Overview
- A newly published safeguarding review concludes the boy’s malnutrition, anaemia and scurvy were preventable and became potentially life‑threatening before hospital treatment.
- School staff filed 38 alerts over rapid weight loss and lunches of dry or mouldy bread and water, yet the child’s own reports were overshadowed by parental explanations.
- Two A&E attendances and a GP visit failed to identify wider neglect, and the boy was admitted only after the school nurse escalated concerns to a paediatric team.
- Despite a statutory care order placing responsibility with Oldham council, social services were moving to step down his plan as the mother’s long‑term drug misuse and family history signalled ongoing risk.
- The Oldham Safeguarding Children Partnership acknowledged missed opportunities, issued an apology and said changes have been implemented, and the boy remains under a full care order at home.