Three children die from abuse every week says Ofsted

Published: 23 January, 2009

Ofsted's chief executive Christine Gilbert shocked a House of Commons select committee last month over the death of Baby P. In a heated and hostile atmosphere MPs accused Miss Gilbert of running a watchdog which was too large, out of control and unable to look after the children it was supposed to protect. They wanted to know why Haringey, the north London council responsible for Baby P's care, was given a clean bill of health by Ofsted three months after the toddler died. Apparently information gathered for such reports was routinely destroyed after three months.

Barry Sheerman, Chairman of the Children, Schools and Families Committee, said Miss Gilbert had made him even more concerned about Ofsted's ability to assess social care. 'This session made me less confident rather than more confident that there isn't going to be another Haringey waiting,' he said.'You haven't got any record, this is a great shock to me...It is like an academic writing an article and destroying all the research material. That's horrific isn't it?'

The select committee heard that more than three children a week, a total of 210, died in England and Wales as a result of abuse between April 2007 and August 2008. Of the 21 babies who died from abuse, only two were known to social services. Baby P died in August last year after suffering more than 50 injuries during eight months of torment at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger. The figures exceed those quoted by the NSPCC, which claims between one and two children die following cruelty every week in England and Wales.

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