Anyone remember Victoria Climbie and the consequences?

I'm actually really suprised that this hasn't come up in Discussion.

Remember Victoria Climbie? She was a little girl who was abused by her great aunt and the man she lived with for months. She eventually died, tied up in a freezing bathtub, because most of her vital systems just shut down from malnutrition and abuse. This is despite 9 seperate welfare agencies knowing that she was at risk from abuse, involvement with the Metropolitan Police and 2 visits to Hospitals for injuries sustained from being abused. Inquiry HERE .

After the huge ruckus that this caused in the Media, the government started a reform of the childcare and education systems called "Every child matters" (Read about it HERE )with the aim of unifying the organisations responsible for education, childcare, health care and social work. Basically, Victoria slipped through the net by a gross communication problem, and the reforms were intended to make sure that never happened again.

The reforms are due to come into effect from April this year, and I want to know if anyone else knows anything about the proposed changes. ALSO I want to link it in to the following:

The more recent Educational reforms, as proposed by Ruth Kelly. Described as "Fragmentary" by members of the Labour Party, the reforms propose that the majority of schools become "Trust" schools, which are almost completely autonomous of the Local Education Authorities, have no National Curriculum, and can set their own policies. Funded mostly by private businesses, faith groups and charity agencies, the new schools will be able to establish their own solutions to the problems of discipline, exclusion, special needs and child welfare. (Read about it HERE )

It's my impression that these two sets of reforms are almost completely opposed in nature. One is set to Unify and co-ordinate. The other is to splinter and diversify.

I guess I'm wondering a few things. Will the "Every Child Matters" agenda still attract any kind of public attention with Ruth Kelly stirring the pot? Are educational reforms simply being used as political competitions, and the long term importance of them being ignored? I can't stand the idea that something that could be so important to so many people (educational reform) could simply be used as a method of scoring political points, with no regard for the effects that it will actually have.

After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
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Forums > Social Discussion > Anyone remember Victoria Climbie and the consequences?