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'Improvement' at Baby P council 'Good progress' at Baby P council
(about 11 hours later)
Ofsted inspectors are expected to say later that children's services at Haringey council have improved since the death of baby Peter Connolly. Ofsted inspectors say that children's services at Haringey council have made "good progress" in the aftermath of the death of baby Peter Connolly.
The 17-month-old was seen repeatedly by social workers at the north London authority before he died in August 2007 with more than 50 injuries. The north London council's children's services had faced heavy criticism from inspectors after the death of the 17-month-old in August 2007.
An emergency Ofsted inspection in 2008 found the council's children's department was the "worst ever seen". But now an Ofsted report says there are clear signs of improvement.
It resulted in Haringey's director of children's services being sacked. "Baby Peter's death was a wake up call to us all," said council leader Claire Kober.
Since that inspection, Peter's mother, her ex-partner and another man have been jailed over his death. Ofsted says that a week-long inspection found "extensive and consistent evidence of good progress" in services protecting vulnerable children.
Extra spending 'Not complacent'
The report due to be published by Ofsted looked at the quality of child protection in Haringey and is expected to say that standards have improved. The report also says there is "good capacity for further improvement".
Welcoming the report's findings of "significant improvements", Ms Kober said it showed the council was moving in the right direction.
"We are not complacent and this is by no means the end of our journey," she said.
Inspectors commented on the introduction of "groundbreaking" schemes in the London borough.
These included "safeguarding champions" in which a named manager takes charge of cases of children under the age of three who have a child protection plan.
Ofsted's previous report was scathing about the way the department was run and said there had been a failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm.Ofsted's previous report was scathing about the way the department was run and said there had been a failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm.
The lead inspector in the review of Haringey's services, Heather Brown, had said: "The concerns that arose from this exercise were extremely serious - fundamental to the way that safeguarding systems were operating in Haringey." This followed the case of Baby Peter, who had been seen repeatedly by social workers before he died with more than 50 injuries.
She said the quality of practice in the department had been the "worst I had ever seen", with "only a single example of good practice" found in the whole inspection. "It is our responsibility to remain vigilant in his memory and never stop improving," said Ms Kober.
It had been claimed at the time of Peter's death that the department was facing budget cuts. Children's Secretary Ed Balls said he was "pleased to see the progress Haringey has made, as shown in Ofsted's progress report, and particularly the very clear evidence of significant improvements in children's safety in Haringey".
But since then the government has spent £2m to improve child protection in the borough.
Haringey's former director of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, is awaiting a High Court judgement over the circumstances surrounding her dismissal from her job, claiming Ofsted, the government and Haringey Council acted unlawfully.