2010 will see a number of charity events and auctions take place in order to raise money for good causes as part of the milestone celebration for the longest running soap in the UK.

A bespoke brooch designed for the Duchess of Cornwall for her visit to the set in February will be sold, as well as other “desirable and collectable” items.

NSPCC fundraising manager Colin Mackenzie-Blackman welcomed the partnership with the “iconic show”.

“We’re hoping that the millions of viewers who watch Coronation Street every week will get behind the 50th anniversary celebrations and help raise valuable funds for the NSPCC,” he added.

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With the media reporting the deeply upsetting tale of a mother starving her child to death and the saddening news that social workers were with her only months prior to her death, many questions have surfaced about what can be done to prevent such tragedies in the future.

This is the concern of the National Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

The NSPCC is calling on parliamentary candidates to back new laws that will ensure that high-risk children can be seen alone by child protection agents.  A report by Ofsted stated that when cases resulted in fatality or serious injury, it was most often due to not being able to see the child alone.  Interviews conducted with parents rarely allow children to be truthful for fear of later repercussions. 

This is just one law in a larger packages of child protection reforms proposed.  The NSPCC is adamant that introducing the reforms after the general election will help to give social workers wider parameters in which to work and that this will decrease the instances of tragic cases, such as the aforementioned one.

Diana Sutton, head of the public affairs and campaigns unit at the NSPCC, said: “We need to make sure that the next elected Government keeps child protection high on its list of priorities.And the public can play their role by letting the politicians know what they want done.”

The Society also wants more protection from funding cuts, better theraputic resources for victims and a general push for wider protection of children living with domestic violence.

Voters can lobby their parliamentary candidates at the NSPCC’s campaign website: www.istandforchildren.com.

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Khyra weighed just 2st 9lb (16.5kg) when she was found severely emaciated at a house in Handsworth in 2008.  She was pronounced dead when she was taken to the children’s hospital in Birmingham.

This has prompted questions about the efficacy of the current social services that had seen Khyra just months before and failed to take action, or even suggest she was at risk.  Also, may want to know how a bright student can be pulled from school without further investigation taking place.

The NSPCC insists that until they can speak with children without their parent or guardian present, these situation will continue.  They claim that the presence of the alleged abusers intimidates the victims and conceals the truth of the situation for fear of negative repercussions.

Chris Cloke from the NSPCC said that abusers would “go to great lengths to conceal how the child has been treated, to cover bruises to conceal what is going on”.  In order to gain a clear picture of what is happening, the NSPCC insists that the law require children to speak with workers alone.  If the law is in place social workers could state that legally, they are required to see the child alone for an interview.

This change would hopefully serve to prevent future cases such as Khyra’s, who was previously seen by social workers in her mother’s presence. However, critics claim that this is too large a change to protocol.

“A lot of the problems are about social workers having the confidence to use their skills and the confidence they will get the backing form other services” claims Hilton Dawson, chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers.  Helga Pile of Unison, which represents many social workers, added her concern when she said she feared the proposal could be “a blunt instrument and be too heavy-handed.”

Sadly, it is too late for Khyra.  Her mother Angela Gordon admitted to manslaughter and has been sentenced to 15 years while her stepfather Junaid Abuhamza was also found guilty of manslaughter and has been jailed indefinitely.

“It is not right to say that these children suffered from neglect,” the judge said.

“Neglect is an inadequate and inappropriate description of the way they were treated.

“Rather, they were subjected to a domestic regime of punishment which was chilling in its harshness and cruelty.

A serious case review into Khyra’s death by the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board is under way, while the debate surrounding the law continues.

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The call marks a milestone for child protection in sport, building on the progress that has been made for the cause over the past decade. The plan has been developed in partnership by a number of organizations including Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Sport England, UK Sport, and the Youth Sport Trust.

The plan calls on organisations providing sport for children to adhere to key actions that include involving children in the process of making child protection plans and ensuring that appropriate checks are implement when recruiting staff and volunteers.

Anne Tiivas, NSPCC director of the Child Protection in Sport Unit, says the plan was introduced after only one in ten sport organisations completed police checks on employees and had no reporting system to handle abuse allegations in 2000.

But thanks to the safeguarding progress made over the past ten years, the picture today is very different, according to Tiivas.

“The NSPCC is calling on anyone providing sport for children to work closely with partners in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors to ensure children and young people can enjoy sport free from all forms of abuse and exploitation,” she said.

Approximately eight million children take part in sporting activities each year, and although the experience is safe and pleasant for most, some experience abuse at the hands of the employees or volunteers.

Mark Diaper, Sport England’s Director for Children and Young People, agrees that much progress has been made over the past decade but believes there is more to be done.

“We want sport to continue to lead the way over the next decade promoting the welfare of children and young people,” he said. “Sport has so much to offer young people, it’s vital that all sports organisations work together so that every child can participate in a fun and safe environment.”

The call to action is a commitment from various sporting organisations to ensure that all children involved in sport have a positive and safe experience with staff who are readily available to help.

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By Taylor Turner

While social workers are currently advised that they should speak to chilren separately, it is merely a guideline rather than a necessary part of a welfare assesement.

A Sunday Express investigation has revealed that between 2007 and 2009 up to 66 at-risk children were killed or seriously harmed after childcare professionals failed to assess them according to the government recommendations.

Guidance published four years ago stated that professionals should speak and listen to children at risk. But a 2008 Ofsted report that looked at 50 cases of death or injury between 2007 and 2008 found in most cases they did not.

Recently two cases brought the issue of failings in welfare assessments to public attention.

Khyra Ishaq, seven, starved to death in Birmingham. She had been taken out of school by her mother, Angela Gordon, 35. The authorities had been warned by her deputy headteacher about her welfare.

Two officials questioned Gordon but were not allowed to see Kyrah.

Peter Connelly, known as Baby Peter, died in London aged 17 months after suffering more than 50 injuries. He was repeatedly seen by social services, but not alone and his carers were able to hide his injuries.

In one case the bruises on his face were hidden by chocolate smears.

When he died in August 2007, he had sustained numerous injuries including eight broken ribs and a broken back.

Campaigners say that the high profile cases of Baby Peter and Khyra Ishaq are merely the tip of the iceberg.

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A review conducted by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission has found that children’s care services in Leeds are “inadequate”.

This is the second time in five months that inspectors have found a shortfall in the services. An Ofsted inspection in July, which followed a case review into the death of two-year-old Casey Mullen, said some children were “at potential risk of serious harm”.

The findings are included in a report following a detailed review carried out in November and December. It calls on the council to carry out an immediate review to ensure it has enough staff to meet demand.

“The findings from this inspection confirm that some of the serious weaknesses in child protection practice identified in the [July] inspection remain,” it said.

The report said there need to be further improvements in how managers planned their staffing needs and how performance was assessed and managed. The inspectors also said more should be done to involve children and young people in how future services are developed and to recruit more families and carers from minority ethnic communities.

“There is still much to be done to further improve the way we look after and support children and young people in Leeds,” said Stewart Golton, Leeds Councillor for children’s services. “It goes without saying that improving services for the children and young people of Leeds remains a top priority for the council.”

The report did acknowledge that: “Poor staff performance is being addressed and systems and processes have already been redesigned. These early successes demonstrate the council can make improvements.”

However, it warned that social worker caseloads were too high, frontline management capacity was insufficient and the electronic recording system was not fit for purpose.

Mr Golton said: “I’m pleased that [they] acknowledge that we are making progress and we have the capacity to do more.

“This latest report confirms what we have been doing, with positive progress being made, but there is still much to be done to further improve the way we look after and support children and young people in Leeds.”

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by Dan Sumners

NSPCC have warned that children subject to abuse could be at much greater risk during the Christmas period as people are not as likely to report child abuse.

On average, NSPCC’s child helpline receives 200 calls per day, but last year on Christmas Day there was just 72 calls, on Christmas Eve there was 128 and on Boxing day there was 103.

Child safety helpline calls are expected to decline again by two-thirds on Christmas Day this year. This statistic is particularly worrying as 3 calls received last year were serious enough to warrant immediate action from police or social services.

One of these calls was in relation to a four-year-old boy who had been heavily beaten by his father who had been injecting heroin in the bathroom.

Head of the NSPCC helpline, said:
“Some children don’t get a Christmas break from cruelty. It can happen at any time, any day.

But people seem reluctant to report cases of abuse and neglect at this time of year, possibly because they see it as a happy occasion and don’t want to spoil it.

However, this means some children could be left in dangerous situations when help should be on its way.

Hopefully this year people will realise that a child’s safety is more important and give us a call. We are here round-the-clock, 365 days a year.”

£4 donated means that Childline operators can respond to the calls of children in need.

£17 donated pays a fortnight of the freephone costs, enabling children to call for free to a volunteer counsellor.

£24 (just £2 a month per year) would answer 6 calls from children, of which statistically 1 will be from a child worried about physical or sexual abuse.

£25 donated would pay for an trained practitioner to support on the NSPCC helpline for an hour, who help protect babies or toddlers who are unable to call themselves.

The main future aims of NSPCC Helpline is to help young children contact for help online or by phone and text, establish a larger helpline network to counsel 6,000 adults concerned about child abuse, and send email response to five times as many concerned adults.

Currently, of 73,000 calls to the helpline each year, almost 15,000 won’t be answered due to lack of resources. This is highly serious as in 2008 / 09 it was found that 10,000 were so serious they required reporting to police or social services.

Government funding has helped NSPCC consistently grow and support their quality Childline and Helpline services, but they need more help still. Any help is much appreciated.

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Via The Mirror

ChildLine complaints against female sexual assaults has leapt by 132 percent, in comparison to a 27 per cent rise in male sexual abuse.

ChildLine president, Esther Rantzen, explained that the report has ‘shattered common myths about sexual abuse’:

‘It does not only happen to girls, as many people believe. It happens to boys, too. Mothers can sometimes sexually abuse their sons.’

Though the majority of sexual assaults occurring on children is still inflicted by men (with 6000 abusers reported to be male) there is still a disturbing rise amongst females (with 2,142 children explaining they had been abused sexually by women).

These figures come not long after the case of female nursery worker Vanessa George who was unveiled as a member of an internet paedophile ring.

Chris Cloke of NSPCC explained on these figures:

‘Many people find it hard to understand how women can be sexual abusers. Women are viewed as being caring, nurturing and protective.’

In these figures other myths on sexual abuse were dispelled also:

“The report found that when girls are sexually abused, by far the most common perpetrator is not a stepfather, as many believe, but the biological father.’

Most female abusers are biological mothers or close relatives, but other known positions where abuse can ensue are teachers, babysitters or neighbours.

Donald Findlater, from Stop it Now! campaign explained that these figures were not a result of sexual abuse by women on the rise, but in fact, was a measure of the helpline’s success.

Are these figures a reflection of a changing society or just improving reports from ChildLine?

The incline seems too large to be purely down to an improvement in an abuse helpline service but if it is a reflection of a societal adaptation, this is an extremely worrying statistic.

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