SOCIAL services bosses have apologised after a major report on events leading to the murder of Didcot teenager Jayden Parkinson uncovered serious failings by staff.

A serious case review published yesterday found social workers at Oxfordshire County Council, the police and the health service repeatedly failed to recognise the violent risk posed to the 17-year-old by her abusive boyfriend Ben Blakeley, who murdered her in December 2013.

This was despite them holding “a range of information” pointing to his “history of violence and highly controlling behaviour” towards three previous girlfriends.

The review, published by Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board, also said Jayden had been seen as “a difficult teenager”, instead of a vulnerable child who needed protection.

However the head of Oxfordshire’s children’s services Jim Leivers said there was “little anyone could have done” differently to prevent Miss Parkinson’s death, because of the emotional hold Blakeley had over her.

The teenager’s family told the review they felt “completely let down” by the authorities.

Speaking yesterday Mr Leivers said: “We are deeply sorry better support was not provided when she needed it most.

“Many professionals including social workers, police and her school tried very hard to help her, but we recognise that towards the end of her life we could have done more to support her and our practice was not good enough.”

Mr Leivers told the Oxford Mail that there had been “good practice” by social services but the last social worker to deal with her, referred to as ‘SW5’ , “did not understand” the domestic abuse she was being subjected to and had wrongly focused on housing her with family members.

Mr Leivers said: “Looking back, she should have been seen as a vulnerable young woman who needed help and protection. That was not afforded to her.”

He said the social worker had since left the county council due to health problems but had been referred to the Health and Care Professions Council, the professional standards body for social workers.

He added: “While I would not seek to diminish the shortcomings in any way, in practice [Miss Parkinson] was a particularly challenging and difficult adolescent who did not wish to engage with the police or the local authority. She was besotted and entirely under the control of Ben Blakeley and there was little anyone could have done to break that bond ”

The serious case review concluded that whatever actions agencies had taken, there would have been no guarantee Jayden’s murder would have been prevented. But it said standards in social services had at times fallen below being acceptable and “there was a responsibility for this both with the individual social worker and the organisation more widely”.

Since Jayden’s death Mr Leivers said a new process for helping young people escape domestic abuse had been set up and the number of children placed in child protection plans had increased by 50 per cent.

Thames Valley Police was criticised in the report but an Independent Police Complaints Commission has already been completed.

Oxford Mail:

  • Jim Leivers, head of Oxfordshire’s children’s services

The review added, however, that there were still concerns about the force’s ability to respond to missing persons cases, because of ongoing spending cuts.

Independent chairwoman of the Oxfordshire Children Safeguarding Board Maggie Blyth, said: “This was a particularly tragic case, linked to the domestic abuse, but also underlying neglect, of a teenage girl and her eventual death at her abuser’s hands.

“Things have changed and improved now, but there were absolute failings by professionals in Jayden’s case.”

The review’s 65 recommendations have been accepted by both the police and social services.