Could Bradford Council be stripped of its children's services following death of Star Hobson?
Five referrals were made to social services by concerned friends and family in the eight months leading up to Star's death
Last updated 14th Dec 2021
Questions have been raised about the whether children's services should be taken out of Bradford Council control following the death of toddler Star Hobson.
The 16 month old died from "catastrophic injuries" she received at her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire in September last year.
Prosecutors said she was "repeatedly physically assaulted over the weeks and months before her death".
Today (Tuesday, 14 December), her mother Frankie Smith and her partner Savannah Brockhill were found guilty of allowing or causing the death of 16 month old Star.
During the trial, the court heard how five referrals were made to social services in the eight months prior by concerned family and friends - with the first referral in January 2020.
A Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the case is ongoing and is due to conclude in January.
Following the verdict at Bradford Crown Court, a Department for Education spokesperson said 'Star's death is deeply disturbing' and robust steps need to be taken to prevent tragic cases like this from happening again.
It also confirmed a Commissioner has been appointed to assess Bradford Council's capability and capacity to improve - with discussions ongoing over whether the 'council should retain control of its children's services.'
The Department for Education statement in full: “Star’s death is deeply disturbing. It is a reminder of why we have taken action to strengthen how safeguarding agencies work together locally to protect children at risk of abuse or neglect – and why we will never hesitate to take robust steps to prevent tragic cases like this happening.
“There are clear systems in place to report serious incidents, which in Star’s case led to a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review. This is due to conclude in January and will mean its learnings can feed into the national review of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ death commissioned this week by the Secretary of State.
“In the months since Star’s death we have also appointed a Commissioner to assess Bradford’s capability and capacity to improve. The Secretary of State met with him urgently on Monday 13 December to discuss the progress of his work and whether the council should retain control of their children’s services, ahead of his full report in January. On seeing that we will not hesitate to remove service control if that is what’s necessary to drive rapid improvements.”
Meanwhile, in a separate statement the Bradford Partnership has apologised for the death of Star.
The Bradford Partnership includes Marium Haque (Interim Director of Children’s Services, Bradford Council), Helen Hirst (Chief Officer, Bradford District and Craven CCG) and Bradford District Commander Chief Superintendent Sarah Jones.
“We want to say first and foremost that we’re sorry for the death of Star. This was a child’s life cut cruelly short. Two people have been brought to answer for their crimes - one has been convicted of murder and one of causing or allowing the death of a child.
“Anyone who has followed the trial will want to know what more could have been done to help protect Star. As agencies who have a joint responsibility to protect children, this has been at the forefront of our minds. Any death of a child, wherever it happens, is one death too many, but this happened in our district, in our community and has had a devastating impact.
“We are very aware as partners that there is much that we need to learn from this case. We have already put in place actions that will improve our practice so that we learn those lessons. But we need to fully understand why opportunities to better protect Star were missed.
“We must also learn everything we can from the awful murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. A national review has been established to enable this to happen. If we can contribute our learning to this review, we will do.
“We offered support and assistance to Star’s family for what we believed their needs to be, at that given time, but we all deeply regret that not all the warning signs were seen that could have led to firmer statutory enforcement action.
“A Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review is being written by an independent author. This is almost complete and, now the trial is concluded, the review will be finalised and published in January 2022. It will provide partners and colleagues in our district and across the country with clear recommendations so we can better protect children in our care."
Shocking and deeply upsetting
Following the verdicts over the death of Star Hobson, Bradford Council also issued a statement:
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “Star’s murder and the telling of how she died through the trial has been shocking and deeply upsetting. The photographs of her we have all seen in the press show a little girl who deserved the best in life but was subject to the worst treatment. Her murder should not extinguish the memory of her life. We remember Star’s life and our thoughts are with those who did love and care for her.
“The verdict is out and those who caused Star’s death have been convicted - one has been convicted of murder and one of causing or allowing the death of a child.
“Star was let down and we all want to know if anything could have been done differently. The Bradford Partnership, which includes all the agencies in Bradford district involved in protecting children, has already commissioned an independent Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review to answer this question. Now the trial is complete, this review will be concluded and published next month. We want to make sure that Star’s case also informs the national inquiry that has been launched as a result of the shocking murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
“Social workers in our district support a great many children and young people and carry out work in circumstances that are often very challenging. It is essential therefore that lessons are learned from Star’s terrible death so that we can better protect our children.”