Worcestershire council bosses say lessons have been learnt from Alfie Steele case
Nine-year-old Alfie died at his home in Droitwich in February 2021 after suffering cruelty and abuse
Last updated 25th Nov 2024
Lessons have been learnt from the murder of Alfie Steele, say council bosses.
Nine-year-old Alfie died at his home in Droitwich in February 2021 after suffering cruelty and abuse at the hands of his mother Carla Scott and her partner Dirk Howell.
The pair were jailed in June last year for their roles in Alfie’s death and the findings of a multi-agency review were published in January.
At a Worcestershire County Council cabinet meeting on Thursday (November 21), chief executive Paul Robinson said staff had learnt from the case.
“Alfie Steele was a dreadful moment for this authority and for the county and for the community,” he said.
“But on the positive side, if there is one, our people have learnt from that.
“They have experienced it, they know what happened, we have the examples and the learning points from the report and those have been communicated to our staff.”
Councillors heard from Steve Eccleston, independent chair of Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership.
He said: “We have to be realistic here, we are often asking our youngest, most inexperienced practitioners, be they from social care, health or police, to go in and deal with some of our most challenging adults within our communities – challenging, intimidating, switched-on and able to avoid that sort of scrutiny.”
Mr Eccleston said hundreds of practitioners from across the county had attended webinars following publication of the review.
“We’ve followed those up by asking people what they’re going to do differently, following what they’ve heard,” he said. “We’ve had those back in, we’ll be following that up in three months’ time to ask what’s actually changed.
“A Probation Service representative told me as a result of those webinars there have been challenges among professionals in a small number of cases, which have led to individuals who pose a risk to children being recalled to prison.
“It’s small numbers and it’s anecdotal but that for me is a demonstrable outcome.”
Marc Bayliss is the councillor for Bowbrook, which covers where Alfie Steele lived.
He said: “I was pleased to hear about the focus on real change rather than communicating details because an awful lot of these serious case reviews tread the same path.
“What are the most important differences you think will come out of the review? That will make this less likely to happen again?”
Mr Eccleston said: “The most important changes are not structural or procedural. They are empowering practitioners to have the confidence to challenge their own initial thoughts and perceptions, and also challenge what they’re being told and be more robust with individuals.
“I’ll give you a simple example from the review. When Alfie’s mother was saying ‘no, he’s not here’ but it was reported that he was in the house.
“Be confident enough to say ‘actually, we don’t believe you and we want to take this further’.
“Alfie’s mother was a victim of domestic abuse in a previous relationship. Where was the challenge that ‘actually, is mum fit and able to protect Alfie?’ and if she’s prepared to hide this individual who we believe is a risk to Alfie in the home, the answer’s no.
“So rather than just thinking of her as a victim, challenge that initial professional perception.”