The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was responding to the case of six-year-old Lauren Wright, whose stepmother Tracey and father Craig were last week found guilty of manslaughter for her death in May 2000.
Norfolk Social Services admitted that mistakes had been made and that chances to save Lauren were missed. Its director, David Wright, said, 'It is a clear case of human errors and no-one can feel worse about it than we do.'
He added that in the month Lauren died, social services took into care 11 other children from the same part of Norfolk 'for similar reasons of abuse and neglect'.
The NSPCC called Lauren's death 'a shocking but not iso-lated tragedy'. According to its research, 7 per cent of all children will suffer serious abuse in the home, including being hit with a fist or implement, beaten up or burned, and 6 per cent will suffer serious neglect, such as being left regularly without food.
NSPCC director Mary Marsh said, 'Lauren Wright had no-one to turn to. No-one managed to help her escape from her torment of beatings, abuse and slow starvation. For months, she suffered in silence. She died in agony after a final beating - emaciated, dehydrated and vomiting, with injuries akin to those of a road accident victim.'
She added, 'All professionals working with children must be trained to know what child abuse looks like and should have the skills to make sound judgements about a child's welfare. They should never be too ready to accept carers' explanations for a child's injuries, which may hide a more disturbing truth.
'We realise that people can find it hard to know what to do or where to turn for advice when they are worried about a child. Fear of making a mistake, of interfering, or about the repercussions can paralyse the natural instinct to do something. But we strongly urge people never to wait until they are 100 per cent certain about their suspicions before they do act.'
William Marshall Church of England Primary School in Welney, where Lauren was a pupil, issued a statement last week. It said, 'We remember Lauren as a friendly and helpful child who loved school and who could illuminate the classroom with her radiant smile. We have lost an affectionate child who touched our school lives briefly. We will always remember her.' The school has raised money to place a friendship bench in its garden as a memorial to Lauren.
