Oxfordshire County Council 'needs change' after girl's death report

A council "needs to change the system" to prevent any repeat of a girl who killed herself at a residential home, a councillor has said.

The 13-year-old from Oxfordshire was moved to the home in Wrexham before she took her own life in February 2013.

A serious case review in December found she was sexually abused by a relative but felt unbelieved by authorities.

In its budget earlier this month, Oxfordshire County Council committed £6m to build two new children's homes.

The serious case review by the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) was first commissioned in 2013 but investigations delayed publication until late last year.

Liz Brighouse, the council's deputy leader, said: "We need to change the system [so that it] keeps children close by us, close to the people who know them, people who love them, and that's the only way we can keep our children safe. These children are so vulnerable.

"We need to be building our own [homes] in this county so that these children never again need to go to Wales or elsewhere, that they're here."

Ian Corkin, the chairman of the council's people overview and scrutiny committee, said he had "lost a night's sleep" after reading the report when it was published.

Oxfordshire County Council's corporate director of children's services said it plans to "shift the dial".

That includes a plan to carry out 10,000 early help assessments on children around the county. Its previous target was 3,000.

Kevin Gordon said that should help provide the "right support in universal settings" so children's needs are met "better and earlier".

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