Council where Daniel Pelka was murdered is now criticised for failing to protect children from abuse

  • Daniel Pelka was murdered in 2012, after being tortured and starved
  • Mother Magdelena Luczak and stepfather Mariusz Krezolek found guilty
  • Both sentenced to minimum of 30 years in jail for murder
  • Coventry City Council has come under scrutiny ever since the murder
  • Now pledges to put £5.6 million into social services in the area

By Liz Hull

PUBLISHED: 18:04 EST, 21 March 2014 | UPDATED: 19:41 EST, 21 March 2014


Daniel Pelka, 4, son of Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek. He was murdered by his mother Magdelena Luczak and her partner Mariusz Krezolek

Daniel Pelka, 4, son of Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek. He was murdered by his mother Magdelena Luczak and her partner Mariusz Krezolek

The council heavily criticised over the death of murdered toddler Daniel Pelka is still ‘inadequate’ and failing to protect children, a damning new Ofsted inspection has revealed.

The four-year-old was tortured and starved by his mother, Magdelena Luczak, 27 and stepfather Mariusz Krezolek, 34, in March 2012.

Coventry City Council has come under heavy scrutiny ever since the murder, which shocked the nation after it emerged social workers, police and teachers had all failed to save him.

Despite resembling a ‘famine victim’ after a six-month campaign of abuse, Daniel was ignored by various agencies because of stressed staff, a lack of basic equipment and inaccurate records.

And yesterday an Ofsted report branded children’s services in the city to still be ‘inadequate overall’.        

Worryingly, inspectors revealed children were still ‘at risk from harm’ because social workers were too slow to react to potential problems.

Ofsted inspectors highlighted 15 key weaknesses in the way that authorities still fail to protect and look after children, following a three-week inspection carried out last month.

The council has now pledged an extra £5.6million to take on new social services staff and make the required improvements.

Council chiefs have also vowed to spend an extra £4million-a-year in the services starting in 2015.

A Coventry City Council spokesman said: ‘The report published today found that caseloads for social workers are too high.

‘Although social work teams have been increased, a dramatic increase in workloads - 46 per cent over the last two years - mean that caseloads remain too high.’

The damning report states that the local authority is too slow to respond to the needs of children in Coventry who need help – ‘which means they are left at risk of harm’.

Magdelena Luczak, the mother of Daniel Pelka, who along with his stepfather battered him to death after subjecting him to six months of systematic starvation and 'incomprehensible' cruelty
Mariusz Krezolek, the stepfather of Daniel Pelka

Magdelena Luczak, left, the mother of Daniel Pelka, who along with his stepfather, Mariusz Krezolek, right, battered him to death after subjecting him to six months of systematic starvation and 'incomprehensible' cruelty

Councillor George Duggins, cabinet member for children and young people, said: ‘The outcome of the Ofsted report is disappointing.

‘Unlike other authorities we are not going to challenge the outcome of the report as we want to get on with addressing the issues that Ofsted recognise.

 

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‘Let me make it absolutely clear so that there can be no doubt safeguarding of children remains an absolute priority and has cross party support,’ he added.

In September last year, a serious case review into Daniel’s death concluded he was ‘invisible’ at times to police, the NHS and care agencies.

Despite the new report, council staff stated that there has been a rise in the number of referrals since Daniel’s death.

The mother of murdered four year old Daniel Pelka, Magdelena Luczak and Daniel's stepfather Marius Krezolek pictured together in 2010

The mother of murdered four year old Daniel Pelka, Magdelena Luczak and Daniel's stepfather Marius Krezolek pictured together in 2010

In March 2013, social workers were working with 3,085 Coventry children while at the end of February they are working with 4,529.

Brian Walsh, the council’s director of children’s services, said: ‘You can clearly see an exponential rise in referrals which threw us off.

‘It was not about waiting for the judgment from Ofsted, it was saying, ‘We know where the problems are’.

‘I was fully expecting this result.’

Krezolek and Luczak force-fed Daniel salt, systematically starved him and locked him in a box room in the couple’s home in Coventry, where he slept on a urine-soaked mattress.

Daniel had also been held under cold water in a bath until he passed out as a punishment for asking for food.

He was left to die over an agonising 33-hour period while the pair tried to cover their tracks after he suffered a blow to the head.

When they finally called 999 Daniel was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead in March last year.

At the time of his death he weighed just 1.5st (10kg) - 15lbs (7kg) below average.

Both of them were jailed for a minimum of 30 years for his murder following a trial last year,

The Department for Education said it had been concerned about the arrangements for the protection of children in Coventry since the publication of the serious case review into Daniel’s death.

A spokesman said: ‘While we accept securing sustainable improvement takes time, today’s report shows that the pace of change in Coventry has simply not been good enough.

‘We will now consider what further actions are needed to ensure all vulnerable children in Coventry are sufficiently protected.’

Despite being branded “inadequate” the report highlighted positives including the new leadership of the service.

The report says the department is ‘driving actions forward to strengthen the service’ and that there is now ‘clear evidence of decisive action now being taken to address areas of concerns.’


Comments (43)

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What kind of mother who starves her own child? Shame on you, God will judge you. R.I.P. little angel.

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Like all other Councils, Coventry is having its budgets cut, and the wrong choices in cutting have been made. Socila Services is one of these. In Shropshire the council has cut Children's Service Budgets by £12 million, and reduced Social Woerker numbers.

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It's about time that having children was elevated to being a privilege and not an automatic right.

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There are over 10,00 children who have been taken into care recently., through false allegations from hospitals. Most parents will never see their children again. This is all due to over reaction by the media.and the uncountable Family Courts.

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how many more innocent children are the social services going to fail before they are made to do their jobs properly????????? and be held accountable for their incompetances

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Please everybody.....look out for your local kids....and keep a close eye on them. If you suspect child abuse....call the Police, NOT second rate, social services. Child abuse is a crime......just as for adults, call the Police. Little Daniel is a saint at the Feet of Christ now. Lord bless all the children.

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Im sorry i still dont get why someone like his teachers etc didnt know he was being abused and starved if a child has lost loads of weight and is going round nicking other kids food surly you would relise he was being neglected they should of done something poor boy

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It comes to something when there are so many of these cases that I can't remember most of them any more.

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12 year old Dennis O'Neill in 1945, 4 year old Daniel Pelka in 2012....70 Inquiries over 70 years in between the two cases....when will these 'lessons learned' be put into action?

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The sad thing is the real cases of abuse are going under the carpet whilst targeting falsely accused parents and whatever the latest psychiatric twaddle is going around to aid forced adoptions. How anybody let this child down is disgraceful when he was scraveging around dustbins at school. Shame on them. ALL OF THEM and nobody is ever held accountable in public authorities for their failings.

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