Allegations against people working with children in Shropshire led to 3 convictions and 24 sackings last year

Three people working with children in Shropshire received criminal convictions in the last year as a result of allegations made about them in their jobs, new figures show.

A report to Shropshire Council’s cabinet says a further 24 people were dismissed from their roles and 20 referrals were made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The report, by executive director of people Tanya Miles, says there was a slight reduction in the number of allegations made about professionals working with children as a result of the pandemic, but that the difference was not as significant as expected.

Almost half of all referrals concerned allegations of physical abuse, while other reasons included suitability to work with children, sexual harm, emotional harm and neglect.

The report says: “The local authority is guided by legislation to provide a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) who reviews all allegations against professionals who work with children.

“The 20/21 year has been exceptional due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in a number of prolonged lockdowns across the country and regionally, meaning that a large number of organisations weren’t operational during this period.

“For much of the year, most schools were only open for the children of key workers or those with specific needs, sports organisations were not running and many voluntary organisations, such as Scouting, could not open.

“Given the above, it would have been expected that the number of LADO referrals received during this period would have been considerably lower, however although there were 59 less referrals that the 2019/20 year, the difference is marginal (14 per cent) and the figures aren’t that dissimilar to previous years.”

Ms Miles’ report says the Shropshire LADO recorded 342 contacts in 2020/21, of which 192 progressed to an investigation while 150 did not.

“Of the 192 cases that progressed to an investigation, 46 cases were
criminal matters investigated by the police,” the report says.

“145 cases resulted in investigations being undertaken by
employers.”

A supplementary report attached to Ms Miles’ overview gives a more detailed breakdown of the types of allegations, job roles of people about whom allegations were made and the outcomes of the investigations.

It reveals that 46 per cent of referrals involved allegations of physical abuse.

The report says: “This has always been considered to be the most frequent reason for referral due to the large number of children’s homes in the region, in addition to a number of specialist educational provisions where restrictive physical interventions are used.

“Even though many of the investigations identify no intent by the member of staff to cause harm to a child, the use of such interventions can often be misinterpreted as abusive by the children involved or lead to accidental harm being caused to children.”

Concerns about a person’s suitability was the next most common reason for a referral (36 per cent), while the remainder involved allegations of sexual harm (eight per cent), emotional harm (six per cent) and neglect (four per cent).

Staff working in children’s homes were the subject of 51 per cent of referrals, followed by education staff (20 per cent), and foster carers (nine per cent).

The remainder of the investigations involved police, health, social services, early years, sports organisations and ‘other’ workers.

Transport staff were the subject of one per cent of investigations, a lower figure than usual, which the report says is “likely to be due to the impact of the pandemic and fewer numbers of children being transported by bus or taxi to schools”.

The report says 150 initial contacts did not result in an investigation, in most cases because the LADO criteria was not met.

Of the 192 investigations, 80 were found to be unsubstantiated and 56 were substantiated. Eleven were found to be ‘false’, and there were 36 investigations still open at the end of the year.

On the number of substantiated cases, the report says: “In some cases however it was not considered that there was any evidence of intent to cause harm to a child.

“For example, a child may have sustained some superficial injury from a physical intervention, however the restraint was considered to be reasonable and proportionate in that situation.

“Some of the cases that were substantiated were considered to be so serious however that further action was taken.”

The report will be considered by cabinet at a meeting next Wednesday, November 10.