stereotypes and assumptions about different cultures. As a social work student learning from the Victoria Climbie inquiry I believe that assumptions would need to be investigated further. An obsession with cultural rationalisation leads to dangerous practice and injustice to BME families and children.(Welbourne, 2002) .  We can see that cultural assumptions can lead to lower standards being accepted as in Victoria’s case. Some examples being:   -Lisa Arthurworrey heard that Victoria stood to attention when her aunt appeared she assumed that this was a cultural norm about respect towards elders. -Pastor Pascal Orome saw injuries that he felt were the result of possession by the devil rather than an indicator of a child at risk. -The assumption that a black worker is more appropriate.   Cultural sensitivity As a social work student, learning from the mistakes that led to the tragic death of Victoria Climbie I would take these issues into consideration. A balance needs to be met to accept and understand difference and culture but not to the point where it impacts on the welfare of the child by accepting or applying lower standards to BME families and children in assessments, judgements or the services that are being offered.   Welfare over political correctness Lord Laming noted that during the case professionals were scared of being perceived as racist and studies have shown that professionals feel anxious/ ill equipped to meet the needs of people from diverse backgrounds. (Gerrish et al, 1996 & Williams et al, 2005) However, whilst I can understand the fear that workers may have it is important for social workers to remind themselves that Victoria and her welfare should have been central to the assessments, not the reputation/ political correctness of the various professionals. Laming states that he does not do political correctness when it comes to children.   Victoria never appeared to be central to the case and at first it is hard to understand Perhaps ageism was an issue. Often ageism focuses on the marginalisation  of old people however, children experience similar issues (Thompson, 2001) and perhaps this was reflected in workers attitudes.   The CA (1989) states that the welfare of the child is paramount. An interpreter was never used to talk to Victoria in her first language- French. Article 12 of UNCRC states that children who are capable of forming their own views should have the right to express them. Learning from this I would have ensured that I spent time establishing and building a relationship with Victoria to ensure that her wishes and views were heard, with the use of an interpreter.   The establishment of the 3 year degree and the importance of anti discriminatory practice within this course will hopefully ensure that future social workers have an understanding of discrimination at all levels and transfer this to everyday practice.   Question 4:   In light of all that ‘went wrong’ in the case of Victoria Climbie I looked into what would help when working with a child like Victoria.  I found pieces of information almost everywhere I looked that gave guidance on what should be taken into account.  Here is an example (Department of Health, 1988)  “… allocating a worker from the same cultural background as the family, or …understanding cultural issues and if required involve a language interpreter”.  Key words in the quote I feel are “..same cultural background..”; just because a white person is white doesn’t mean they understand all white people.  In children’s services the child is the client and thus as with any other client the most suitable form of communication must be sought; if this is another language or a first language in which an individual may better express themself this must be provided as soon as possible. “Managers at all levels are responsible … they should ensure that staff are operating in a framework of written and appropriately detailed policies, with effective systems for the allocation, supervision, review and recording of cases”. (Department of Health, 1988)  All points noted here are, in my opinion, fundamental ideas which should be followed when undertaking work with any individual.  Knowing a worker was operating under close and monitored guidelines and was supported, with a place to turn with questions or concerns would help greatly in providing not only a supported working environment where morale would presumably be higher and ‘lethargy’ lower but this in turn would provide greater energy to work and be a more curious Social Worker.  “Our services are threadbare, morale is low…”. (Community Care, 2003)    In his report, The Victoria Climbie Inquiry, Lord Laming suggested basic information of every child under 16yrs of age be stored on a database.  “The IS (information-sharing) Index will only contain … names, parents, schools and GPs.  Professionals including social workers and youth offending teams will be able to access the information”. (Community Care, 2005)  Such a database would help to ‘track’ children who move area.  A Social Worker could search a child on the database and although the details may not be up-to-date it will enable them to find details of a previous G.P. and school.  These could then be used as points of contact for tracing the child’s movements and any previous contact with services.  As it would list the child’s parents even these basic details could be checked, to a point.  If such a database had been available in the case of Victoria Climbie her previous movements could have been traced to some degree and a previous Social Worker located.  This would have allowed for the sharing of information which could very well have been key in answering any questions being raised by Victoria’s current Social Worker or perhaps it would have raised some questions in her Social Workers mind; questions she otherwise may not have asked.  In whatever final form this Information Sharing Index takes I believe as long as it is safeguarding against unauthorised access or misuse it will be invaluable to professionals trying to trace a child’s history or trying to locate its new movements away from their area.   Bibliography   Department of Health (2000) Assessing children in need Department of Health (2001) The Children Act now Department of Health and the Home office (2003) The Victoria Climbie inquiry Department of Education and Skills (2004)  Every child matters The Children Act 1989 §         Furness, S (2005) Shifting Sands: Developing Cultural Competence in British Journal Of Social work. Vol 17 (no.4) pp. 247-256 §         Thompson, N (2001) Anti discriminatory Practice. Palgrave: Basingstoke §         Webb, E et al (2002) Effectively promoting Black and Minority Ethnic children from harm: overcoming barriers to the child protection process in Child Abuse Review. Vol 11 pp. 394-410 §         Welbourne, P (2002) Culture, Children’s Rights and Child protection in Child Abuse Review. Vol 11 pp. 345-358 §         Williams, C & Soydan, H (2005) When and how does Ethnicity matter? A cross- national study of social work responses to ethnicity in child protection cases in British Journal of Social Work. Vol 35 (no. 6) pp. 901-920 §         www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/ §         www.anationalvoice.org/rights/rotchil2.htm §         http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga_19890041_en_1.htm (1988) Protecting Children - A Guide for Social Workers Undertaking a Comprehensive Assessment, Department of Health Community Care, http://www.communitycare.co.uk//Articles/2005/12/09/52110/Information+sharing+details+released.html?key=CLIMBIE, 2005, 2005, Information Sharing Details Released. Community Care, http://communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2003/03/20/40049/Want+answers+Don't+ask+Laming.html?key=LOW+AND+MORALE+AND+SOCIAL+AND+SERVICES, 2003, Want answers? Don't ask Laming.

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Presentation, Su, Abdul, Richard, Chris, Jenny and Nadine This presentation is the work of:- fficeffice" />  Su Hu Abdul Hussein Richard Sutton Christine Tansey Jenny Walker Nadine Willis   All Second Year students on the Social Work BA (hons) course at ffice:smarttags" />DeMontfort University, Bedford.   This presentation will look at the handling of the Victoria Climbie case, an eight year old girl who died on 25 February 2000 from the most appalling child abuse.  This work will examine how this case went so tragically wrong and highlight the lessons learned from Victoria’s story.   The Children’s Act 2004 has created a holistic approach to child protection and a legislative spine for developing more effective and accessible services (B249).  The Act aims to create a culture of safeguarding children (B258) In addition Inspectors of Children’s Services were created.   When considering what went wrong in protecting Victoria it is important to remember that the inquiry was established under three separate statutes; The Children’s Act 1989, The National Health Service Act 1977 and The Police Act 1996 therefore it wasn’t simply the social services that failed to ensure her safety.   The first anonymous call from Ms Ackah was not followed up to check the truth, this was a failure to comply with the Children’s Act 1989 (sec.47. 1) (b).   The Social Worker, Ms Arthurworrey visited Victoria twice and yet she never spoke to her, however, she was under the impression that she was well and even referred to her as “a little ray of sunshine” (‘Victoria’s Story’ www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk. 19/01/06).   It would appear that social services were preoccupied with treating Victoria’s case as a homeless issue and time and effort was directed at accommodation matters.   In addition the Laming enquiry was critical of management in this case. There was a lack of supervision and an exceptionally high case allocation; in addition there was a failure to allocate Victoria’s case at the earliest opportunity.  The social worker allocated the case had complained that it was “very difficult to work with the volumes of cases, Victoria’s was just one of those cases”  www.everychildmatters.gov.uk 24/01/06).   Unfortunately the conclusion drawn from this case study and the reports and enquiries it has generated, portray many failings on behalf of social services, both administrative failings and human failings.  Ealing social services were criticised for the weakness in their referral and assessment systems and they accepted that they had “failed to address Victoria’s needs as an individual and instead treated her as part of …Kouao’s homelessness” www.everychildmatters.gov.uk 24/01/06).   There were gaps in policy and procedures affecting social work practice in Victoria’s case.  A failure to focus on assuring that policies to protect children were properly implemented.   A failure to ensure that children and young people are consulted and listened to in relation to decisions about their lives.   A failure to address the serious staff shortages to enable regulations to be complied with.     The second stage of this presentation will focus on how the Children’s act 2004 tightened up procedures including those regarding private fostering, in the wake of Victoria’s death.   The Children’s Act 1989 sec 20.(4) clearly states that  “A Local Authority may provide accommodation for any child within their area …..if they consider that to do so would safeguard or promote the child’s welfare”.   On this occasion it appears that no one had taken this in mind to house Kouao and Victoria.   If the Local Authority is to protect vulnerable children in our society they need to broaden the network of working closely together with other agencies and share information to help prevent such tragedies in the future.   The system of the local authority failed because procedures for recording, supervising and keeping track of cases were inadequate.  Cases were allowed to drift.  The system within the office did not make provision to put in a plan and follow cases through in a systematic process.   No overall coordination of child protection procedures across the country.     Following Victoria’s case the Government passed the Children Act 2004 which allowed the creation of a national child database.  This records every contact make by a child under 16 with the police, NHS and Local Authority Services, thus preventing them from getting lost in the system.   The enquiry highlighted a need for a more ordered social work profession.  This resulted in the Government setting up a regulatory agency called the General Social Care Council, along with the introduction of the new degree in social work.  Both of these promote higher standards of practice.   The 2004 Bichard enquiry highlights the need for better recording, handling and sharing of ‘soft’ information i.e. life histories.     Recommendation 11 of Lord Laming’s report stated “the Government should review the law regarding the registration of private foster carers. (paragraph 17.97) This prompted the government to insist on local councils enforcing the required levels of monitoring and supervision on private foster placements.  The main concern is that a number of children are fostered by someone other than a relative, or in Victoria’s case a very distant relative and everyone needs to be vigilante and work together to ensure the safety of these children.  The lack of a multi agency approach in the Victoria’s case meant that important information was either being lost in the many systems or simply not being directed to the relevant agency.   It is important to understand that children in private fostering are protected by the Children’s Act 1989 in the same way as all other children residing in the UK and it is essential that local councils make regular visits to the child and observe the standard of care.   The next section will cover aspects of Anti Discriminatory Practice:-   Culture issues, Victoria’s first language was French, yet the emphasis was put on allocating a black social worker not a French speaking social worker.  Victoria’s parents had assumed that they were sending their daughter to Europe to access a better education and way of life; this practice is not uncommon in Victoria’s parent’s society.   Political correctness – fear of racism was an issue in that professionals were worried about accusations and this is racist behaviour in itself.  Standards of child protection in the UK must be applied to every child.   The report suggest black and ethnic minority needs may not be fully addressed in an assessment, because assumptions may be made about culture e.g. a child  “standing to attention” was seen as a cultural issue relating to respect and obedience and not addressed as abuse   No one should be discriminated against due to their colour, religion, belief, status or vulnerability of any sort.  While it’s clear in this case that the social worker was black just as Victoria, it would be foolish to ignore that no discrimination took place.  Why did staff at Ealing social services not challenge Kouao about the state of Victoria?  After all, they commented that Victoria resembled an “Advertisement for Action Aid”  Was this not challenged because she was the child of a black woman and this was deemed acceptable.  It was reported that one worker felt that the poor state of Victoria was a ploy to get more benefits.   The social worker did not communicate with Victoria, is this because she did not speak English?  Why not use an interpreter to give the platform to express herself.  It is our duty to challenge any form of Anti-Discriminatory Practice.   The Social Worker and Victoria were the same colour however they were from completely different backgrounds.  Neil Garnham QC stated “Assumption based on race can be just as corrosive in its effect as blatant racism”.   During the social workers visits to the flat she never actually spoke to Victoria to obtain her views.  This is very disturbing as she should have bee at the centre of her concerns.  Overall it highlights the fact that as social workers we must obviously speak to the child involved but also recognise and facilitate the language of their choice. No one spoke to Victoria in her first language.        Finally this presentation looks at how through hindsight, research and current legislation we can do things better.   Be more vigilant, observant and practice inquisitive and persistent practice.   We mustn’t shy away from sensitive cultural issues due to being afraid of causing offence, but research and try to learn more about the diverse groups of people we are working with and remember at all times the child’s safety is paramount.   We must trust our judgement.   Explore other options like seeking help when needed or share information with managers and work colleagues.     Multi agency work is essential and following up on visits that have been unsuccessful – using the law to gain access to vulnerable children.   Word Count 1,456     Sources of Reference   www.nspcc.org.uk  (19/01/06) www.everychildmatters (23/01/06) www.societyguardian.co.uk 19/01/06) www.jrf.org.uk (20/01/06)   Safeguarding Children (2005), The second joint Chief Inspectors’ Report on Arrangements to Safeguard Children. Crown Copyright.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GROUP PRESENTATION~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Evidence-Based Childcare Presentation –fficeffice" /> Learning from the Victoria Climbie Inquiry  By Rachel Tate  Darran Youell  Nick Wells  Fiona Turner Neill Tunnicliffe   Clare Wilde     Question 1 - Response to the failings of social services   From the scrutinising of Lord Laming’s report into the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000 it would appear that this child was sadly let down by a system (designed by adults) to protect children vulnerable to the system and abuse. It is imperative that as student social workers we recognise that both law and due process should protect children… The Victoria Climbie Inquiry report showed that the system failed comprehensively, because of ill-trained and overworked staff,who were unsupported by their managers or more senior staff in their organisations, and because of senior staff faing to take responsibility for the quality of children's services in the organisation.Safeguarding Children showed that, although Victoria’s was an extreme case, there were issues emerging from it that are also relevant elsewhere.   Several departments operated with outdated (paper) filing systems An adoption of a policy of routine, ‘drift’ and assumption. A fundamental loss of focus as to what represented a child in need and a child at risk of abuse, or indeed, suffering abuse.  A failure to act swiftly and appropriately. A failure by senior practitioners and managers to address flaws in departments and their practices. There was a recognised failure by managers/supervisors to use supervision both appropriately and effectively.     There had already been several high profile cases of deaths of children due to abuse/neglect in the immediate vicinity:   1985 - ‘ A child in Trust’ report upon the death of jasmine Beckford  (London Borough of Brent). 1987 – ‘ Whose Child’ a report upon the death of Tyra Hendly (London Borough of Lambeth). 1987 – ‘ A Child in Mind’ reporting upon the death of Kimberly Carlile (London Borough of Greenwich). 1988 – ‘ The Report of the Inquiry into Child Abuse in Cleveland’                                                                  ·        The impact of these shocking cases was profound upon child protection teams countrywide and the duty towards children in need escalated.  Indeed, the Social Services Inspectorate, in response to inspection of social services in Great Britain, concluded that authorities were in need of a more structured and systematic approach (Fowler J. 2004).  ·        1999 saw the publishing by The Department of Health’s  ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ ·        1989 saw the publishing of the Children Act ·        1988 saw the Department of Health publish ‘Protecting Children. A Guide for Social Workers undertaking a Comprehensive Assessment’  ·        Already in place was The Child Care Act 1980 that placed heavy emphasis upon protecting children at risk.     Over arching legislation cannot be ignored either.  The United Nations Convention on the rights of the Child had identified fundamental protective measures.     We see also the failings of the local health services and child-minders to report or at least pursue some kind of child-protection procedure.  Although some steps were considered due to personal conviction of individuals, it would appear that the spectre of ignorance and a culture of assumption and drift prevailed.     Question 2 - Look at material since Victoria’s death.   The Every Child Matters: Change for Children program has been formulated to address the issues of social care, welfare and protection of children. The aim is to put in place a national framework to support the linking up of the full range of children’s services so that all children can achieve the every child matters outcomes. These outcomes are:   Be Healthy- Physically healthy, Mentally and emotionally healthy, sexually healthy, Healthy Lifestyles and chose not to take illegal drugs Stay Safe- Safe from maltreatment, neglect, violence and sexual. exploitation, Safe from accidental injury and death, safe from bullying and discrimination, safe from crime and anti-social behaviour in and out of school and Have security, stability and are cared for. Enjoy and Achieve- ready for school, attend and enjoy school, achieve stretching national educational standards at primary school, achieve stretching national educational standards at secondary school. Make a Positive Contribution- engage in decision making and support the community and environment, Engage in law abiding and positive behaviour in and out of school, Develop positive relationships and choose not to bully or discriminate, Develop self-confidence and successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges, Develop enterprising behaviour. Achieve Economic Well- Being- engage in further education, employment or training on leaving school, Ready for employment, Live in decent homes and suitable communities, Access to transport and material goods, and Live in households free from low income.   10 key elements of national framework to achieve this are:   Duty to cooperate-promote well being Duty to make arrangements to safeguard and promote welfare Development of statutory local safeguarding children’s boards Appointment of local directors National Service Framework for children Outcomes Framework Develop integrated inspection framework Appointment of children’s commissioner Develop common assessment framework Reform workforce- develop skills ensure staffing levels   Following the tragic case of Victoria, there have been many steps taken in regard to the protection of children to stop this from ever happening again. The Children Act 2004 has been a key piece of legislation that links to the ‘change for children programme’ that is currently in operation and contributes to ‘delivering genuine change for children, so that the outcomes for every child are improved’. (www.doh.gov.uk 24/01/06.)   Within the Children Act 2004 there are many parts that focus on change for children, e.g.: ‘A new children’s commissioner’ (part 1), ‘local safeguarding children boards’ (part 2) and  ‘stronger requirements to manage private fostering schemes’ (part 5) are a few examples of future change. (www.dfes.gov.uk/ISA/childrenAct/summary.cfm 23/01/06.) In implementing the Act and its new key parts, it identifies the following:       ‘Overall aim is to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services as well as improve multi disciplinary working, remove duplication, increase accountability and improve the coordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities. The legislation is enabling rather than prescriptive and provides local authorities with a considerable amount of flexibility in the way they implement its provisions.’ (www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/children act report 23/01/06.)   However, within this future change other work since Victoria‘s death can be seen to be providing a contribution, i.e.: ‘Working Together To Safeguard Children’ (1999) is another piece of work that has been developed. An example of this new work is the booklet ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’, (Department of Health May 2003) and this is a primary level intervention which links into the ‘Local Safeguarding Children Boards’ that are clearly defined (as mentioned earlier) in the Children Act 2004.   Overall, it can be seen that the Children Act 2004 offers clear guidance to further improve the protection of children and some of the areas within this guidance can be seen in earlier legislation, policy and procedures.     Question 3 -Anti-Discriminatory Practice Introduction   Following the inquiry into the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Victoria Climbie, and the publication of several key recommendations, Social Service departments nationally were made to evaluate their own qualities of practice. One of the areas of practice that was raised as a focus for concern was anti-discriminatory practice (ADP).   I will explain the meanings of discrimination and ADP, put these into context of children’s services, look specifically at the Victoria Climbie case and finish by clarifying the link between ADP and good social work practice.   What is discrimination and ADP?   Discrimination is when a person (or group of people) is treated less favourably than others would be treated in the same circumstances.   There are many forms of discrimination, and these can be based on race, gender or age to name but a few. There are a number of pieces of legislation in place to protect against discrimination.   For example, to treat someone less favourably because of their race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origin, is illegal under the Race Relations Act 1976.     ADP is a process which social workers should use, to work towards the reduction of discrimination by individuals and institutions. This means that not only should social workers be non-discriminatory in their own practice but they should also challenge any discriminatory practice they encounter.   This can even mean challenging their colleagues and employers.   ADP and Children’s Services.   Children’s services are about the provision of services to the child. Not the white child, or the black child, just the child. Discrimination has no place in children’s services, and by using ADP a social worker challenges any form of discrimination they encounter.   Under The Children Act 1989, the welfare of the child is paramount, so when it comes to issues of children’s services, an awareness and understanding of cultural differences is required, but this shouldn’t be a blockage or a reason for delay in the protection of the child.   A child’s culture is important, but its safety and wellbeing are of higher importance. The “Working with Diversity” section of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry Final Report states,   “The basic requirement that children are kept safe is universal and cuts across cultural boundaries…Cultural heritage cannot take precedence over standards of childcare embodied in the law” (Lord Laming 2003a)     ADP and Victoria Climbie   With the application of ADP, by all professionals that had dealings with Victoria, the outcomes for her may have been entirely different.   For example, if the social worker had taken an anti-discriminatory approach to her assessment of Victoria’s situation she would not have made the assumptions detailed in the Inquiry Final Report, i.e. Victoria standing to attention in front of Kouao was “just a cultural thing” (Lord Laming 2003a) Or, if the medical staff had not made discriminatory assumptions regarding the marks on Victoria’s body, i.e. children who have grown up in Africa can be expected to have more marks on their bodies. (Lord Laming 2003a)   Victoria’s desperate need for help may well have been spotted, and acted upon, earlier.   Making assumptions based on little cultural knowledge was not only discriminatory, but also deprived Victoria of her right to fair and equal assessment and access to services.   ADP and Good Practice   As we have seen, discriminatory practice can have the most dreadful of outcomes. By practicing in an ADP way, as social workers, we are not only acting in the best interests of our service-users but are also ensuring that discrimination is gradually being eliminated from their, already difficult lives.   I will finish with a quote from the Victoria Climbie Inquiry Final Report   “Safeguards must be in place to ensure that skin colour does not influence either the assessment or the quality of services delivered” (Lord Laming 2003a)     Question 4 - Lessons to be learnt from Victoria Climbie inquest   Following the death of Victoria Climbié and the subsequent inquest, Lord Laming’s report prompted the Children Act 1989 to be re-structured as the case highlighted the lack of communication between agencies, professionals and team members involved with the incident. The agencies involved had different interpretations of legislation; while resources allocated and staff management varied greatly. The Local Authority’s training, according to the report, was not up to date when dealing with child protection cases.   Victoria’s death is not the first to be linked with terrible mistakes; cases such as Jasmine Beckford and Kimberley Carlile are two more examples from an unacceptably long list, however improvements have been made over the years and the number of children on the child protection register has decreased. In 1997/98, the Department of Health reported that there were 31,600 children on the child protection register (the figure represents 28 children per 10,000 population under 18 years). In 2001 26,800 children and young people were on the register (the figure represents 24 children per 10,000 population under 18 years).   Lord Laming recommended that a national database for children under 16 needed to be set up, this is being implemented by the Government’s plans to introduce a National Information Sharing Index in all local authority by 2008, this will enable all agencies involved in delivery services to children to have quick access to shared information. Although set up cost is high (The Government estimates £224 million), money wasted from agencies trying to contact each other could be saved. Perhaps if this was already running, Victoria’s history could have been seen quicker and the outcome may have been different.   Multi agency work with health and educational teams allows different approaches to be considered and means the team addresses the holistic needs of a child. Communication needs to be in understandable language but also it must be remembered that action can speak louder than words.     Victoria was a child in need. There is a ‘Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families’ (Department of Health et al 2000) I have looked at this Framework and think it is essential for good practice for all professionals involved in assessing children in need.   When assessing a child in need there are 3 areas to take into account:   Child’s developmental needs – Victoria’s SW should have looked at her health, education, emotional and behavioural development, identity, family and social relationships, social presentation and self-care skills Parenting capacity – Victoria’s SW should have looked to see if parents were meeting Victoria’s needs of: basic care, ensuring her safety, emotional warmth, stimulation, guidance and boundaries and stability Family and environmental factors – Victoria’s SW looked at housing issues but also should have looked at family history and functioning, wider family, employment, income, family’s social integration and community resources   The Assessment Framework is child-centred, as we should always ensure that the child is kept in focus. The framework provides a good way of gathering information to analyse. We need to look at all the factors and their impact on the welfare of the child.   Using a child centred approach   As the assessment is child centred it is important to communicate with the child to assess their needs. Use effective methods of communication. In Victoria’s case they should have got an interpreter.  It is important to build a rapport to gain the child’s trust so that they feel accepted. Parental presence can create problems if the parent seems to be controlling the child. Look at parent/child interaction and assess whether the parent should be present. Create a safe space where the child feels able to express their needs. Careful consideration should be given to the place where interviews with the child are carried out. We must ascertain the child’s views and feelings and reassure the child that their views are important       Bibliography Brayne, H. and Carr, H. (2003) Law for Social Workers, 8th ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press.   Briggs, F & Hawkins, R. (1997) Child Protection, St Leonard’s NSW, Allen & Unwin.   Department of Health (2004) National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services: Executive Summary. [Online]. Department of Health, London. Available from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/05/52/04090552.pdf [Accessed on 23/01/2006]   Johns, R. (2005) Using the Law in Social Work, 2nd edn. Exeter, Learning Matters.   Lawrence, A. (2004) Principles of Child Protection, Maidenhead, Open University Press.   Lord Laming. (2003a) The Victoria Climbie Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry: Part Five – Working with Diversity [online]. Department of Health, London. Available from: www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/finreport/4working.htm [Accessed on 20/01/2006]   Lord Laming. (2003b) The Victoria Climbie Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry: Part One – Background, Victoria’s Story [online]. Department of Health, London. Available from: www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk/finreport/vicstory.htm [Accessed on 20/01/2006]   Millam, R. (2002) Anti-Discriminatory Practice, 2nd edn. London, Continuum.   Miller, H. and Bourlet, C. (2005) ‘Act of Faith’, Community Care, 7-13 July, pp 30-31.   Sale, A.U. (2005) ‘Beyond Belief’, Community Care, 7-13 July, pp 28-29.   Pierson, J. and Thomas, M. (2002) Dictionary of Social Work, 2nd edn. Glasgow, Harper Collins.   Smith, R. (2005) Values and Practice in Children’s Services, Basingstoke, Palgrave.   Thompson, N. (2001) Anti-Discriminatory Practice, 3rd edn. Basingstoke, Palgrave.   Children Act 2004-guidance, Online: Internet. www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/strategy/guidance/.     Children and young people on the child protection registers, year ending 31 March 2001, England, Online: Internet. www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalSocialCare/StatisticalSocialCareArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4080977&chk=cm9LDl     Children on the child protection registers 1997/1998, Online: Internet. www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalSocialCare/StatisticalSocialCareArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4015893&chk=S4w5pQ     Contribution to the seminar on identification: a common language, a common purpose; second seminar for phase two of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry, Online: Internet. www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/DisplayDocuments.asp?sesid=134a0cdb-2ac3-48a9-bba8-cda82ebe935d   DFES-Information Sharing and Assessment. Every Child Matters – Green Paper, Online: Internet. www.dfes.gov.uk/ISA/everychild/greenPaper.cfm   Every Child Matters- The Children Act 2004, Online: Internet. www.thegrid.org.uk/info/csf/child_matters.shtml     www.cre.gov.uk/legal/rra.html www.dfes.gov.uk/ISA/childrenAct/summary.cfm 23/01/06. www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/childrenactreport 23/01/06 www.doh.gov.uk 23/01/06. www.everychildmatters.gov 23/01/06. www.opsi.gov.uk/acts 23/01/06. www.4children.org.uk 23/01/06.

26.1.06 21:46 Permalink / comment

Victoria Climbie Presentation by Eileen Gregory, Claire Lopez, Marvia Cunningham, Nike Akadonye, Tan fficeffice" />  Presentation Question One     Between ffice:smarttags" />26/4/99 and early July Kouao attended Ealing Social Services no less than 18 times regarding housing for her and Victoria and on at least 10 occasions Victoria accompanied her.  At no time was Victoria assessed or taken into consideration.  Ealing offered accommodation in a homeless hostel in Brent and Kouao and Victoria moved in around the 1 May 1999.  Staff recorded how scruffy Victoria looked and concerns for Victoria began to emerge.  The Children Act 1989 S. 17 (1) a) and b) and (10) a) should have been considered at this point.  As should have parental responsibility: Kouao had no parental responsibility for Victoria.-  S 8 (1) of Children Act 1989 covers residence orders which may have been useful to consider also S 12 (2) parental responsibility only valid until order ends – may have been useful with careful monitoring of case until other arrangements made with parents.   At this point also if parental responsibility had been confirmed then a S. 20 from the CA 1989 could have been agreed.    At the point of referral to Brent Social Services on the 18/6/99 inquiries under S. 47 of the Childrens Act 1989 should have begun.  The referral had included details that Victoria’s life may be in danger.    The Children Act 1989 gives a clear lead of working in partnership (S 7 Local Authority Act 1970 gives guidance); however this was not adhered to at any time during this case.  If each agency had communicated accurately then maybe at the time of Victoria’s first admission to the Central Middlesex Hospital on 14/7/89 this could have been cross referenced with her subsequent admission on the 24/7/99 to the North Middlesex Hospital and could also refer to case notes held by Ealing and Brent Social Services and been passed on to Haringey Social Services when a referral was made to them via the hospital social worker on 24/7/99.   S7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 gives guidance on the importance of inter agency co-operation and information sharing.  Although not law this is guidance that should have been adhered to.   Victoria was put under police protection Section 46 of the Children Act 1989 during her stay at the Central Middlesex on the 14/7/99 due to her injuries being regarded as non accidental.  However this was withdrawn within 24 hours.  This action was questioned in the Laming Report due to the fact that there was no known threat from Kouao to remove her from the hospital.  S 46 also requires that both the child and parent are informed of the reasons for this course of action and it requires a ‘designated officer’ (Home Office circular 54/91 suggests this role be carried out by an Inspector) to investigate the circumstances to determine whether police protection is appropriate.  Although this action was questioned, if an Inspector had been overseeing this, deficiencies may have been brought to light about the case and a proper investigation started before the police protection was lifted.   At the time Haringey received the case they should have implemented a S 47 however had they accepted Victoria as a child in need should have accommodated her or made attempts to house her and her aunt.  The bed sit they were living in with Manning was unsuitable.   S17 Victoria was a child in need she had not been attending school or socialising this should have been picked up by social worker.   At the time of the referral on 24/7/99 this case should have been allocated as a S 47 a full assessment should have been carried out by allocated sw – investigation and confirmation of parental responsibility gained – immigration status checked – GP contacted – schooling investigated.  A check on history in France obtained from French SS.   Also the allegation of sexual abuse needed exploration by the local authority under S47.   S20 had parental responsibility been confirmed then Victoria could have been accommodated 20 (1) (a)   Other legislation that could have been used in this case includes:  The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989, The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which should have underpinned practice.   Claire Lopez & Tracie Collins   Sites and literature used for research   Brammer A, 2003 Social Work Law, Pearson Education Ltd, Essex Johns R, 2005 Using the Law in Social Work, 2nd edition, Learning Matters Ltd, Exeter The Children Act 1989 In the Context of The Human Rights Act 1998 Working Together to Safeguard Children-a guide to Inter-Agency working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children 1991 Working Together Under The Children Act 1989- a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse. DOH 1991   www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk  25.01.06 www.guardian.co.uk  25.01.06 www.communitycare.co.uk 25.01.06 www.childrennow.co.uk 25.01.06 www.dfes.gov.uk  25.01.06         QUESTION TWO   The government proposed The Green Paper, the children’s bill which sets out that every child has an opportunity to fulfil their potential and that no child would slip through the net, (www.cwdc.gov.uk). This has been supported by Newham Council in London (www.newham.gov.uk).   Section 11 of The Children’s Act states that agencies have got work together in practices and ensure that the child’s welfare is highlighted in order to promote and safeguard the welfare of children. Section 12 of The Children’s Act 2004 includes arrangements from management, technical specifications, security and cross matching data and advice on data protection. The bill sets that Health and Care Audit Inspection will work closely with Ofstead in developing the framework for integrated inspection and carry out joint reviews. This will help in sharing information, there was concern of confidentiality and the impact of data protection was raised.   However the regulations and guidance include geographic levels at which database are to be set up. They will draw up identification, referral and tracking TRAILBLAZER. Identification Referral and Tracking ensuring that a child deemed to be vulnerable does “not fall through the net” this can be achieved through working in partnership.   Sharing information through other agencies will help to identify children who are at risk and, this bill enables local authorities, schools and colleges through The Education Act 2002.   The bill will provide a framework for establishment of insuring practitioners are able to provide children and their families with help and support they need at earliest opportunities. This will lead to the safeguarding of the children and promoting their welfare.   Early and effective intervention protects and enables children to receive help at first on set of problems rather than the child suffering because of delay.   In Newham Council London preventative services are delivered in partnership. The Child Development Centre based in West Ham Lane assesses children where there are concerns about their development and referrals to Social Services for family support may be made from the centre. Social Workers are working with families in family centres and parents may speak to social workers at the centres.          On private fostering the bill makes provision for new measures to strengthen the existing children’s Act 1989, Private Notification. The new measures will underpin regulations and guidance. Local Safeguarding of Children Boards, a function to ensure that interagents cooperate in safeguarding children who are privately fostered.   Taking into consideration all the guidance within Every Child Matters, as well If had been in the same situation as Victoria Climbie’s Social Worker I would ensure that I had  -   Sufficient hand over from my manager regarding assigning me the case file, as it clearly states in the National Service Framework for Children, from commissioned by the Department of Health 2004 that: “Effective supervision is provided to staff who work with children to ensure high quality services, and clear, accurate, comprehensive and contemporaneous records are kept”   I would have voiced my concerns over the fact that I already had 18 cases on the go, 10 of which were child protection related   One of the first things I would have done as part of my assessment process of Victoria would have been to interview and assess Victoria away from her family, along with a suitable interpreter, as it is clearly written in the Children Act 1989, Part 1 – Welfare of the child: “In the circumstances mentioned in subsection (4), a court shall have regard in particular to— the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of his age and understanding);”   I would have checked the basic information regarding evidence to prove who the Aunt and her boyfriend were, the nature of their stay in England, as well as doing my utmost to get in contact with Victoria’s mother.   Eileen Gregory and Tanya Halligan   SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR QUESTION TWO:   The Association Of Directors of Social Services - www.adss.org.uk   Child Protection and the law - www.wakefield.gov.uk   The Department of Education and Skills the Children’s Acts Explained - www.dfes.gov.uk/publications   Every Child Matters, safeguarding children - www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/safeguarding   Press Release for BBC News 23/1/2006 “Board will safeguard children” –http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/4639392.stm   Every Child Matters: Change for Children – An Overview of Cross Government Guidance http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/B434EAE08179B3F6C1ABC1CB0BB6B1D2.pdf   NSF FOR Children – Executive Summary   The Children Act 1989 PDF   QUESTION THREE   My first point of reference for the consideration of anti – discriminatory practice within social work was the Social Work Values, specifically Social Work Value F, which clearly outlines the importance of anti – discriminatory practice for all Social Workers, Understand, and make use of, strategies to challenge discrimination, disadvantage and other forms of inequality and injustice   In regards to anti – discriminatory practice I found information on the Community Care website: “The NSPCC's national project manager for services to ethnic minority children, Norbert Marjolin, says practitioners should be confident enough to work with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds without having to fear being described as racist”.   Another reference to anti – discriminatory practice form the Community Care website refers to Norbert Marjolin who states that: "It is not an issue of race, religion or culture, but it is about behaviour. The safety of a child is paramount and a professional has to be willing to say 'I am challenging your behaviour, not your religion or cultural difference'." (community care – Beyond Belief)   The joint policy statement form ADSS and CAFCASS February 2005 refers to anti – discriminatory practice within their second objective entitled – To establish common principles for joint working they propose that: “Diversity and equality of opportunity will be valued and promoted through anti-discriminatory practice.”   The challenge of partnership working in child protection, Practice guide HMSO SSI Inspection 1994 2.58 "It is important that whilst striving to be ethically sensitive, professionals must always maintain their focus on the needs of the child".   All children belong to a race and have culture.  For many ethnic minority children, issues of race and racism are further compounded by language differences (Alridge and Wood, 1998). Recommendation 65 of Victoria Climbie’s inquiry (Laming report 2003) suggests that threshold for consent from parents should be lowered for professionals, the concern for confidentiality should override the parental consent in order for professionals to have greater discretion, (David P. H. Jones, 2003).   With regard to the case of Victoria Climbie, although she was assigned a social worker who was black no consideration was given to the fact that Victoria was black African and French speaking.  Lisa Athurworrey was black afro Caribbean and did not speak French.  The African culture and language differs vastly from country to country and it was not enough to just consider that by allocating a black worker who had no information or knowledge of Victoria’s particular culture or language would be good anti discriminatory practice.  Good practice would require investigation and understanding of a particular culture.  It was in this case of extreme importance that Victoria should have been able to communicate in her mother tongue or at least given the choice to do so.  If this was not possible then an interpreter should have been used at all times.   Although culture must be taken into account and valued, if something within that culture is breaking the law or causing suffering in any way then it can never be accepted.      Claire Lopez, Eileen Gregory, Marvia Cunningham, Nike Akadonye, Tracie Collins and Tanya Halligan.     SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR QUESTION THREE:     Articles from www.communitycare.co.uk :    - The Bigger Picture on the Children Act 2004, posted 17 Jan 2005 - The Bigger Picture on Child Protection, posted 15 March 2005 - News – Information sharing details released, posted 09 Dec 2005  - News – Officers introduced across London to work in faith groups, posted 16 Jan 2006 Social Work Values - http://www.topssengland.net/files/cd/England/Units/Unit1.htm) Book – Communicating With Vulnerable Children:  A Guide for Practitioners, David. P, H, Jones, Geskel, London, 2003   Question Four     As a social worker working with a child like Victoria, I would have familiarised myself with some of the materials I would be discussing below.  The Children Act 1989 and The Children’s Act 2004: By being curious and assertive I would have observed the fact that Victoria presented some criteria which placed her as a child in need. She must have looked malnourished because one of the social workers commented that she looked like a child on an Aids poster. She also suffered from Incontinence and was placed with her great aunt who had no parental responsibility over her. I would have applied Section 17, which is for children in need. Section 47, which refers to Children in need of protection, Section 8, which would have applied to the fact that Victoria’s great aunt had no parental responsibility for her, and section 20 by assisting in providing accommodation in terms of housing and care. I would have followed the ‘National service framework for Children and Families 1999 and the green paper ‘Modernising Social Work 1989; which is aimed towards providing children with protection, quality of care, improved life chances, introduction of eight commissions for care standards, improving standards in the workplace, improving partnership, improving delivery and efficiency and increased funding. I would also have revisited the professional ethics and the General social Care Code of practice which can be found in a number of books such as Effective Practice Learning in Social Work by Jonathan Parker 2005. This reminds me of being careful and diligent, effective and helpful and ensuring that my work would be legitimate, authorised, showing accountability and credibility. The Lord Laming inquiry and report into the death of Victoria Climbie was very lengthy and covered the police force, Social Services and NHS. He made 108 recommendations which were incorporated into the ‘Checklist for practise recommendations from the Victoria Climbie inquiry’ and which are being used to measure good practise when working with children. E.g. Recommendation 18 states that when communication with a child is necessary for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare, and the first language of the child is not English, an interpreter must be used. The government responded to the Lord Laming’s report with the document ‘Keeping Children Safe 2003, which emphasized the importance of safeguarding children and on the 19th of May 2003 the booklet ‘What to do if you ‘re worried a child is being abused. The booklet explained clearly the role and steps to be taken by people working towards safeguarding children.  This role is set out in the Government guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their families. These documents make it clear that children’s needs should be assessed, and services provided to meet those needs, including the need for protection, regardless of whether or not they are reported at the point of referral, to be children in need or ‘Child protection’ referrals. The green paper ‘Every Child matters’ focussed its action plan on four major areas §         Supporting parents and carers §         Early intervention and effective protection §         Accountability and integration locally, regionally and nationally §         Work reform.   This document also brought about the creation of ‘Children’s funds’ which enables the co-ordinating and monitoring of all departments, local authority, social services, education, health etc which provide services for children.       The NSPCC website in promoting ‘Safe guarding children and the concerns are mainly highlighting areas of improvement for doctors and paediatricians and enabling them to take a more active and responsive role especially in cases of child abuse such as Victoria Climbie.   Marvia Cunningham and Nike Akadonye   Sources of Information   Effective Practice Learning in Social Work by Jonathan parker, Published by Learning Matters (2004)   http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/-files/.pdf   http://dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/pdf   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2122256.stm   http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/index.htm   http://www.nspcc.org.uk/htm/home/informationresources.informationresources.htm

26.1.06 15:01 Permalink / 6 Comments / comment

Victoria Climbie - Group Presentaion The following information has been gathered by Michele Wills, Amanda Wawryn, Francesca Rowe and Eve Robinson-Morley in order to answer the 4 questions set out by Geoff, our social work tutor, exploring the Victoria Climbié case.fficeffice" />   Michele Wills: Question 1   This part of the presentation will explore how the case of Victoria Climbie was handled using the legislation of the time.   The Laming inquiry into Victoria’s death revealed that there were twelve missed opportunities by Social Services, Police and Health services to save her and it appears too much discussion occurred as to whether she was ‘a child in need’ rather than a ‘child protection’ case.  There was also an almost total failure to engage with ffice:smarttags" />Victoria – her views were never sought (Source: Laming Inquiry).   Lord Laming, in his inquiry, is quoted as saying “I would have expected qualified social workers at the time Victoria needed protection to be capable of completing an assessment of her needs.  The Children Act 1989 had been implemented in 1991.  The forms for this purpose were available and senior managers accepted that the tasks had been completed.  In reality, however, the conversations with Victoria were limited to little more than ‘hello, how are you?’.  The only ‘assessment’ completed involved the writing down of limited, information provided by Kouao, Victoria’s great aunt.   Kuoao attended Ealing social services eighteen times (ten times with Victoria).  Although there were concerns, Ealing failed to address Victoria’s needs as an individual, instead treating her as part of her aunt’s homelessness.  This contradicts Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 in that ”the Local Authority have a general duty to safeguard and promote welfare of a child and that the child’s welfare is paramount and safeguarding and promoting it is its the priority”.  It is also interesting to note that ‘parental responsibility’ had not been established and it was assumed that Kuoao was Victoria’s mother.  If this had been properly established Victoria could had been accommodated under Section 20 CA 1989 – General provision of accommodation whereby the ‘Local Authority’ must provide accommodation for a child for whom nobody has parental responsibility or who is lost or when, for an reason, the ordinary caregiver is prevented from providing suitable accommodation or care’.  It also appears that at no time, were Victoria’s parents contacted nor their opinion sought.   Neither Kuoao nor Ealing Social Services attempted to enrol Victoria into school, which contravened Victoria’s right to an education as laid out under the Human Rights Act 1998.  Ealing’s main intervention was to give money to Kuoao as she was deemed ineligible for housing.  Although this response was under the Children Act 1989 the reality was that the needs of Victoria were never considered.   Brent Social Services had the opportunity to help Victoria on two separate occasions.  The first was on receipt of an anonymous phone call expressing concern about Victoria’s safety.  The second was almost a month later when Victoria was taken to the Central Middlesex hospital.  However, at no time did Brent make a connection between the two.  A police officer from Brent Child Protection team placed Victoria under Sect 46 of the CA 1989 Police Power of Protection, however none of the conditions were adhered to as Victoria was not seen, the person who took her to hospital was not interviewed and Kuoao was not informed.    For the remainder of her life Victoria was allocated a social worker from Haringay Social Services.  Lord Laming is quoted as saying ‘their single responsibility was to safeguard and promote Victoria’s welfare in accordance with the CA 1989’.  Following a second visit hospital for Victoria the social worker referred the case to the child protection team under Sect 47 CA 1989 and arranged the strategy meeting.  Nobody who attended had seen or spoken to Victoria or Kuoao and hospital staff did not attend. A new social worker was allocated the case and she was discharged into her aunt’s care. The social worker could have taken out a Prohibited Steps order under Section 8 of the CA 1989 to prevent Kuoao making contact with Victoria.   Whilst Victoria was alive the law was available to protect her, however it appears that it wasn’t used to this effect.  At no point did Victoria’s social worker make the opportunity to speak to her alone or pursue matters when she was unable to contact the family.    Amanda Wawryn Question 2 – ‘Every Child Matters’ The Children Act 2004, what has changed since The Children Act 1989 re Private Fostering and other changes.   The legislation relevant to Private Fostering as part of The Children Act 1989 states that the arrangement is private (without L/A involvement).  It involves the care of a child under 16 or 18 if disabled, by someone other than a close relative which is intended to last for more than 28 days.  This is also applicable to extended family e.g. cousin or great aunt.  Although it presents as being positive, privately fostered children are a particularly vulnerable group. Private foster carers (F/C) are responsible for day to day care but parents or a person with Parental Responsibility, are responsible for the child’s safety and welfare.  The L/A however, have a legal duty to protect and promote the welfare of any privately fostered child living within their area.    The measures in Section 44 of The Children Act 2004 and the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 are intended to strengthen and enhance The Children Act 1989 with the private fostering notification scheme.  L/A’s are required to take a more proactive approach to:-   Identify arrangements in their area Address low notification rates Late notification rates Lack of a consistent commitment to meeting the needs of privately fostered children The L/A need to promote awareness within the community of the notification requirements  Schools and GP’s need to be enabled to encourage private Foster Carers, to notify the L/A Professional’s need to raise awareness that failure to notify the L/A of private foster care arrangements is an offence Professional’s to notify L/A of such an arrangement if they suspect the L/A are not already aware   What needs to happen?   Private F/C and or parent must notify L/A of arrangement six weeks before it begins or immediately if within six weeks   (The Victoria Climbie report stated that this kind of arrangement is common practice in certain societies therefore parents would be unlikely to inform authorities)   Anyone being aware of the arrangement must notify the L/A immediately and must provide as much information as possible    (There were numerous Professional’s and members of the public who should have been more proactive in making the L/A aware of Victoria’s plight)   Once notified the L/A must visit premises where child will live and speak to all parties and (the child alone and with interpreter if applicable) and produce a report   (Social worker made announced visits, she did not make a thorough inspection of Manning’s flat and she never spoke to Victoria as Victoria spoke French)   If private foster care has already commenced the L/A must visit six weekly and in subsequent years every twelve weeks   (Social worker visited Victoria on two occasions, 16/08/99 and 28/10/99 nearly a ten week gap)   The child must be seen alone and a report must be produced after each visit   L/A must be informed of change of address when someone leaves or joins the household   (Victoria changed address but L/A not notified)   L/A’s must communicate when the child changes area, parent should do this also   (Brent and Ealing Social Services did not communicate)   A private F/C must notify the L/A when the arrangement ends and if the child has died the L/A must be told   Section 10 of The Children Act 2004 - L/A’s have a duty to promote co-operation between agencies in order to improve children’s well being and provides a new power to allow pooling of resources in support of this.   Section 11 - Key agencies who work with children must put in place arrangements to make sure that they take into account the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children when doing their jobs.   Francesca Rowe Question 3 Racism – were social workers worried about being accused of being racist if child protection measures had been implemented?   Comment at the time that not to implement child protection measures was racist as did not offer Victoria the protection that she might have received as a white child.   What does Anti Discriminatory practice mean and is there better awareness and recognition that racism was and still is a cause for concern?   The tragedy of Victoria Climbie is reported in detail in the Laming Inquiry.  The failure of the professionals involved to save this little girl from torture and death at the hands of people who had been trusted to provide a happy and secure home, is very distressing to read and causes considerable despair and frustration at the lack of care Victoria received.    Racism is not a new issue and there are statutory obligations on individuals and institutions to be actively anti discriminatory in their contact with people from different ethnic, cultural, religious heritages.  The Race Relations Act 1976 `has not really been able to make the necessary link between the quality of social work for black children and their families and the equality in social work with black children and their families`. (Ahmad, 1991).  The Macpherson Inquiry into the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence made it very clear that racism does not just exist at an individual level, but permeates the institutions of justice, and other institutions. The report gives a definition of institutional racism `The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.  It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial stereotyping which disadvantages minority people.` The report also states that the above situation persists due to lack of example and leadership and that policies are unchallenged and that the racism has become `part of the ethos or culture of the organisation`. Racism is invisible at an organisational level making it much harder to react against and eradicate.   The evidence that has been collected to support the allegation of institutional racism with particular focus on social care and child care reveals that there are more black children being taken into care from troubled or struggling family situations, and that more black than white families are invited or able to use family services such as family centres.  A number of surveys have been carried out to establish the above as fact, Baylies et al.,1993; Butt and Box 1998; the Social Exclusion Unit 1998.In the book The Law and Social Work Practice, Ratna Dutt: Racism and Social Work Practice asserts that the over representation of black children in care and under representation of families receiving family support services and preventative measures are the `result of inappropriate and misguided practice`.  The lack of understanding and recognition of diversity within our multicultural society has caused many overworked social work professionals to adopt an approach which enables them to keep pace with an ever growing caseload.  This approach would seem to have taken the form of making assumptions about someone and their lifestyle based on initial observations and stereotyped knowledge.  This then prejudices the response to the individuals situation and limits choice and can and does lead to the compromised safety of children and vulnerable adults.  A more aggressive form of prejudice is when assumptions are made and positive steps are taken to limit the chances that can empower an individual to make changes to their situation.   The Department of Health Assessing Children in Need and their Families: Practice Guidance devotes Chapter 2 to Assessing black children in need and their families.  The Guidance makes reference to numerous inquiry reports, including at 2.26 Whose Child? The Report of the Panel into the Death of Tyra Henry 1987 (London Borough of Lambeth, 1987) and Sukina; An evaluation report of the circumstances leading to her death (The Bridge Child Care Consultancy Services, 1991) where both these reports make a direct link between racism and practice, in particular stereotyping and a reluctance on the part of white professionals to intervene for fear of being accused of racist influenced practice.  The Laming Inquiry noted that the Victoria`s social workers were black, was this suggesting that using black social workers for black clients is also racist?   Anti-Discriminatory practice seeks to have a positive, intentional and meaningful influence on our contact with people and to embrace diversity by empowering everyone to recognise and openly acknowledge that we all share characteristics that make us both the same and different to others.  Our outward appearance and lifestyle choices are significant as they can be indicative of ourselves, but it is unwise and unsafe to assume that in all cases. How we present ourselves to the world, how we live in our local community is not always a free choice.  Poverty, poor housing, lack of good education, employment, together with cultural, religious and any other factors that we cannot escape from or choose not to escape from impact on what we look like to others.  Neil Thompson Anti-Discriminatory Practice 3rd Edition p 74 gives an example of a social work student on placement, asked to do an assessment of a women of West Indian origin.  The student makes considerable effort to research relevant information to support him in his contact with the client and his manager is happy with this, but points out that although the student has been thorough in his work from an ethnically sensitive point of view, the student had failed to give proper consideration to what or how racism may have caused the clients situation.   Eve Robinson-Morley Question 4 – What would I do differently   I recognise that those who take on the work of protecting children at risk of deliberate harm face a tough and challenging task. Staff doing this work need a combination of professional skills and personal qualities, not least of which are persistence and courage.   Lord Laming (2003) 1.14 What Went Wrong   Lord Laming recognises in his report into Victoria’s death that professionals protecting children face a tough and challenging task he goes on to talk about balancing the rights of the child against those of the parent. I feel that if Victoria’s social worker(s) had been more focused on Victoria’s needs than Kouao’s and achieved a greater balance things would have been very different for Victoria.   Very little effort was made to communicate with Victoria in either her first language, or in a place where she felt safe and comfortable. There are many guidelines for communicating with children, such as Effective Communication with Children, Young People and Families, which is the first chapter of a Government publication Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce, as part of the every child matters: change for children initiative. Which includes, amongst other examples, the following advice:   ·        Establish rapport and respectful, trusting relationships with children, young people, their families and carers. ·        Communicate effectively with all children, young people, families and carers.   Given that Victoria spoke French and English was her second language it is fair to say that she was not communicated with effectively. As a social worker it would be key to build a relationship with Victoria in order to help her talk about her experiences in a way that did not threaten her. The only professionals who built relationships with Victoria were those who spent considerable amounts of time with her, the nursing staff at North Middlesex Hospital, the childminder Mrs Cameron and her son. Clearly the social workers could have benefited from spending more time with Victoria than they actually did, and from talking to the people who knew Victoria and had built that relationship.   Understand that signs of abuse can be subtle and be expressed in play, artwork and in the way children and young people approach relationships with other children and/or adults.   Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of the Child cited in  Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce   Returning to the Laming report I am struck by the comment he makes regarding the 12 opportunities to intervene in Victoria’s life, identified by Neil Garnham QC, and effective positive change. He states that “As the Inquiry unfolded, several other opportunities emerged. Not one of these required great skill or would have made heavy demands on time to take some form of action” (Laming 2003 1.17)   What strikes me is that one thing that could have saved Victoria’s life would have been for someone to ask why. Why did the police invoke their power of protection over Victoria for scabies? Where there other concerns that led them to this action? Why did Victoria’s demeanour change so drastically in the presence of Kouao and Manning? Why wasn’t Victoria in school? Why wasn’t Victoria registered with a GP?   The list goes on, and had any one of these questions been addressed by the professionals involved it would have led to further investigation and contact with the family, which in turn could have bought the abuse and neglect to light and possibly saved Victoria’s life.   As a practitioner I feel that I would want to be exploring some of these questions, and verifying them with sources other than Kouao. The social workers reliance on Victoria’s aunt to provide information played right into the hands of what turned out to be one of Victoria’s killers. This brings me back to my first point about communicating with Victoria, on her own. Had the social worker spent time with each member of the family alone, including Manning, more information may have come to light which could have saved Victoria’s life.   BIBLIOGRAPHY   Dutt, Ratna (2001) Racism and Social Work Practice. In: Cull, Lesley-Anne and Roche, Jeremy (eds) (2001) The Law and Social Work. Open University Press, Palgrave New York   Thompson, Neil. (2001) Anti-Discriminatory Practice. 3rd Edition. New York, Palgrave.   Department of Health (2000b) Assessing Children in Need and their Families: Practice Guidance, London, Stationery Office.   Macpherson, W. (1990) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Report of an Inquiry, London, Stationery Office   Laming (2003) The Victoria Climbie Inquiry. Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming, TSO (The Stationary Office), Norwich   http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/commoncore/communication/   http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/commoncore/safeguarding/

26.1.06 14:49 Permalink / comment

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