ADCS urges safeguarding agencies to learn lessons from Rotherham

Alan Wood, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, told Children & Young People Now that the Rotherham inquiry – which found that senior managers in children’s services and other agencies in the Yorkshire town failed to act on concerns raised by frontline staff about widespread child sexual exploitation (CSE) over a 16-year period – highlighted the need for greater recognition of CSE among all safeguarding organisations.

Wood said: “The publication this week of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham must serve as a call to action for all safeguarding partners to ensure that the voices of children, young people and their families raising similar concerns in the future are both heard, believed and acted upon and that the necessary help and support is provided when they need it most.”

Wood’s comments were echoed by the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace) and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, who both said the failings highlighted by the Rotherham inquiry had implications nationally.

Mark Rogers, president of Solace, said the police and councils needed to work better together to tackle CSE.  

He said: “It is still clear that both in Rotherham and nationwide, the policing and justice systems, working with councils and others partners, need to work harder and smarter to prevent abuse or, where it occurs, ensure cases are brought to court, the guilty successfully prosecuted and, crucially, the victims supported.

“It therefore requires sustained leadership and challenge to tackle the deep-rooted cultures that lead to the misunderstanding, condoning or ignoring of the crime of CSE – we must also remember that safeguarding is everyone's business.”

Maggie Atkinson, children’s commissioner for England, praised Rotherham Council for commissioning the inquiry, adding: “We would like to emphasise that we do not believe that previous failings to identify and respond to CSE are unique to Rotherham – it is vital that local authorities throughout England take note of the lessons learned and ensure that the best possible structures and processes are in place for identifying and protecting children at risk of sexual exploitation.”

The inquiry report by Alexis Jay, former chief inspector of social work for Scotland, revealed that 1,400 children and young people were sexually abused and exploited between 1997 and 2013 in Rotherham. It found serious failings within and between all organisations involved, targeting most criticism at the failure of senior managers and local politicians to heed repeated warnings of CSE taking place by social workers and youth workers.

The report says many of the failings have been addressed by Rotherham Council after the government issued its children’s services with an improvement notice in 2009. However, Jay still makes 15 recommendations for improving how the council tackles CSE, including introducing a single manager for the joint CSE team; clarifying its remit and responsibilities; developing a more strategic approach to protecting looked-after children who are sexually exploited; improving support for victims, and reviewing the resources allocated to CSE work.

The council has accepted the report and recommendations. In a statement, its chief executive Martin Kimber said: “The delivery of these improvements will be swift and effective, and where they require a response from several agencies we will work with our partners.

“The report recognises that today we have a well-trained, hard working and conscientious workforce which is passionate about protecting young people and improving services.

“It is clear that services are stronger and better co-ordinated now than ever before. They are not perfect, but they are fit for purpose, are significantly improved and continue to improve through close multi-agency working.”

Kimber added that the report findings would be shared nationally and will be “valuable to help agencies keep more young people safe”.

The report's publication has already seen leader of Rotherham Council Roger Stone step down and South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright – who was the council's cabinet member for children's services from 2005 to 2010 – resign from the Labour Party.

The council said it would be making no further comment on the report until after a cabinet meeting next week.