Agencies 'failed to anticipate' risks to baby who suffered serious injuries in Wolverhampton

An investigation concluded there were "missed opportunities" for agencies to work together and "resolve difficulties" around the baby's mother, who was known to support services.

A report has been published following a child safeguarding practice review commissioned by Wolverhampton Safeguarding Partnership, which said lessons should be learned from the incident.

The victim, who cannot be identified and is referred to as Baby L in the report, sustained "a number of serious injuries".

How the baby came to suffer the injuries was not explained.

The review said there had been a failure to anticipate risks to Baby L "even when the family history might suggest that these are present".

Agencies were in contact with the mother before the baby's birth in 2019 and the fact "consideration was not given" to an early help pre-birth assessment was a "missed opportunity" for agencies to work together and help support mother, who had experienced mental health problems, and baby, the review said.

A referral had previously been made to children's social care such were concerns around the mother's situation, it said.

There was also a lack of clarity about which agencies were responsible for providing specific support as so many had been asked to get involved.

The report said: "While professionals worked hard to engage with mother, they had not always taken into account the impact of her adverse childhood experiences upon her."

It continued: "It is critical that the roles and responsibilities of agencies working with children and families are understood by all of the agencies in order that agencies can work effectively together in a coordinated way.

"Professionals need to be able to explore and probe with families issues that may be difficult for them, in a way that is respectful but conclusive."

Sally Roberts, chair of the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together Executive, said: "This was a very sad case in which a young child sustained serious injuries.

“Though thankfully rare, when incidents like this do occur, it is very important that the agencies involved are able to review the situation, to see whether anything could and should be done differently and to make changes for the future.

"The review highlights a number of areas of good practice about the way professionals work together to safeguard children in Wolverhampton, identifying some good and conscientious child-focused practice.

"It also identifies a number of areas of learning which will be incredibly useful for the further improvement of services involved in the safeguarding of children and young people.

"These relate to the referral and assessment processes, how agencies work with parents with poor mental health, the way agencies respond to concerns of neglect, and around child protection and child in need planning.

“A detailed action plan has been developed and work is already under way to address these learning points. While it is impossible to say that a similar incident cannot ever happen again, I believe the changes that will be made as a result of the review will ensure that the likelihood of a repeat of this tragic situation will be greatly reduced."