Council Acknowledges Lessons Learned Following Alfie Steele’s Death

Council officials have stated that insights have been gained following the murder of nine-year-old Alfie Steele. Alfie died at his Droitwich residence in February 2021, having endured months of cruelty and abuse inflicted by his mother, Carla Scott, and her partner, Dirk Howell. The couple received prison sentences in June of the previous year, and a subsequent review underscored numerous missed opportunities by professionals who could have safeguarded Alfie. During a Worcestershire County Council cabinet meeting held on Thursday, Chief Executive Paul Robinson reported that hundreds of employees participated in webinars organized in response to the findings of the review. Robinson stated, “Alfie Steele was a dreadful moment for this authority and for the county and for the community.” He added, “But on the positive side, if there is one [thing], our people have learnt from that. They have experienced it, they know what happened, we have the examples and the learning points from the report and those have been communicated to our staff.” Councillors also received information from Steve Eccleston, who serves as the independent chair of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership. Eccleston remarked, “We have to be realistic here. We are often asking our youngest, most inexperienced practitioners, be they from social care, health or police, to go in and deal with some of our most challenging adults within our communities – challenging, intimidating, switched-on and able to avoid that sort of scrutiny.” He further noted, “A Probation Service representative told me as a result of those webinars there have been challenges among professionals in a small number of cases, which have led to individuals who pose a risk to children being recalled to prison. It’s small numbers and it’s anecdotal but that for me is a demonstrable outcome.” Marc Bayliss, the councillor representing Bowbrook, the area where Alfie resided, expressed satisfaction with the emphasis on “real change rather than communicating details, because an awful lot of these serious case reviews tread the same path.” He inquired of the safeguarding chair about the most significant changes expected to result from the review. Mr. Eccleston responded, “The most important changes are not structural or procedural. They are empowering practitioners to have the confidence to challenge their own initial thoughts and perceptions, and also challenge what they’re being told and be more robust with individuals.” He provided an illustration: “I’ll give you a simple example from the review. When Alfie’s mother was saying ‘no, he’s not here’ but it was reported that he was in the house. Be confident enough to say ‘actually, we don’t believe you and we want to take this further’.” This report was compiled by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, an entity that covers local councils and other public service organizations. For further updates, follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not accountable for the content of external websites. Information regarding the BBC’s approach to external linking is available.