The UN gave children rights – it’s time we consulted them

Sadistic mother-of-eight battered her children with belt, meat mallet and even a garlic crusher

A sadistic mother-of-eight beat her children with a meat mallet and branded them with a hot screwdriver during a six-year campaign of abuse and neglect. The children, who are all under 16, were regularly hit with objects including a belt and broken coat hanger. The woman even slashed one of them with a knife.

One of the 37-year-old woman’s daughters told how she considered committing suicide to escape her ‘terrible’ life.

In a disturbing echo of the failings in the Victoria Climbie and Baby P cases, social workers monitored the family for years yet failed to pick up on the abuse.

Judge orders mother to hand over son to father he despises

A judge ordered a mother to hand over her distraught young son to her ex-husband despite admitting it would be ‘almost cataclysmic’ for the child. The boy is happy living with his mother, is doing well at school and fiercely resists the move, a court heard.

The 11-year-old child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, warned that his father had ‘ruined my life’ and said he would ‘punch and kick’ rather than leave his mother’s home.

Free NHS from politics former chief says

The NHS should be freed from political control, Lord Crisp, its former chief executive has said.
 
Lord Crisp believes politicians should focus on wider health issues, such as smoking, assisted dying and the ethics of stem cell research – and leave the NHS to run itself day-to-day.

He has written an opinion article in the British Medical Journal which will raise eyebrows as Lord Crisp was employed as both chief executive of the NHS and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health which was the first time the roles were combined.

Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph

Heroin-addicted social worker struck off over cover-up of own child’s abuse

A heroin-addicted social worker has been struck off after she delayed seeking medical help for her gravely injured baby and tried to cover up the fact that her partner was to blame.
 
The woman, who is known only as Miss C to protect the identity of her 13 month-old daughter, hid her almost daily use of heroin from her employer while working as an adult care social worker between January 2006 and December 2007.

When her partner inflicted life-threatening injuries on their child, she delayed seeking medical help and then lied to doctors about what had caused the injuries.

Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph

Grandmother wins Supreme Court ruling on care of three-year-old boy

A woman has won a legal battle over the care of her three-year-old grandson after the Supreme Court reversed rulings that he should live with his father.

In a ruling that strengthens the claims of grandparents to care for a grandchild, justices in Britain’s highest court ruled that where there is a dispute over custody, the child’s welfare takes precedence over the interests of biological parents.

The UN gave children rights – it’s time we consulted them

Today is the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

But according to a hard-hitting report by the Children’s Rights Alliance, young people’s rights to privacy and family life are being breached by local authorities who do not consult them appropriately about the decision to take them into care.

Children’s rights experts are concerned that tragedies such as Baby Peter may be prompting local authorities to take an aggressive stance, particularly towards young, single mothers.