A daily summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By David Callaghan.

Care muddle let teenage sex abuser slip through net to
kill boy

A panel set up by three councils called for an overhaul of the
system for treating young sex offenders after an 18-year-old
paedophile killed an 11-year-old boy.

Dominic McKilligan killed Wesley Neailey in a Newcastle garage
soon after being discharged from Aycliffe young offenders
institution in County Durham.

The review was set up by the three local authorities responsible
for McKilligan, which were Bournemouth, Durham and Newcastle. It
found that there was a lack of communication between the 16
different agencies involved with McKilligan, who had been convicted
of sex assaults on boys in 1994.

McKilligan avoided compulsory listing on the sex offenders
register because his three-year supervision order at Aycliffe ended
a day before the Sexual Offenders Act came into force in 1997.

Wesley’s family said they were considering legal action against
the authorities involved with McKilligan.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 15 November page 14

Girl drowns at her swimming class with four helpers
close by

A girl of four, who had learning difficulties, drowned during a
supervised swimming lesson at a school in Blackpool. Emma Farrar
was pulled unconscious from the indoor swimming pool at Woodlands
School and taken to hospital, but staff there were unable to revive
her.

Four adults were supervising the session, but somehow Emma got
into trouble, even though the water was only a metre deep.

Source:- Daily Mail Thursday 15 November page 40

Sarah’s killer ‘sped off with a wave and a
grin’

Lewes crown court heard there was “compelling evidence” against
builder Roy Whiting, of Littlehampton, west Sussex, who is accused
of abducting and murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne.

Fibres found in Whiting’s van matched the velcro fastening on
Sarah’s shoe, the court was told. The trial continues.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 15 November page 11

Scottish newspapers

Edinburgh Council has launched a bursary scheme to try and
attract new social workers.

Recruits will receive £2,000 if they agree to sign up to
the council’s children and families team for a minimum of two
years. There will also be bonuses for staff who stay more than two
years.

Glasgow Council is reluctant to consider similar measures even
though it is experiencing vacancy rates of 17 per cent.

Source: The Herald Thursday 15 November