I have just discovered that the Coventry Local Safeguarding
Children Board (LSCB) has published some information about the Daniel Pelka tragedy in
advance of the publication of the Serious Case Review (SCR) report.
It can be found at: http://www.coventrylscb.org.uk/dpelka.html
The brief outline of the facts of the case provided at this site makes it
clear that Daniel was not referred to Children’s Social Care when concerns
about his weight emerged or when subsequent bruising was noted.
The document makes clear that:
- When teachers became worried about Daniel’s low weight and his scavenging for food the school nurse, the GP and the community paediatrician became involved. Daniel’s behaviour and low weight were linked to a possible medical condition.
- When Daniel came to school with bruises and unexplained marks on him, different members of school staff saw these. However the injuries were not recorded nor were they linked to Daniel’s weight loss or to his scavenging for food.
- No referrals were made to Children’s Social Care as a result of these injuries or other concerns at this time.
- When Daniel’s school attendance became poor, an education welfare officer became involved.
There is no explanation at this stage of why no referral was made to Children’s
Social Care. That seems to me to be the crucial question that I hope the SCR
report will address.
