Carers ‘failed to assess family of fire death boy’

The authorities failed to fully consider the impact of a 12-year-old autistic boy’s disability on his family, a report has revealed.

Damian Clough, who had severe learning disabilities, died of smoke inhalation after a blaze at his home in Keighley in April, 2009.

Last year a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and Nasir Khan, 18, went on trial accused of his manslaughter. Khan, of Buxton Street, Keighley, walked free from court after the trial judge directed the jury to find him not guilty of the charge and the 17-year-old was later found not guilty.

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A serious case review, in which Damian is referred to as child D, said it was clear that the impact of child D’s disability on his family “was not appropriately considered throughout their lives.”

It added: “Significant change will need to occur to reduce the likelihood of similar failures to promote the welfare of disabled children in Bradford.”

The review found no records of a carers’ assessment ever being offered to the boy’s family.

It said: “There is no evidence at any point that any professional thought about the needs of the family as a whole. This means that there has been a wholesale failure of integrated working amongst professionals.”

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According to the report, Child D, who was loved by his family, was “difficult to look after,” and “had no sense of danger, would run away, would eat anything that he could get his hands on and break things, if left unsupervised.”

Yet the boy was allocated an unqualified social worker, who in the panel’s opinion, “was not experienced enough to manage this complex case and was not appropriately supervised.”

Julie Jenkins, Bradford Council’s assistant director of children’s social care, said: “All unqualified staff are experienced and trained in child care work. They are supervised and supported by a qualified social work manager. If a case becomes more complex, it should be transferred to a qualified social worker.”

She said this did not happen in this case and an immediate review was undertaken.

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The report also found living conditions were not acceptable but “many professionals” did not properly consider his welfare because they believed home was “the best place for him.”

Furthermore, he was rarely seen in his home – with most of the assessments made at the respite carer’s home, respite unit or school – and some professionals involved in his care never saw the boy.

The serious case review, commissioned by Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, found no evidence of the boy’s views being represented at his care reviews.

It also found a “severe delay” in adaptations being made to the home, due to a backlog of work and lack of resources.

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The report revealed that on two occasions, police officers failed to implement their own child protection policies.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said that “the individual officers’ response in not recognising and raising concerns over Child D’s welfare has been addressed through appropriate internal disciplinary proceedings to ensure it is not repeated.”