There were at least 1,400 victims of appalling sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013 in and around my constituency of Rotherham. Each and every one of them was a child we failed to protect, with some as young as 11 raped, abducted, trafficked, beaten and intimidated.
As Professor Alexis Jay noted in her inquiry, ‘It is hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse the child victims suffered’.
The failures in Rotherham, which led to the most vulnerable children in our society being left exposed and without protection, were unforgivable. How abuse at this level could have continued for so long continues to astound me and others. But one thing is clear: such horrific abuse depended on a toxic combination of authorities turning a blind eye and professionals failing to communicate with each other.
As a matter of urgency, all parties must now look at a variety of options to make sure this can and will never happen again.
One suggestion made by the national children’s charity 4Children has, in my view, real promise. They have proposed transforming Sure Start children’s centres into ‘children and family hubs’. These hubs would deliver and coordinate the full range of children and families services in one place, thereby reducing the possibility of at risk children slipping through the net.
The hubs would work with children from 0-19, extending the remit of Sure Start centres beyond the under-fives. They would bring together health visitors, general practitioners and a new role – the social care family worker – who would manage less complex family cases, enabling social workers to focus on those children most in need.
Looking to a model which priorities multiagency working, breaking down silos and information sharing means we can revolutionise the way we reach and deal with children at risk of poor outcomes and abuse. This is about using an existing, trusted network of Sure Start centres to make the vision of an integrated hub in every disadvantaged community a reality.
4Children calculates that this can be done within existing expenditure, with a modest additional capital injection required to fund the social care family worker qualification. This would build a new workforce on the frontline with a focus on preventing families and children from falling into crisis.
Just as the introduction of Sure Start over a decade ago met the then challenges of social care, so the next Labour government can meet the challenges of today with children and family hubs, as part of our mission to ensure the scandalous abuse, which occurred in my constituency, can never go unnoticed again.
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Sarah Champion is member of parliament for Rotherham. She tweets @SarahChampionMP
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