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Ofsted and council staff criticised for failings after rape of toddler at nursery Concerns over nursery worker who raped child 'were not investigated'
(about 1 hour later)
A review into the rape of a toddler by a paedophile nursery worker has criticised Ofsted and council staff for failing to properly investigate concerns about his behaviour. A nursery worker who raped a toddler had a "special relationship" with the girl which, though it had caused concern, was not properly investigated by either Ofsted or local council staff.
The serious case review into the crimes of Paul Wilson also found that Birmingham city council and Ofsted inspectors had missed "obvious pointers" which should have raised the alarm. A serious case review into the case of Paul Wilson, 21, jailed for life in 2011, found Birmingham city council and Ofsted inspectors had missed "obvious pointers", which could have raised the alarm.
Wilson, then 21, was jailed for life in 2011 after using a mobile phone to film two attacks on an infant at the Little Stars nursery in Nechells, Birmingham. Wilson was arrested after police investigating the attempted online grooming of a 13-year-old girl examined his computer, on which they discovered footage he had filmed of himself raping the toddler at the Little Stars nursery in Nechells, Birmingham, where he had worked for 18 months.
The review, carried out by Birmingham's safeguarding children board, said a lack of rigour and depth in inspection processes had "supported" Wilson's offences. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years, later cut to 13 and a half, after admitting the rape and online abuse of 22 girls aged between 12 and 15.
Wilson, of Nechells, whose mother had previously been a manager at the nursery but was not at the time of the attacks, had abused the toddler on at least two occasions.
Ofsted had received an anonymous complaint about him by a member of staff regarding his behaviour towards the girl. This included him cuddling the child, rocking her for "hours at a time", "wrapping her in a blanket" and refusing to leave her. He was also spending time with her to the exclusion of others, and the child was from a "vulnerable family background", said the review.
Ofsted spoke to the nursery manager, though not to Wilson, who believed the allegations were an "issue of professional practice" rather than "child protection", and the nursery was given a "notice to improve". A subsequent Ofsted inspection graded the nursery as "good".
The review also highlighted an incident, logged by the nursery, when the child was heard to scream: "I want my mummy" when alone with Wilson in the nursery's sleep area. There was no evidence of any action taken by the nursery at the time, the review stated.
Other concerns about Wilson's behaviour, relayed to the local authority designated officer team at Birmingham's children's social care, were attributed by the nursery manager to "bitchy" members of staff, said the report.
The review, carried out by Birmingham's safeguarding children board, said the lack of rigour and depth in inspection processes had "supported" Wilson's offences.
Among other failings and weaknesses identified by the report was a lack of supervision, poor management within the nursery, and its layout.Among other failings and weaknesses identified by the report was a lack of supervision, poor management within the nursery, and its layout.
Wilson, of Newbold Croft, Nechells, was ordered to serve at least 15 years for the "chilling, vile and depraved" offences committed at the nursery, and the online abuse of more than 20 young girls. Jane Held, chair of the safeguarding children board, said: "Responsibility for this awful abuse must, and does, lie with the perpetrator. He was clever, duplicitous and manipulative and took advantage of weaknesses in the system.
Commenting after the publication of the serious case review, the chair of the safeguarding children board, Jane Held, said: "Responsibility for this awful abuse must, and does, lie with the perpetrator. He was clever, duplicitous and manipulative and took advantage of weaknesses in the system. "In this case there were unfortunately a number of weaknesses in the way that nursery was run and a number of opportunities to intervene earlier and prevent the continuation of abuse which were missed."
"Parents should be able to trust the people they leave their children with to ensure that children are properly protected. In this case there were unfortunately a number of weaknesses in the way that nursery was run and a number of opportunities to intervene earlier and prevent the continuation of abuse which were missed." She added: "There are three key lessons arising from this review.
Held added: "There are three key lessons arising from this review.
"One is that those in charge of settings caring for children must ensure there are strong, clear practices and systems to minimise the risk of abuse."One is that those in charge of settings caring for children must ensure there are strong, clear practices and systems to minimise the risk of abuse.
"The second is to listen to and ask about children's experiences rather than just speak to adults."The second is to listen to and ask about children's experiences rather than just speak to adults.
"The third, and potentially the most important, is that safeguarding children is a job for everyone, and every single person who looks after or cares for children needs to know how to recognise when something is not right and what to do about it, and have confidence they will get the right response when they do act.""The third, and potentially the most important, is that safeguarding children is a job for everyone, and every single person who looks after or cares for children needs to know how to recognise when something is not right and what to do about it, and have confidence they will get the right response when they do act."
The review found weak safeguarding practices within the nursery created an environment where factors that might have deterred the perpetrator from abusing the child were missing.
As well as making eight key recommendations, the review established that the local authority did not communicate with relevant agencies and investigate initial child protection concerns.
"It was entirely fortuitous that the offending came to light via a route other than robust responses to concerns within the nursery," the review states.
The report's author, Jane Wonnacott, said: "In this case there were obvious pointers that should have raised the alarm, yet both Ofsted and the local authority failed to recognise them and respond appropriately in a co-ordinated manner."