Children in care in Nottingham 'abused by predators'

Hundreds of children were sexually abused by predatory foster carers and residential home staff who were allowed to thrive, an inquiry has found.

Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County councils exposed vulnerable children to repeated rapes and physical abuse, a report said.

More >> Children in care in Nottingham 'abused by predators'

• Nottinghamshire children in care abused for decades – report

MAJOR ZUCK-UP Facebook risks hindering child abuse and terrorism investigations by hiding online messages, warns Priti Patel

FACEBOOK has been warned by the new Home Secretary that its plans to hide online messages risks police investigations into child abuse and terrorism.

Priti Patel told the tech giant that increasing users’ privacy by making their chats secret will hinder detectives as they try to track down paedophiles and extremists.

More >> MAJOR ZUCK-UP Facebook risks hindering child abuse and terrorism investigations by hiding online messages, warns Priti Patel

Northamptonshire children's services are INADEQUATE says Ofsted in damning report released today

Northamptonshire children’s services have been graded as inadequate by Ofsted which has found some looked-after children are living in unsafe accommodation and other care leavers have become homeless.

In a damning report the government watchdog has found after a full inspection last month that the service being provided by Northamptonshire is not fit for purpose and is failing vulnerable children in its care.

More >> Northamptonshire children's services are INADEQUATE says Ofsted in damning report released today

Ongoing staffing crisis crippling children’s trust improvement efforts

The “high and sometimes sudden turnover” of social work staff at a children’s services trust is continuing to cripple improvement efforts, an Ofsted monitoring visit has found.

The visit found that Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), which took over services from Reading council in 2018, was continuing to experience staffing problems “at all levels of the organisation”.

More >> Ongoing staffing crisis crippling children’s trust improvement efforts

Pedophile convicted for inventing claims about child abuse by VIPs

A man who falsely alleged he had been a victim of a supposed child sex ring decades ago involving high-profile individuals including senior political and military figures was found guilty on Monday of perverting the course of justice.

Carl Beech, who was known by the pseudonym of “Nick,” told detectives he had been abused at military locations and at apartments close to parliament, and also said the pedophile gang had murdered three young boys.

More >> Pedophile convicted for inventing claims about child abuse by VIPs

Man convicted for inventing false claims about child abuse by VIPs

A man who falsely alleged he had been a victim of a supposed child sex ring decades ago involving high-profile individuals including senior political and military figures was found guilty on Monday of perverting the course of justice.

Carl Beech, who was known by the pseudonym of “Nick”, told detectives he had been abused at military locations and at apartments close to parliament, and also said the paedophile gang had murdered three young boys.

More >> Man convicted for inventing false claims about child abuse by VIPs

Ofsted finds ‘optimism’ in council pushed to ‘breaking point’ by high social worker turnover

A council where children’s services were at “breaking point” last year has begun to show signs of improvement, Ofsted inspectors have said.

Inspectors found the situation at Wokingham had improved, six months on from a focused visit that assessed the council to be in a “fragile” state with high levels of social worker turnover.

More >> Ofsted finds ‘optimism’ in council pushed to ‘breaking point’ by high social worker turnover

Ofsted criticises council where some social workers have caseloads of over 50

An ‘inadequate’ children’s service where some social work caseloads exceed 50 children has been criticised by Ofsted for “insufficient progress” causing “delays in children in need and children in need of protection having their needs identified and addressed”.

Inspectors said while there was “some effective social work practice” happening in Bradford council’s children’s services, there was “weaknesses in management grip of social work practice at all levels”.

More >> Ofsted criticises council where some social workers have caseloads of over 50

Parents furious as schools ban teachers from putting sun cream on pupils over ‘child abuse’ accusation fears

FURIOUS parents are claiming that schools are banning teachers from dabbing life-saving sun cream on pupils as they might be accused of child abuse.

Concerned mums and dads are flocking to sign a petition launched by parent Leigh O'Connor to change the rules and make it a legal duty of care to prevent children being put at risk of an early death from skin cancer.

More >> Parents furious as schools ban teachers from putting sun cream on pupils over ‘child abuse’ accusation fears

Touching moment half sisters meet birth mother 60 YEARS after she was forced to give them up because parents wouldn’t accept mixed-race kids

THIS is the touching moment half sisters met their birth mum for the first time - more than 60 years after was forced to give them up for adoption.

Kathleen Fraser Jackson was just three months old when her mum gave her away over fears of prejudice against mixed-race children in the UK in the 1950s.

More >> Touching moment half sisters meet birth mother 60 YEARS after she was forced to give them up because parents wouldn’t accept mixed-race kids

Mum moved to Wales after adopted children were 'bullied at Swindon school'

A MUM says she was forced to move her two adopted children to Wales after they were bullied at a Swindon school.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke out after Adoption UK called on the government for support.

More >> Mum moved to Wales after adopted children were 'bullied at Swindon school'

Family courts: Judges 'dealing directly' with rowing parents

Sir Andrew McFarlane said many hearings could be avoided, and went on to call for a "public education programme" on how to be a parent after splitting up.

It comes as a report says more parents are representing themselves because they do not qualify for legal aid.

More >> Family courts: Judges 'dealing directly' with rowing parents

This sex pest social worker ruined my life, says Belfast mum

A distraught Belfast mother who was sent creepy texts by her social worker says the ordeal has ruined her life and ripped her family apart.

More >> This sex pest social worker ruined my life, says Belfast mum

Family court judges fear they are at growing risk of knife attacks and assaults from parents who are angry at losing their children

Senior judges warned yesterday of a growing risk of knife attacks and violence by parents in the family courts.

They believe that judges are increasingly vulnerable to assault or stabbing in cases in which parents are told they must lose their children.

More >> Family court judges fear they are at growing risk of knife attacks and assaults from parents who are angry at losing their children

• Emotional litigants pose security threat to family judges

Adopted children let down by cash-starved schools, research finds

Schools are failing to meet the needs of adopted children because of growing funding constraints and inadequate teacher training, research has found.

The survey by the charity Adoption UK reveals that adopted children often struggle to cope in schools, with significantly higher rates of exclusion – including internal, fixed-term and permanent – than their peers.

More >> Adopted children let down by cash-starved schools, research finds

Birth parents warned about messages to adopted teens

Families that have given up children for adoption are increasingly using social media to track them down as teenagers, threatening to destabilise their new lives, according to a report.

The charity Adoption UK said that a quarter of 3,500 parents surveyed reported that their adopted teenager had had some form of contact with their birth family in the past year that was outside a formal agreement. The most common form of contact was through social media.

More >> Birth parents warned about messages to adopted teens

Social worker struck off for filing reports littered with errors

A social worker who was employed by Wolverhampton City Council has been struck off by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for filing case reports littered with a catalogue of serious errors.

Nilima Thawait, whose work was also found to contain repeated spelling and grammatical errors, is said to have carried out the incidents of misconduct while employed by the council between January 2012 and March 2016.

More >> Social worker struck off for filing reports littered with errors

Mothers fight for justice over forced adoptions

In 1969, at the age of 19, she was gang raped and forced to give up the resulting baby for adoption — a baby boy she wanted to keep.

More >> Mothers fight for justice over forced adoptions

• Nineteen, pack raped and made to give up her baby: A shocking story of forced adoption

Forced Adoption to supply UK's Slave Trade from Gerry Hannah on Vimeo.

"Why I handed back my adopted babies... when I got pregnant"

No parent ever forgets that first proud procession from the car to the family home. Ali Sanders remembers every tiny detail of the day she brought her twins home — the baby seats ‘took up the whole of the back seat’, she says.

She watched as her husband, Michael — already ‘head over heels in love’ — clumsily fussed over the straps and buckles, like the excited novice dad he was. Then, inside the house, came the other big family milestone — meeting the ‘over-the-moon’ new grandparents. ‘I remember Michael’s dad meeting them,’ says Ali, 35. ‘He said: “Here’s Grandad!” He was so happy. Everyone was. My parents were thrilled, too.

More >> Why I handed back my adopted babies... when I got pregnant: For years, Ali and her husband had struggled to conceive - so they chose to adopt adorable twin boys. What happened next was a heartbreaking decision that will divide EVERY family

Social worker who lied about visits to baby she'd not seen for two and a half years struck off

A social worker who lied that she had paid regular visits to a baby when she hadn’t seen him for 30 months has been struck off.

After a three-day hearing in New Brighton, Mold, the fitness to practise committee of Social Care Wales found that Debbie Hobson’s misconduct was aggravated by the fact that she had falsified electronic records.

More >> Social worker who lied about visits to baby she'd not seen for two and a half years struck off