Harley Quinn
October 7th, 2009, 12:51 PM
The children's department charged with looking after a toddler who died at the hands of his family was the "worst ever seen", an Ofsted inspector has said.
The claim was made in a judicial review of the sacking of Haringey's children's services director, Sharon Shoesmith, in the wake of the Baby Peter killing.
Peter Connolly had over 50 injuries when he died aged 17 months.
The High Court is hearing Ms Shoesmith's claim that she was removed from her post illegally.
The judicial review heard Ms Shoesmith has been left financially ruined and suicidal following her dismissal by the children's secretary Ed Balls.
Her barrister said she was a victim of a "flagrant breach of the rules of natural justice".
However Heather Brown, Ofsted's lead inspector in the review of Haringey's services, said: "The concerns that arose from this exercise were extremely serious - fundamental to the way that safeguarding systems were operating in Haringey."
She said the quality of practice in the department was the "worst I had ever seen", with "only a single example of good practice" found in the whole inspection.
The Link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8293971.stm
The claim was made in a judicial review of the sacking of Haringey's children's services director, Sharon Shoesmith, in the wake of the Baby Peter killing.
Peter Connolly had over 50 injuries when he died aged 17 months.
The High Court is hearing Ms Shoesmith's claim that she was removed from her post illegally.
The judicial review heard Ms Shoesmith has been left financially ruined and suicidal following her dismissal by the children's secretary Ed Balls.
Her barrister said she was a victim of a "flagrant breach of the rules of natural justice".
However Heather Brown, Ofsted's lead inspector in the review of Haringey's services, said: "The concerns that arose from this exercise were extremely serious - fundamental to the way that safeguarding systems were operating in Haringey."
She said the quality of practice in the department was the "worst I had ever seen", with "only a single example of good practice" found in the whole inspection.
The Link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8293971.stm