The omnishambles that was a Church of England’s safeguarding investigation made Basil Fawlty’s hotel management skills look exemplary in comparison. But, unlike Fawlty Towers, this was no comedy. When a tiny smidgeon of concern, or more accurately, the rumour of a smidgeon of concern about Father Alan Griffin arose, the buck was passed from person […]

This new book, Wrongful Allegations of Sexual and Child Abuse, is edited by Dr Ros Burnett (Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford). It contains 21 chapters by criminologists, psychologists, legal scholars and other experts, discussing policies and practices that impact on people who are falsely accused of sexual and physical offences against adults and children. […]

Saint Gerard is one of many patron saints of the falsely accused. His story is even more relevant now than it was in 1754 when the events leading to his sainthood took place. At the time he was only 28, he belonged to a religious community and was known as Brother Gerard. He had recommended […]

Rina Khan, aged 41, of Smethwick, was accused of hitting the child so hard the ruler broke as punishment for getting a question wrong during a maths lesson.

James Bird, 53, was arrested at his desk and subjected to an 11-month court ordeal over the claims, dating back more than a decade old, that he abused a pupil.The church-goer, who now works at another school, was even prevented from being alone with his 13-year-old daughter in that time.

A social worker who accused an innocent father of abusing his daughter has claimed the police put pressure on her to stand by the lie. When asked who was putting pressure on her, she replied: ‘I was under pressure at that police station … to exaggerate or confirm what I had written.’ Mrs Smith said […]

Our attention has been drawn to an excellent article by Mark Smith, Senior Lecturer  in Social Work, University of Edinburgh, concerning Victim Narratives in Residential Child Care.  You can download an on-line copy of this article here

Education Minister Michael Gove has asked Professor Eileen Munro from the London School of Economics to look at how to remove the barriers and bureaucracy which prevent social workers spending valuable time with vulnerable children. Children’s Minister Tim Loughton also announced that the overview report and the executive summary of all new serious case reviews […]

The Local Government Association have issued a press release criticising Ofsted for feeding peole’s fears about child protection Ofsted should be the calm, measured voice that helps to make child protection services work better rather than feeding people’s fears, council leaders said today. The Local Government Association warns that the inspectorate needs to stop working […]

The government has announced it will review its plans to introduce vetting of adults who take part in activities involving regular contact with children following strong criticism. Under the planned rules, adults in England and Wales who take part in any formal agreement to look after children – even if it is as little as […]