The transformation of Rotherham children`s services

Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson and Alex Thomson are speaking on UK Column News:

"Well, let`s come on to the subject of child abuse. Nothing to worry about Mike because Ofsted has produced its report on Rotherham and here`s the headline: `Rotherham children`s services are `transformed`. So there we are. That`s the problem all solved according to `the quality and impact` report.  Services for children are transformed. `Children at risk of sexual exploitation were identified and received an `effective multi-agency response to protect them`."

"I`m going to say focus on the word `transformed` ... because in my opinion this is what this whole thing is about. It`s nothing to do with protecting the children."
 

 

"Let`s pop back for a moment and see what was really going on. Well children being abused and when this was about to blow, here`s the action of the council staff. They seized files and wiped computers to cover up the scale of child sex grooming. So this is the reality of it. Children were being abused and then officials took information and then destroyed it to hide the crime. So we`re talking criminal activity. People threatened. UKIP MEP sent death threats after slamming Rotherham Council over child abuse scandal."

"We`ve got this one here. Researcher who tried to expose Rotherham abuse `feared for life after police officers` threat`. So the reality of Rotherham is not only that children were abused but officials, many of whom should have been protecting the children, were prepared to commit further criminal acts in order to cover up the crime. But not to worry, because everything`s been solved now. `Ofsted has praised action taken by a children`s services department to improve its child protection work since being rated `inadequate` two years ago`."

"So criminal activity was then labelled `inadequate` and now we`ve solved the inadequacy of the organisation by transforming it. And how do we do this? Well, we bring in a government appointed commissioner, Patricia Bradwell. So you can have a look at her. She`s worked in other local government offices. Children`s Services for Lincolnshire County Council. And what was she going to do? Well now we get a clue." 

"`The Council to have strong and supportive partnerships which are underpinned by a common vision ensuring clarity on roles and responsibilities both individually and collectively."

"That would be a Common Purpose," interrupts Mike Robinsons.

"Yes, it`s all about partnerships and collective leadership. The second paragraph. `There`s clearly been a step change in partnership working through better leadership`. So we forget the children; we`re now into changing the management structure into this collaborative collective partnership working. So this is politicisation of the whole thing."

"This is the report itself which you can find on the internet. So I encourage people to go and have a look at it and read it for themselves. This is some of the sort of thing it says:"

"Risks posed to children and young people by domestic abuse and high-risk adults are considered effectively in multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) and multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). The local authority responds immediately to domestic abuse concerns through effective early screening in the MASH - So nobody who was originally involved in failing in their job to protect the children - nobody who was abusing the children - has been brought to book but what we`ve now done is brought in this highly interlinked management structure which is bringing all the agencies together with no separation of powers."

Mike Robinson:  "It was interesting that this morning on the Today programme, Brian, one of the people who was involved in this review was being asked questions. It was a pre-recorded interview on the Today programme, and as usual, the presenter said `I began by asking are any of the staff that were .... at Rotherham at the time still there? And his answer was `No. Seventy five percent of them are still there`. So she said: Are any of the staff still there? He said `No.` So that wasn`t the question she asked. So what she was trying to get into people`s minds was the idea that there had been some kind of purge of staff.  But this has never happened." 

"Correct Mike and we picked up on this...Let`s move on to the next bit here."

"The majority of assessments seen by inspectors, both in early help and where children are in need of help and protection, were of good quality.  So the majority. When you read through this report you will see that there are still problems but that gets pushed into the background because everything`s OK because we`ve changed the management structure."

"In this extract on screen it says this: `Assessments for a small number of children are not considering the impact of cumulative risks, particularly in respect of domestic abuse. Children`s voices are not always explicit. I don`t know what that means. I think I might know what it means, but I`m not too sure. Alex, linguistics is your expertise. What are these people saying here?" 

Alex Thomson: "Ah. This technique is known as disguising the subject. So there is deliberately no mention ... it`s the topic that`s missing here. The subject of the sentence is grammatically `the children`s voices` but the topic, which is who`s actually concerned, who is doing here, is not mentioned. I would take this as standard legalese as `... `We have a right to speak for the children."

Brian Gerrish: "... Of course the children are supposed to have a voice in child protection matters ... the view of the child we are supposed to believe is paramount. I think as you do here that actually the children`s opinion is simply now being shut out..."

"We spoke to Ofsted this morning and sent them this email."

"Dear Ofsted Media Team,"

"I have read public media articles concerning the latest glowing Ofsted report which state that Rotherham Children`s Services have been transformed."

"I am however also told that no Councillor or Officer holding responsibility during the period of serious failings and harm to children has resigned or been replaced - can you please confirm this is correct."

"I am also told that there has been no formal investigation into the individuals with key overall responsibility for serious failures leading to harm of children nor has there been any court or legal proceedings against them - can you please confirm this is correct."

"I understand that even as the latest Ofsted report has been released and noting that Commissioner Patricia Bradwell has stressed that transparency will be an important part of the `transformational` improvement of services, Rotherham Children`s Social Services are withholding information concerning child protection cases so as to cover-up ongoing failings - can you please comment on these serious allegations."

"I understand that Rotherham Children`s Services are refusing to fully engage with members of the public expressing concern at ongoing failings in their services - can you please comment on these allegations."

"These last two questions have particular significance in view of the fact that even where recorded evidence exits of threats of harm to children Sheffield Children`s Services are allegedly covering up that abuse and are targeting the protective parent in favour of the aggressive parent. That such actions are taking place against the especially vulnerable parents within non English speaking refugee families is of great concern."

etc.

See programme here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndn8pygBSRw

Ofsted Report

Tick Box Decisions

Written by Frida Holsten Gullestad, Trondheim
Published in KLASSEKAMPEN, January 27th 2018

"A checklist is determining whether the Norwegian Child Welfare Services removes the child from its home or not:"

"THEY COUNT THEIR WAY TO THE `RIGHT` CONCLUSION"

"If you are divorced, unemployed or on social security, the likelihood that you may lose your child in a child welfare case increases. Norwegian child welfare services has introduced a standardised checklist that researchers are highly critical of..."

"Based on the answers, the caseworkers can count their way to the procedure that fits the situation. Some of the researchers‘ informants say that the number of crosses affects the outcome."

"If they get six to eight at risk factors, the answer will be a care order, i.e. the child is removed from the family and placed at an institution or in a foster home. Fewer crosses can lead to the child staying at home and that the family is offered relief measures..."

"The researchers fear that the use of such checklists will push the child welfare services towards using measures that easily show a statistically measurable effect. This will replace solutions that are adapted to the individual child, as it is difficult to prove the efficiency of such..."

"The fear is that this model prefers standardised measures where the effect can be controlled. An example might be early intervention, i.e. taking a child away from the parents at an early stage."

Read more http://stepup4childrensrights.com/norways-child-welfare-system-counting-their-way-to-terror/

ID to contain `biometric features`

"Earlier this month, Rep. Bob Goodlatte [R-VA-6] introduced H.R.4760 – Securing America’s Future Act of 2018, a sweeping bill that entails everything from Education and the Workforce to Homeland Security to the military. Also, tucked away in this 400-page behemoth of a bill are the details of a new biometric National ID card that could soon be required for everyone."

"Not surprisingly, there is almost no media coverage on this legislation."

"H.R. 4760 establishes a mandatory National Identification system that requires all Americans to carry a government-approved ID containing "biometric features." Without this card, according to the legislation, you will not be able to work in this country."

"The legislation was drafted under the auspices of providing a legislative solution for the current beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program."

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/national-id-hr4760-biometrics/?utm_campaign=crowdfire&utm_content=crowdfire&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#898736670-tw1517114123822

Concert pianist still on hunger strike

"In court, Circuit Judge Veronica Hammerton supported the view of Medway Council's Children Services and of a court appointed psychologist, Melanie Gill, that Eugene is an inadequate father because his own father is a Holocaust survivor and was in a ghetto during the Second World War; and also because Eugene had experienced anti-Semitism as a child when he lived in the former Soviet Union."

"Eugene and his son are being punished for contacting the media about their predicament, for taking part in the RT documentary "Forced Adoption UK" and for submitting a petition to the Petition Committee of the European Parliament regarding discrimination on the grounds of religion, race and language by Medway Council's Children Services. The judge imposed an injunction on Eugene so that he is now prevented from discussing his case in public under threat of 2 years in prison and confiscation of his assets."

See petition http://citizengo.org/en/fm/34246-bring-eugenes-son-back-home-immediately

This is day 62 of Eugene Lukjanenko`s hunger strike after he was imprisoned for disregarding the judgment and speaking out about the case in public. 

==============

Other developments:

"A family court judge must explain why a concert pianist has been jailed, a campaigner says."

"Former Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming says the man is on hunger strike in a prison hospital after being jailed for contempt of court by a family court judge late last year."

"Mr Hemming, who campaigns for improvements in the family justice system, says the judge who imposed the sentence is in the wrong because a ruling explaining the case has not been published." 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-5291121/Family-court-judge-explain-pianist-jailed-says-campaigner.html#ixzz55JEVpx1A

 

UK Column News covered the topic on 10 January 2018 and mentioned the fact that the social worker involved was Ann Domeney who authored `The Case for Action.`

"Point No 1 ` grabbed me, says Mike Robinson. Reading from the document he goes on: "A strategically planned whole system approach with collaboration at all levels is vital to ensure a high performing approach. Common purpose and a shared culture of `our young people` rather than `their young people` is essential.... When I looked on her profile on LinkedIn what did I find? NLP, leadership, all this type of stuff. The language is there right in front of us... [i.e. the language of the charity Common Purpose]

Brian Gerrish responds: "The children are ours. They belong to `us` and the `us` in this case is the state. This is Big Society with a vengeance. Children are not part of a family; they`re not of the parents; they are simply there for the state. And of course the Scottish government has taken this a step forward because we can now see with the `named person` scheme that really parents are only seen as sort of caretakers of the children while they`re growing up. They`re really owned by the state and if the state deems that the parents have made any mistakes or got anything wrong or are teaching their children the wrong things ... [from the state`s viewpoint] then those children can simply be taken away from the parents."

Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMtSVCDZQ2k

UK has highest number of adoptions in Europe

"Adoption has become a `runaway train` impossible for individual social workers to stop, according to an independent inquiry into adoption law in the UK."

"The exhaustive two-year inquiry, which canvassed evidence from social workers, adult adoptees, adoptive parents and birth parents across the UK, has raised the alarm over practices that favour adoption over alternative care options seeking to help children stay with their birth parents."

"The British Association of Social Workers’s (BASW) independent adoption inquiry is the first to investigate the role of social workers in adoption with a focus on ethics and human rights and has called for a significant rethink and review of adoption law."

"The UK has the highest number of adoptions in Europe and is one of just three EU countries that allow forced or non-consensual adoptions – where children are adopted against the wishes of their birth parents. The inquiry examined these issues and looked at our rationale for being the only country in Europe to have a uniform rule forbidding any direct contact between adopted children and their birth and foster families."

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/18/adoption-has-become-runaway-train-social-workers-cannot-stop

The scientific study of childhood ?

"Attachment Theory has gained much popularity in the `scientific` study of childhood and has impacted child policy, parenting and education the world over. We argue that it is a major flaw of Attachment Theory not to take into account the historical and cultural diversity in beliefs and practices related to children’s care."
"Children thrive under diverse settings. Attachment Theory fails to accept this variability...." "Every community, every family, and in fact, every parent has the right to bring up its children within the range of normative practices available to and valued by them. This is not an argument for ‘anything goes’, but to present a case against a narrow vision of Western child care popularised by Attachment Theory that does not adequately represent variation even in the West. Such a view pathologises a majority of the world’s populations and promotes a culturally specific, historically limited pattern of bringing up children, with a hint of moral superiority."

Read more http://saveyourchildren.in/is-attachment-theory-always-reliable-as-a-measure-of-child-welfare-by-nandita-chaudhary-and-heidi-keller/

Boy removed by police from his home

Predatory educators

====================

"When people look for information about food stamps on a search engine, they are often confronted with ads for go-betweens, like FindFamilyResources... sites look official and provide links to real government forms. But they also gather names and e-mail addresses for predatory advertisers, including for-profit colleges. They rake in lead generation fees by providing a superfluous service to people, many of whom are soon targeted for services they can ill afford..."

"[F]rom a society`s perspective, a simple hunt for government services puts a big target on the back of poor people, leading a certain number of them toward false promises and high-interest loans..."

Cathy O`Neil `Weapons of Math Destruction`

Child denied painkiller

"Melody Driscoll - who has undergone more then 40 operations - suffers from Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development and results in severe mental and physical disability."

"Doctors at King's College Hospital in London are weaning her off morphine over fears that it could result in potentially fatal liver damage."

"Her parents are suing the hospital in a bid to get the painkiller for their daughter."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5267615/Ill-girl-11-faces-condemned-agonising-death.html#ixzz54AYsLRCW

Dana pursues landmark prosecution

"Former Eurovision song contest winner Dana is pursuing a landmark prosecution of those who gave false evidence against her brother John Brown. Mr Brown, 61, a father-of-three who works in PR and the music industry, had denied all the claims. Dana who is his older sister, 67, a former Irish presidential candidate, was also accused by the prosecution of covering up her brother’s abuse for more than three decades."

"The Metropolitan Police has sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service regarding the evidence given by the seven witnesses in 2014 when John Brown was unanimously acquitted of five counts of indecent assault against two girls under the age of 13 and 16."

"During the trial, two women alleged that they had been abused at locations in Northern Ireland and England during the 1970’s. Among the flaws in the evidence given by the two women at trial was the fact that one of them was not even in the country at the time of the alleged abuse, and there was also claims of alleged abuse at a property that had not been built at the time."

"It is noteworthy that the allegations were only made for the first time when Dana became embroiled in a protracted commercial dispute with others."

https://blmabusenewsblog.com/2018/01/17/the-costs-of-false-allegations/

Gender confusion in the NHS

"Ten-year-old children are being asked by the NHS whether they are "comfortable in their gender" in official health surveys being completed in schools, it has emerged."

"The form given to children in year six to complete asks: `Do you feel the same inside as the gender you were born with? (feeling male or female)`."

"Youngsters are also asked to tick a box to confirm their true gender, with options including `boy`, `girl` and `other`. "

"Parents have been told that the NHS survey helps healthcare workers and teachers develop `better ways to understand and support` children who may be struggling with their identity - but it is not known whether certain children will be approached based on their answers..." 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/10/nhs-asks-10-year-olds-comfortable-gender-school-survey/

Now for a bit of common sense:
 
"The American College of Pediatricians urges healthcare professionals, educators and legislators to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex. Facts – not ideology – determine reality."

"1. Human sexuality is an objective biological binary trait: "XY" and "XX" are genetic markers of male and female, respectively – not genetic markers of a disorder. The norm for human design is to be conceived either male or female. Human sexuality is binary by design with the obvious purpose being the reproduction and flourishing of our species. This principle is self-evident. The exceedingly rare disorders of sex development (DSDs), including but not limited to testicular feminization and congenital adrenal hyperplasia, are all medically identifiable deviations from the sexual binary norm, and are rightly recognized as disorders of human design. Individuals with DSDs (also referred to as "intersex") do not constitute a third sex."

"2. No one is born with a gender. Everyone is born with a biological sex. Gender (an awareness and sense of oneself as male or female) is a sociological and psychological concept; not an objective biological one. No one is born with an awareness of themselves as male or female; this awareness develops over time and, like all developmental processes, may be derailed by a child’s subjective perceptions, relationships, and adverse experiences from infancy forward. People who identify as "feeling like the opposite sex" or "somewhere in between" do not comprise a third sex. They remain biological men or biological women."

"3. A person’s belief that he or she is something they are not is, at best, a sign of confused thinking. "

<sup>https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/gender-ideology-harms-children


　</sup>

The Tory reshuffle

[UK Column Tuesday 9 January 2019]

 

Brian Gerrish: "Well this particular gentleman is Brendan Lewis and we were intrigued to see that the former Policing Minister has now been made Tory Chairman and Minister without Portfolio. So he`s really coming into a position of great power in the party. And remember that Gavin Williamson the Chief Whip has been moved over to defence, also a very powerful position, but we were ..."

Mike Robinson: "Sorry, the Minister without Portfolio role - he`s supposed to be a trouble shooter...."

"Yes, I`m sure he is. ... Let`s just remember why UK Column should be interested in this particular gentleman:"

"Well let`s bring in this. `Open Letter To Policing Minister Brendan Lewis MP with regard to the police Whistleblower, John Wedger`."

"Now John Wedger went to see Mr Lewis. He had several meetings with him in his office in Westminster in which John told Mr Lewis in great detail what he`d discovered in relation to the cover-up of child abuse in London ... He was talking about a cover-up which involved local authorities. It was involving children`s charities. It was involving the Metropolitan Police and of course it was also involving MPs and members of the establishment. So, despite a meeting with the then Policing Minister, nothing happened."

"Now we produced an open letter. Let`s just take a couple of paragraphs out of that..."

`In the last few days [this is going back to July 2016] a very brave Detective Constable from the Met Police [John Wedger] has given a public testimony of the orchestrated cover-up of widespread child abuse, principally in London, but also UK wide. He describes the nature and scale of the child abuse including grooming, sexual abuse, prostitution, trafficking and cover-ups involving police, politicians, Local Authorities, Social Services and Charities. `

`Please will you, Mr Lewis, explain under your Ministerial responsibilities and Duty of Care to uphold the law and protect victims, witnesses and whistleblowers what action you will take to protect this man and to ensure that the serious criminal matters relating to child abuse he raises are addressed and those guilty of criminal offences and offences relating to public office such as malfeasance in public office are brought to justice. `

"Well, did we get a reply? The answer is `of course not.` We had no reply at all from Mr Lewis. There was a wall of silence in relation to this matter and of course he did nothing directly, it would appear, for John Wedger either; although we understand there is an allegation that he did speak personally to Theresa May to talk about this case, but Theresa May did nothing."

"So isn`t it interesting that this man, who through this interaction with John Wedger alone, would be fully in the picture in relation to serious child abuse around the conservative party and other politicians in London; but what action does the man take? Apparently nothing."

"So he`s now running the tory party. "

===============

"Theresa May is very big into children, charities, voluntary groups. There she is hugging the teddy bear and this is the lady we can trust. But of course in reality this is the lady who, not only did nothing with the evidence of John Wedger, she`s done more than her fair share to make sure that Melanie Shaw, the Nottingham child abuse whistleblower, remains in prison. Melanie has now spent well over eighteen months in prison, mostly in solitary confinement, 23 and a half hours a day."

`Former Home Secretary now Prime Minister Theresa May [is] happy to see child abuse whistleblower Melanie Shaw incarcerated in prison, locked up 23 hours per day for over 18 months, denied medical treatment and serving time with no known charge, sentence or release date ...`

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrZ4lf8Qttg

Spontaneous events in Iran ?

Meat industry considers health risks of processed meats

"What was the meat industry’s response to leading cancer charities’ recommendation to stop eating processed meat, like bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunchmeat? The industry acknowledges that the most recent international cancer prevention guidelines now urge people to avoid processed meat."


"`It is evident that…such a statement represents ‘a clear and present danger’ for the meat industry,` reads one response in the journal Meat Science.  Processed meat, it continues, is `a social necessity.` (How could anyone live without bologna?) The challenge for the meat industry, the response outlines, is to find a way to maintain the consumption of these convenience products while somehow not damaging public health."

"We’re still not sure what in processed meat is so carcinogenic, but the most probable educated guess for explaining the damaging effect of processed meats involves heme iron, along with nitrosamine and free radical formation, ultimately resulting in carcinogenic DNA damage. To reduce the nitrosamines, they could remove the nitrites, something the industry has been considering for decades because of the long-known toxic effects they cause. The industry adds them to keep the meat pink. There are, evidently, other coloring additives available. Nevertheless, it’s going to be hard to get industry to change `in view of the positive effects` of these substances as preservatives and in achieving a `desirable flavour and red colour developing ingredients.` No one wants green eggs and ham..."

"According to the World Health Organization’s IARC, processed meat is now a Group 1 carcinogen—the highest designation. How is it that schools still feed it to our children?"

In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/meat-industry-reacts-to-new-cancer-guidelines-calling-processed-meat-carcinogenic.html?utm_content=buffer0ee32

Remembering Aaron Swartz

"Guerilla Open Access Manifesto"

"Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world`s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitised and locked up by a handful of private corporations..."

"Those with access to these resources - students, librarians, scientists - you have been given a privilege. You get to feed at this banquet of knowledge while the rest of the world is locked out. But you need not - indeed, morally, you cannot - keep this privilege for yourselves. You have a duty to share it with the world... "

"Meanwhile, those who have been locked out are not standing idly by: You have been sneaking through holes and climbing over fences, liberating the information locked up by the publishers and sharing them with your friends."

"But all of this action goes on in the dark, hidden underground: it`s called stealing or piracy, as if sharing a wealth of knowledge were the moral equivalent of plundering a ship and murdering its crew. But sharing isn`t immoral - it`s a moral imperative. Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy."

"Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it - their shareholders would revolt at anything less. And the politicians they have bought off back them, passing laws giving them the exclusive power to decide who can make copies..."

Aaron Swartz

Tim Berners-Lee

Interview with MET whistleblower

McDonald`s destroys health says Putin

"Russian president Vladimir Putin's fight against unhealthy GMO food has stepped up a gear as he moves to designate US fast-food chain McDonald's, as 'foreign agents' who destroys peoples health. Following the new legislation, Putin will also be able to use the same classification for international mainstream media news outlets like CNN and CNBC. Boris Chernyshov, a 26-year-old Moscow lawmaker in the federal Russian Assembly, said that US fast food advertisements are `highly manipulative` and are not transparent about the long-term effects on peoples health. "

"The State Duma deputy also claimed that the decline of traditional Russian cuisine was the result of widespread McDonald's chains throughout the country. `The food sold by American fast food restaurants, according to some studies, negatively affects the body and human health,` Chernyshov explained. `In advertising, a positive image of consumption of these products is presented.`

"Russia recently became the worlds leading exporter of organic foods as Europe opts to publicly support GMO."

Read more at: http://www.neonnettle.com/news/3491-putin-to-list-mcdonald-s-as-foreign-agent-that-destroys-people-s-health
© Neon Nettle

Parents encouraged to groom kids

By Ellen Scott for Metro.co.uk, Lifestyle editor Saturday 30 Dec 2017 3:11 pm

"One day, probably sooner than you think, your little angels will become curious about sex. When this day comes, they may explore their sexual urges by rubbing their genitals against teddy bears, bits of fruit, furniture, hairbrushes, or whatever other things they can find around the house. Masturbating is great. Being curious about what feels good is brilliant, and normal, and natural. But as a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure your children’s entirely normal exploration of their sexuality is safe, healthy, enjoyable, and in their own hands."

"You can do that by buying your children their own sex toys. Don’t panic. I’m not talking about getting your son a Fisher Price version of a sex doll or presenting your daughter with an eight inch strap-on on her eighth birthday. I’m talking about a starting point, a way to introduce your offspring the concept of self-pleasure. That could be a masturbation sleeve or a little vibrating bullet when your child starts expressing an interest in sex – something that isn’t scary or intimidating, but is capable of giving them a great sexual experience on their own, without anyone else’s involvement."

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/12/30/buy-kids-sex-toys-7192214/?ito=cbshare