Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes #2

[This.is.me]

They just seem so easy to fool. Turn up - parent says not today thank you - SW goes “Oh ok” and goes away.
I know a woman - A - who tried to adopt a child as a single person and had them so fooled that she actually ended up with a child placed with her. The only thing left to do was the formality of making it official. This woman is hideous - selfish, narcissistic, and a pathological liar. She told them everything they wanted to hear.
Luckily (which will sound odd but bear with me) the child had problems stemming from her earlier life so her behaviour was challenging. A had no intention of making any effort with the child and lasted a week before handing her back. Lucky for the child. Of course then the story she told everyone was “SS took the child away for no reason”.
The point is she fooled them. Easily.

Even easier to do this in lockdown. Parents could just say they had Covid or symptoms and in a lot of cases it would be ‘virtual visits’ via video calls not even seeing the child face to face, not that a face to face visit made any difference in poor Arthur’s case

 

[Ibrokethegoddamnwheel]

A clean house isn’t the be all and end all. I might be a bit lazy with keeping on top of the housework at times (not to the point where it’s a health hazard obviously) but when it comes to my kids, I give them 100% and will always make sure they feel loved and cared for above all else. I really hate the thought that I could be put in SS bad books just because my house isn’t spotless and is a bit cluttered whilst the likes of TH and ET are allowed to torture a child to death.

 

[EddyDarling]

Even easier to do this in lockdown. Parents could just say they had Covid or symptoms and in a lot of cases it would be ‘virtual visits’ via video calls not even seeing the child face to face, not that a face to face visit made any difference in poor Arthur’s case

I had my son's 2yr health check over phone and video call. It went well for us, but I'm not a complete shitstain of a parent, otherwise my son would have been absolutely fucked tbh. Kids suffering like Arthur had and continue to have absolutely no chance whatsoever.

A clean house isn’t the be all and end all. I might be a bit lazy with keeping on top of the housework at times (not to the point where it’s a health hazard obviously) but when it comes to my kids, I give them 100% and will always make sure they feel loved and cared for above all else. I really hate the thought that I could be put in SS bad books just because my house isn’t spotless and is a bit cluttered whilst the likes of TH and ET are allowed to torture a child to death.

Totally agree!
My gaff is only "immaculate" when my kids are away for sleepovers, my 2year old loves nothing more than undoing my days housework, but I absolutely adore my kids and they are spoilt rotten, to think I'd be judged more than that bleeping evil twit with tit hair is ridiculous. My home is messy (but clean!) because unlike little Arthur my kids are allowed to enjoy life and be children. A tidy house means sod all to me but it was the difference between Arthur escaping that hell and being left to die at the hands of those two

 

[BettyBeau]

Even easier to do this in lockdown. Parents could just say they had Covid or symptoms and in a lot of cases it would be ‘virtual visits’ via video calls not even seeing the child face to face, not that a face to face visit made any difference in poor Arthur’s case

SS have no argument they can’t say lack of resources or blame Covid cause they went out within 24 hours of reviving the call and visit the house in person they just didn’t do their job properly.
A immaculate house is a red flag when you have kids. The fact that TH wanted to meet in a car park was a red flag this is all basic safeguarding training yet these were supposedly experienced professionals.

I don’t want to hear any more lessons learnt as the lessons are NEVER learnt

 

[avabella]

SS have no argument they can’t say lack of resources or blame Covid cause they went out within 24 hours of reviving the call and visit the house in person they just didn’t do their job properly.
A immaculate house is a red flag when you have kids. The fact that TH wanted to meet in a car park was a red flag this is all basic safeguarding training yet these were supposedly experienced professionals.

I don’t want to hear any more lessons learnt as the lessons are NEVER learnt

Ummmmm... my house is spotless and I have 2 kids. No red flags here.

 

[EddyDarling]

SS have no argument they can’t say lack of resources or blame Covid cause they went out within 24 hours of reviving the call and visit the house in person they just didn’t do their job properly.
A immaculate house is a red flag when you have kids. The fact that TH wanted to meet in a car park was a red flag this is all basic safeguarding training yet these were supposedly experienced professionals.

I don’t want to hear any more lessons learnt as the lessons are NEVER learnt

I don't understand the immaculate house thing at all. Would find it so weird that there were 2+ little kids in the house all day yet nothing out of place

Ummmmm... my house is spotless and I have 2 kids. No red flags here.

I'd find it a bit odd that it was o

Ummmmm... my house is spotless and I have 2 kids. No red flags here.

What's your secret and how much do you charge per hour

 

[BettyBeau]

Ummmmm... my house is spotless and I have 2 kids. No red flags here.

It’s common knowledge that when midwives go out to do the first day checks it the house is spotless it could indicate a concern.
when they do the nursery checks they are also looking to see if you have toys out and a bed for your child to sleep in a home for a child not a medical sterile environment.I’m sure your kids are allowed to play with their Christmas presents and don’t have their faves teddy in the loft like poor Arthur did

 

[avabella]

I don't understand the immaculate house thing at all. Would find it so weird that there were 2+ little kids in the house all day yet nothing out of place


I'd find it a bit odd that it was o
What's your secret and how much do you charge per hour

They have a playroom they can go nuts in if they like. But in general we work to the rule that before getting something new out, you put the current thing away. It's always worked well for us. Toys all go away before dinner etc, bathroom gets tidied as they're getting out the bath. I don't think I'm that unusual.

It’s common knowledge that when midwives go out to do the first day checks it the house is spotless it could indicate a concern.
when they do the nursery checks they are also looking to see if you have toys out and a bed for your child to sleep in a home for a child not a medical sterile environment.I’m sure your kids are allowed to play with their Christmas prsents and don’t have their faves teddy in the lift like poor Arthur did

Oh well I've had two midwife visits, plus breastfeeding support ladies and not once have they ever looked alarmed at my tidy house :-/

Seems you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Maybe they should just disregard houses and not ignore bruises on children.

 

[Ibrokethegoddamnwheel]

Obviously there’s nothing wrong with having an immaculate house when you have children, we all have different standards and abilities. I just feel like there should be more to it than that (and maybe there is usually, I’ve never had dealings with SS myself).

A clean house doesn’t automatically mean everything is fine, an untidy house doesn’t automatically mean there’s something wrong. The fact that TH & ET were let off by ss because the house was tidy is shocking. Especially when Arthur had a massive bruise on his back that they somehow missed completely despite there being a picture taken of it the day before.

 

[BettyBeau]

They have a playroom they can go nuts in if they like. But in general we work to the rule that before getting something new out, you put the current thing away. It's always worked well for us. Toys all go away before dinner etc, bathroom gets tidied as they're getting out the bath. I don't think I'm that unusual.


Oh well I've had two midwife visits, plus breastfeeding support ladies and not once have they ever looked alarmed at my tidy house :-/

Seems you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Maybe they should just disregard houses and not ignore bruises on children.

Think your missing the point but this thread isn’t about your tidy house.

 

[EddyDarling]

They have a playroom they can go nuts in if they like. But in general we work to the rule that before getting something new out, you put the current thing away. It's always worked well for us. Toys all go away before dinner etc, bathroom gets tidied as they're getting out the bath. I don't think I'm that unusual.

Oh maybe I'm not disgusting then because that's like what I do here, we just live in a flat so I feel like our normal amount of 3 people stuff looks messy even when I've tidied.
Anyway I'll get back to slagging off ET and th Now

Think your missing the point but this thread isn’t about your tidy house.

Tbf that was my fault I'm always amazed when people say they have a tidy house so I had to ask

 

[SmudgeTheCat]

SS have no argument they can’t say lack of resources or blame Covid cause they went out within 24 hours of reviving the call and visit the house in person they just didn’t do their job properly.
A immaculate house is a red flag when you have kids. The fact that TH wanted to meet in a car park was a red flag this is all basic safeguarding training yet these were supposedly experienced professionals.

I don’t want to hear any more lessons learnt as the lessons are NEVER learnt

I think that’s silly that an immaculate house is a red flag. Nah, do you know what a red flag is? Family members telling you a child is being abused and showing you pictures of bruises etc.

 

[BettyBeau]

I think that’s silly that an immaculate house is a red flag. Nah, do you know what a red flag is? Family members telling you a child is being abused and showing you pictures of bruises etc.

SS saying that they closed the case cause the house was immaculate when they also gave TH and ET prior warning is a red flag or warning sign to me those houses they live in are tiny I’m pretty sure they are just two up two down so where were all the kids toys it was lockdown it’s not like the kids were out at school all day sorry but to me that is odd

 

[SmudgeTheCat]

SS saying that they closed the case cause the house was immaculate when they also gave TH and ET prior warning is a red flag or warning sign to me those houses they live in are tiny I’m pretty sure they are just two up two down so where were all the kids toys it was lockdown it’s not like the kids were out at school all day sorry but to be that is odd

When you say immaculate, do you mean clean or like just no toys on show etc

 

[BettyBeau]

When you say immaculate, do you mean clean or like just no toys on show etc

I mean a show house no sign of a child living there

 

[avabella]

Think your missing the point but this thread isn’t about your tidy house.

I'm not missing any point - *you* made a point that a tidy house is a 'red flag' when you have kids. I'd be hugely surprised if it said that anywhere in Social Services training manuals so I'll take your fact but kindly discard it, thank you.

 

[nichew]

As someone who follows a lot of murder trials (currently 24 with another due to start today) I would say reporting is very patchy at the moment.

I've got a few ongoing trials on my list, that I know are sitting every day, as I can see them on the court listings, yet there has been nothing reported. I was following a case that suddenly stopped and I have no idea why. It was reported on initially and then nothing, although that could be for legal reasons. Some you get great reporting every day live from court. Some you only get live reporting on day one (outlining the csse) and then intermittently when something interesting happens - for example a defendant giving evidence. Some you don't get to hear about until sentencing. Some not at all, although that is rare. But there's a case local to me (East London) with an Asian victim stabbed to death. Several defendants involved. I know it sat for weeks at The Old Bailey, I know they have all been sentenced, because I saw it on the court listings, yet absolutely nothing, not even in the local paper and yet it was a big splash at the time of the killing.

It is extremely frustrating to say the least.

Birmingham Live is usually pretty decent for updates, although I have a case on my list at the moment in the area, where there was live reporting on the first day then nothing (woman killed by her partner) I strongly suspect the live reporting is determined by clicks so, if they're getting a lot of traffic to the site, they'll continue reporting every day on the case. If not, they'll stop. The more appalling or salacious the case is, the more coverage it will get sadly. Without wishing to be accused of "race baiting", I think it's pretty much accepted that victims from ethnic minorities sometimes get less coverage. I also think it could be down to staff shortages with Covid - they can't afford to let someone sit in court every day as they need them in the office covering someone who is not there.

In the case you have mentioned, I quickly checked the court listings and can't see that it is sitting today

My best advice would be to keep checking the court listings and do a Google search every day of the victim's name. I trawl through my list around 5pm and then again before bed usually. I got a hit on a new trial that started yesterday last night just before I was about to go to sleep, which then led to a Facebook trawl for another half an hour with a plan to return to that today! It is like a full time job sometimes

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co...duckworth-lane-stabbing-murder-trial---day-2/ are you following this one? started yesterday

 

[SmudgeTheCat]

I mean a show house no sign of a child living there

No I agree, that would unsettle me…clearly they would have looked around their house? So if they did see no sign of children playing or children living there I would be concerned

 

[BattleAxing]

Everyone has different standards. Some people have outside support that help with that tit. However when I recently had my 2 year olds health visitor check I apologised for the mess (not filth, bits of that mornings cereal on the floor, toys everywhere) to be told "oh we actually get concerned about immaculate homes". But I doubt any of this was about social services seeing a clean home and bouncing on their merry way. They genuinely failed poor Arthur for the mere fact alone no one questioned him alone about the bruising. He told the school he was scared his father would kill him, there is no doubt in my mind with the right, trained professional questioning him alone, he could have opened up further and elaborated why he felt such a way. No child should ever feel their parent is going to kill them. He wasn't a teenager caught smoking a cigarette saying "oh tit my dad's gonna kill me". He was 6 years old, children can be quite literal at that age.

There is no excuse, no more "lessons to be learnt". It seems to be a get out clause. The system needs a complete refresh, these "managers" are paid far too much, for doing very little in comparison to the ground workers. Threaten them with cuts to their pay packets! They will soon get off their arses. Also too many very young, "text book style" social workers around who just tick the boxes and haven't got a clue about child psychology (some of the younger ones barely even know how to communicate with children) or even have much life experience (which I feel is VERY important).

 

[SmudgeTheCat]

I’d like to know why the video of that poor baby has been released for everyone to see, I think they should keep things like that private, it’s so distressing. I don’t know about anyone else but it’s living in my mind all the time. I actually feel so much guilt about not being able to save him and I didn’t even know him. It’s literally making me feel ill