Baby P report

Baby P, also known as Baby Peter, was a 17-month-old boy who died following months of abuse, despite being on Haringey Council’s child protection register. Haringey Council was also responsible for Victoria Climbié and in 2013, another child (known as Child T) was found to have suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his parents. Child T, at one time, was found to have in excess of 50 bruises on his body.

Baby Peter was born in 2006. Six months after moving in with his mother’s boyfriend, Steven Barker, a GP reported bruises on the baby’s face and chest. Barker was arrested and Baby Peter was placed in the care of a family friend for five weeks.

Baby Peter was then returned to his mother in January 2007. A month later, a whistleblower sent a letter to the Department of Health listing concerns about failings in child protection at Haringey Council.

In April 2007, Baby Peter was admitted to North Middlesex Hospital with two black eyes, swelling on the left side of his head and bruises. He was then re-admitted by a social worker who found 12 areas of injuries on Baby Peter’s body. Further injuries were missed by a social worker after they were deliberately hidden under chocolate.

The day after Baby Peter’s mother was told she wouldn’t face charges for child abuse on the 2 August 2007, Baby Peter was found dead in his cot.

Following Baby Peter’s death, his mother, Barker and Barker’s brother were found guilty of causing the baby’s death. Further repercussions included:

• Sharon Shoesmith, the director of children’s services at Haringey Council, who was in charge of Baby P’s care, was fired.
• GP Dr Jerome Ikwueke, who saw Baby Peter 14 times before his death, was suspended by the General Medical Council.
• Three managers and a social worker were fired for failings in the care of Baby Peter.
• The Care Quality Commission criticised the NHS for failing in its care for Baby Peter.

An independent report into the baby’s death was commissioned and a range of shortcomings were highlighted, which included:

• failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm and to act on evidence, including a failure to talk to children believed to be at risk
• agencies acting in isolation from one another without effective coordination
• poor gathering, recording and sharing of information
• insufficient supervision by senior management
• poor child protection plans
• failure to implement the recommendations of the Victoria Climbié inquiry

Having been asked to make recommendations for improvement for Haringey Council after Victoria Climbié’s death, Lord Laming was asked again to make recommendations on child protection. He recommended that:

• Directors of children’s services with no child protection experience should appoint an experienced social work manager to support them.
• The government should provide child protection training for council leaders and senior managers.
• The government should ensure social work students get more and better child protection training.
• Social workers’ employers should face disciplinary action over child protection failures.
• Court fees for applying to take children into care should be reviewed.

• Ofsted inspectors responsible for child protection must have direct experience of child protection work.
• The government should draw up explicit targets for the protection of children for all frontline services.

A national agency should be set up to oversee the swift and effective implementation of these recommendations.