England’s crumbling social services system have been branded a “giant tower of Jenga held together by Sellotape” as the death toll of vulnerable children killed by their violent parents escalates.
Tragic Sara Sharif is the latest in a string of sickening child deaths that have shocked the nation after numerous opportunities were missed by those charged with ensuring their safety.
Reforms and improvements to social services have been promised for more than two decades - dating back to the notorious case of Victoria Climbie, who was tortured and murdered by her great-aunt in 2000.
But despite a series of public inquiries and reviews, the harrowing roll call of young children suffering horrendous abuse in what should be a safe and loving home continues.
Ministers earlier this year pledged to invest £200m to improve standards but campaigners say meaningful change has yet to be delivered as they called for more accountability.
Don't miss...
Missed opportunities to cage Sara Sharif's dad years before murder [LATEST]
Harrowing details of Sharif trial hears father 'beat the crap' out of daughter [LATEST]
Ex-Commissioner Anne Longfield, 64, warned authorities had “failed to grip” that it could turn the worsening situation around by acting “swiftly and boldly” to fix the clearly broken social services system.
She added that the Government needed to see children's social services as an “urgent priority” rather than a “long term ambition”.
Ms Longfield said: “Children's services and social services are absolutely in desperate need of reform.
“If there chaos in social services then there's more likelihood that children will fall into crisis and more will come to harm.
“These cases appear to be absolutely incessant in coming forward and often reviews bring up very similar things around opportunities being missed and the tragedy of children losing their lives because of that.
“Social care has been described as a giant tower of Jenga that is held together by Sellotape, this was very evocative way of saying that it just about holds but at any point it's not functioning properly. And this has been increasing over recent years, as it deals with more and more crises.”
Laura Lyons, chief of Are They Safe, a private firm that investigates children's welfare, demanded “urgent action” and said “there needs to be a lot more harsher punishments, whether it's parents or guardians, whoever's responsible for the care of the child'.
She said: “They need to be a lot more closely monitored because ultimately, these are children and they're being failed. It's not good enough.'
She said there 'absolutely' had to be more government reform as the 'whole system sometimes appears to be quite disjointed'.
In 2000 Victoria Climbié, eight, suffered years of torture and abuse from her great aunt and her partner before she was murdered in 2000.
But even though social services had the chance to investigate when Victoria's great aunt Marie Thérèse Kouao reported her partner Carl Mannings for sexually assaulting the youngster, social workers didn't follow up.
In another case that repulsed the nation, Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, was murdered after receiving more than 50 injuries during months of abuse from his mother Tracey Connelly, her partner Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen.
Peter was just 17 months old when he was killed despite social workers, medics and the police having visited the toddler 60 times before his death on August 3, 2007.
In 2017 four-week old baby Ollie Davis from Leicester died from a snapped neck after suffering 40 broken bones and a series of brain injuries - all inflicted by father Michael, who ensured his helpless son spent his short life in agony.
A review into Ollie's murder found there “early opportunities” to refer and assess the family “were not taken' by social services who had “significant” involvement with the family.
Davis was sentenced to life whilst Ollie's mother, Kayleigh Driver, was jailed for seven years for causing or allowing the death of a child.
In June 2020, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, was murdered by his evil stepmother, who repeatedly slammed his head on a hard surface. During the murder trial, the court heard that social services failed to spot bruises on Arthur before he was killed despite them being clearly visible on pictures taken by his concerned grandmother.
In September 2020, one-year-old Star Hobson was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockhill. On a visit to her home, a social worker had reported there was “nothing to concern” and said Brockill was “exceptionally good” with the baby.
Then in 2021, five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother Angharad Williamson, stepfather John Cole and Cole's stepson Craig Mulligan. He suffered “catastrophic” internal injuries consistent with a “brutal and sustained assault” that was likened to a car crash.
Just like the children who were murdered before him, social services repeatedly failed to spot signs that Logan was being abused and missed opportunities to protect him before his death.
Ms Longfield added: “The social care system as it is really could be reformed to get much further ahead of the game to bring down the number of children who are in situations of potential harm and be able to have many more interventions that could see off the problems before they get [them].
“If Government acted, acted swiftly and acted boldly invested, it could start to turn the situation around.
Analysis from the NSPCC had found a 106% rise in child cruelty and neglect offence in the past five years. With data from police forces in England showing there were 29,405 offences recorded between April 2022 and March 2023.
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “It's vital to understand that committed and capable frontline professionals in the care system keep thousands of children safe from harm every single day, despite facing the immense combined challenges of rising caseloads, squeezed budgets and a lack of comprehensive training.
“Now is the time to put children first. It is imperative that the Government invests in transforming children's social care so the system - and those working in it – is better able to protect children from harm. Delays in fully implementing national reform and piecemeal investment into the children's social care system is affecting whether families are getting the right support at the right time.
“The Government, and all major political parties in England, must demonstrate they are committed to protecting children from abuse by investing in reforms to children's social care at the earliest opportunity.”
Victoria Climbié
It has been over two decades since eight-year-old Victoria died after years of tortured and abuse from her great aunt Marie Thérèse Kouao and her partner Carl Mannings.
It was revealed that Kouao reported her partner to social services for sexually assaulting her niece, but she removed the complaint the following day and the protection agency never followed up.
Peter Connelly, Baby P
Seventeen-month-old Peter Connelly, Baby P, suffered more than 50 injuries in months of abuse by Tracey Connelly, Steven Barker, and his brother Jason Owen.
That was despite 60 visits from social workers – as well as medics and police – in the eight months before his death on August 3, 2007.
The full report into how the toddler died disclosed how Baby Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, told the authorities she had a boyfriend – but they did not ask who he was or insist on meeting him.
Logan Mwangi
Logan Mwangi was tortured and left to die by 13-year-old Craig Mulligan along with his stepfather, racist ex-convict John Cole, 40, and the 'defenceless' boy's mother, Angharad Williamson, 31.
He suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and 'catastrophic' internal injuries likened to a high-speed road accident, caused by a 'brutal and sustained assault' in the hours, or days, prior to his death
It was then revealed that social workers agreed Mulligan could move into the family's cramped flat just five days before the murder, despite previously threatening to kill Logan.
A review by safeguarding officials later found that Williamson and Cole were able to hide their abuse of Logan due to the coronavirus lockdown, with social workers too scared to force meetings.
In June 2021 the family were removed from the child protection register - meaning it was believed there was no longer a risk of significant harm.
Star Hobson
Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020.
On a visit to her home, a social worker had reported there was 'nothing to concern' and said Brockill was 'exceptionally good' with the baby.
Social workers missed five opportunities to save the child. In each case Brockhill and Smith managed to convince social workers that marks on Star were accidental or that the complaints were made maliciously by people who did not like their relationship.
West Yorkshire Police were told two times in the months leading up to her death that Star was being hurt by mother Frankie Smith, 20 and her girlfriend.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Six-year-old Arthur was beaten, tortured and then murdered his stepmother Emma Tustin and father Thomas Hughes at their home in Solihull.
Tustin killed the little boy by repeatedly slamming his head on a hard surface after she and Hughes had deprived the youngster of food and force-fed him salt.
While Arthur was being abused, social workers and police missed four opportunities to save him, brushed away pleas from his family and even threatened them with arrest under Covid rules if they tried to visit him at Tustin's home.
Ollie Davis
Ollie Davis, from Leicester, endured 40 broken bones across his tiny limbs and a series of brain injuries after suffering a horrendous campaign of abuse at the hands of his father, Michael Davis, in October 2017.
Social services missed “early opportunities” to intervene in Ollie's upbringing, a safeguarding review found - as Davis lashed out at his tiny son because he was tired from spending nights gaming instead of sleeping.
