Khyra Ishaq death due to lack of information sharing, says SCR

The death of Khyra Ishaq was “preventable” and largely due to a lack of information sharing, according to the serious case review published today.

The first serious case review to be published in full stated: “This finding concurs with judgements made within the care proceedings that, the death of the child is the responsibility of the mother and the adult male, but can only conclude that had there been better assessments and effective inter-agency communication over a period of time it could have been prevented.”

The review cited faults within social services, the child’s school, police and the health visiting service.

It recommended Birmingham Council commission work to identify how agencies across the city can increase effective professional communication within safeguarding.

Education minister Michael Gove said: “It is beyond anyone’s comprehension that a child could die under such tragic circumstances. It is extremely difficult to prevent random and isolated incidents of violence against children, but the tragedy is that Khyra Ishaq endured a painful abuse over many months and eventually died, and this could and should have been prevented. Today’s serious case review confirms that all the agencies in Birmingham failed to protect this vulnerable child.”

Gove said he welcomed the full publication of the serious case review and the “openness and transparency it brings”.

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