Social service bosses
apologise after review reveals serious failings by staff in Jayden Parkinson
case
The police
searching for Jayden Parkinson in Upton in December 2013
SOCIAL
services bosses have apologised after a major report on events leading to the
murder of Didcot teenager Jayden Parkinson uncovered serious failings by staff.
A serious
case review published yesterday found social workers at Oxfordshire
County Council, the police and the health service repeatedly failed
to recognise the violent risk posed to the 17-year-old by her abusive boyfriend
Ben Blakeley, who murdered her in December 2013.
This was
despite them holding “a range of information” pointing to his “history of
violence and highly controlling behaviour” towards three previous girlfriends.
The
review, published by Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board, also said Jayden
had been seen as “a difficult teenager”, instead of a vulnerable child who
needed protection.
However,
the head of Oxfordshire’s children’s services Jim Leivers said there was
“little anyone could have done” differently to prevent Miss Parkinson’s death,
because of the emotional hold Blakeley had over her.
The
teenager’s family told the review they felt “completely let down” by the
authorities.
Speaking
yesterday Mr Leivers said: “We are deeply sorry better support was not provided
when she needed it most.
“Many
professionals including social workers, police and her school tried very hard
to help her, but we recognise that towards the end of her life we could have
done more to support her and our practice was not good enough.”
Mr
Leivers told the Oxford Mail that there had been “good practice” by social
services but the last social worker to deal with her, referred to as ‘SW5’ ,
“did not understand” the domestic abuse she was being subjected to and had
wrongly focused on housing her with family members.
Mr
Leivers said: “Looking back, she should have been seen as a vulnerable young
woman who needed help and protection. That was not afforded to her.”
He said
the social worker had since left the county council due to health problems but
had been referred to the Health and Care Professions Council, the professional
standards body for social workers.
He added:
“While I would not seek to diminish the shortcomings in any way, in practice
[Miss Parkinson] was a particularly challenging and difficult adolescent who
did not wish to engage with the police or the local authority. She was besotted
and entirely under the control of Ben Blakeley and there was little anyone
could have done to break that bond”
The
serious case review concluded that whatever actions agencies had taken, there
would have been no guarantee Jayden’s murder would have been prevented. But it
said standards in social services had at times fallen below being acceptable
and “there was a responsibility for this both with the individual social worker
and the organisation more widely”.
Since
Jayden’s death Mr Leivers said a new process for helping young people escape
domestic abuse had been set up and the number of children placed in child protection
plans had increased by 50 per cent.
Thames Valley Police was
criticised in the report but an Independent Police Complaints Commission has
already been completed.
- Jim Leivers, head of Oxfordshire’s children’s services
The
review added, however, that there were still concerns about the force’s ability
to respond to missing persons’ cases, because of ongoing spending cuts.
Independent
chairwoman of the Oxfordshire Children Safeguarding Board Maggie Blyth, said:
“This was a particularly tragic case, linked to the domestic abuse, but also
underlying neglect, of a teenage girl and her eventual death at her abuser’s
hands.
“Things
have changed and improved now, but there were absolute failings by professionals
in Jayden’s case.”
The
review’s 65 recommendations have been accepted by both the police and social
services.
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