By Charlotte Webster-
Opportunities were missed to prevent deliberate head injuries inflicted on six children, according to a care review.
The Norfolk Safeguarding Children Board (NSCB) have said a lack of collaborative working put children in danger of injury in some cases.
All the cases involved a police inquiry. In the case of one who child died, her father convicted of manslaughter.
The board confirmed that it has set up a task force to improve safeguarding among children.
The NSCB report said it looked at the cases of the children, all from different families, aged from three months to three years who suffered head injuries between May 2016 and April 2018.
The child, whose identity has not been disclosed was a six-month-old girl from King’s Lynn in Norfolk who was killed in March 2016.A report on this specific case concluded that agencies had not fully supported the child’s vulnerable mother and older sibling at the time.
The report said at one point the child known as AF1 was seen at the home of her aunt with bruises and deep scratches on their face and there were reports of “cannabis use and the presence of unknown males”.
It said that a child protection medical was not considered as in Norfolk “there is a perception that child protection medicals only take place when a child has an injury and there is suspicion that the child has been injured” deliberately.
The board’s latest report reviewing all six cases said that while there was much to praise with the services provided by the county council, NHS and police, there were “ongoing safeguarding issues in Norfolk, and nationally” with cases of non-accidental head injuries.
It said that multi-agency risk assessments and practice must be strengthened, adding that greater appreciation needed to be taken of the emotional impact of the work on the workforce.
RECOGNITION
The board opined that recognition should be given to the affect of bad childhood experiences on parents and how this affects how they treat their children. It also recommended that the energy and commitment to build partnership working at the front line should be increased.
David Ashcroft,(pictured) independent chairman of the NSCB, said: “This review has given us a really useful insight into what supports good practice.
“Much of the learning identified in this review is not exclusive to Norfolk and there is no magic wand, in the form of a series of recommendations, that provide an easy answer.”