Childcare Paper

Baby P report Peter Connelly (also known as baby P) was a 17 month old British baby boy, who died in London after a number of injuries. He was visited 60 times by health professionals and social workers; or roughly twice a week for the nine months he was on the child protection register. His mother was arrested twice, but no one appeared to question her boast that she was "a damn good mum." People saw a lot of things happen to baby P but took no notice. Someone watched Baby P eat dirt in the garden. Someone noticed that his meals were bits of broken biscuits scavenged from older children. Someone must have registered the ripped-off fingertips and the scabs and bruises caused by blows so severe that a tooth was smashed and found in his stomach. A few days later, baby P was found stiff and blue in his blood-spattered cot. His mother's boyfriend and a family lodger, Jason Owen, were convicted at the Old Bailey of causing or allowing his death; a charge previously admitted by his unnamed mother.
In a press statement given on 1 December 2008, Mr Balls said:
‘The whole nation has been shocked and moved by the tragic and horrific death of Baby P. All of us find it impossible to comprehend how adults could commit such terrible acts of evil against this little boy. And the public is angry that nobody stepped in to prevent this tragedy from happening.
‘I want to say very clearly at the outset: social workers, police officers, GPs, health professionals, all the people who work to keep children safe, do a very difficult job, often in really challenging circumstances – all around the country and in particular in Haringey.
‘They make difficult judgements every day that help to keep children safe – and many of them are unsung heroes.
‘But they must also be accountable for their decisions. And where things go badly wrong, people are right to want to know why and what will be done about it. In the case of Baby P, things did go tragically wrong.’
The impact of the