Local Government Ombudsman orders Croydon to conduct an audit of child sexual abuse cases going back three years, after the authority’s response to a draft report ‘suggests wider systemic issues’
Croydon’s children’s services department may have “systemic” errors, according to the Local Government Ombudsman, who today accused the council of “being too quick to pass the buck”, after a suicidal teenaged girl was left without support when she reported two instances of serious sexual abuse.
The poor handling of the case by social workers from Kent has left the girl’s mother “emotionally broken”.
The Ombudsman’s report, made public today, is particularly scathing about Croydon Council’s attitude to the problematic case, which dates back to 2018.
The council’s response to the Ombudsman’s report was to state that its children’s services had recently been given a “Good” rating by Ofsted (following nearly three years when rated as “Inadequate”). “It is disappointing,” the Ombudsman’s report states, that, “Croydon appear to suggest this indicates the fault identified in this report is confined to the past.
“We feel this case is an opportunity to learn and make improvements to prevent other children and families experiencing the same issues.” Continue reading
