Dylan Scanlon: A little boy failed

Yahoo

3 days ago

Dylan Scanlon, dead at just five-years-old, was failed. Murdered by his mother, having been beaten and poisoned, the case shocked Greater Manchester.
The tragedy was recounted in painful detail as Claire Scanlon went on trial. Jurors were told Dylan was found unresponsive before neighbours and family members attempted in vain to resuscitate him on New Year's Eve 2021.
He had 60 bruises to his head, face and body and nine times the fatal dose of the anti-depressant mirtazapine, prescribed to his mother, in his system.
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Scanlon said her son fell down a set of stepladders at their home on Oldham's Limeside estate, and that he had been 'running around with the dog' 20 minutes earlier.
The 38-year-old was arrested and later detained under the Mental Health Act. She told staff at Edenfield Hospital: "I killed my son." Scanlon was later jailed for 18 years having been found guilty of Dylan's murder.
The trial laid bare the fractured relationship between Scanlon and her ex-partner. Dylan spent the final weeks of his life miserable, caught in the middle of a bitter parental rift.
The trial also revealed concerns about Dylan's care had been reported and that social services were involved. The jury was told that in September 2020, a concerned neighbour called the council - anonymously - reporting that he looked 'gaunt and grey', as though he was being 'starved'.
The following June, the same person called again saying the family's garden was 'overrun with rats' and full of rubbish. Another neighbour said she was worried as she hadn't seen Dylan playing outside 'all summer'.
He had been referred to a school for children with special educational needs, but his mother hadn't arranged an assessment and Dylan skipped the last two days of term.
He was last seen by his neighbours the day before he died. Dylan had been out with his mum to the corner shop. There were no signs he had been hurt.
The horrors of the investigation that unfolded raised uncomfortable questions about what, exactly, the authorities knew in the months leading to Dylan's death and what action was taken. Many of those questions remained unanswered by the time Scanlon was jailed.
Following the conclusion of court proceedings in July 2023, the Manchester Evening News asked Oldham council a series of questions in an attempt to piece together scattered details on the involvement of social services.
We asked for details on the nature of the concerns raised about Dylan the summer prior to his death; what action was taken immediately, and in the months that followed; what was known about the family by social services when Dylan was younger; and if a care plan was put in place - and if not, why.
The town hall said it had completed an initial review of the case prior to a full child safeguarding practice review. The council said it could not answer our questions, or comment on the case, prior to the publication of the review's findings.
That report has now been made public. In it, it is revealed:
Oldham's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) missed a series of opportunities to intervene effectively in Dylan's care
The response to welfare concerns about how Scanlon was caring for Dylan was 'inadequate' and 'ineffective'
There was a 'systemic sub-optimal approach to multi-agency working'
Scanlon used Dylan as a 'weapon to exact revenge' on her ex-partner
There was a lack of 'clarity' and between Greater Manchester Police and social services and that the two bodies failed to communicate properly, believing the other agency was responding to a referral
A log on Dylan's case was closed 'without a clear understanding of what actions were being taken by whom', with the response described as 'wholly inadequate'
Here, the Manchester Evening News breaks down the findings of the review...
Crawling in the street
The report says Scanlon did not want to be involved in the review process. Her ex-partner and Dylan's father, Gary Keenan, said that despite knowing Scanlon had a 'difficult personality type', he never could have predicted what happened.
Mr Keenan said communication was difficult and that Scanlon 'wanted to control him'. She would only allow him to maintain a relationship with his son if he stayed at the family home, the report adds.
During Dylan's early years, health services identified that he needed additional speech support. Following a hospital admission for a chest infection, he was also found to have an iron deficiency.
A dietician raised concerns about Dylan's presentation at follow-up appointments and his mum's willingness to follow medical advice. While his iron levels did stabilise, he was not later seen in person by healthcare professionals due to Covid-19.
The investigation found Dylan first became known to social services when he was seen crawling in the street by a social worker at 13 months.
Scanlon was 'defensive' about the incident, saying it was Dylan's 'fault'. She shut the front door on the social worker, who called police to conduct a welfare check.
A referral was made to Oldham's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). A 'child and family assessment' was carried out the following day.
"Although the assessment recommended [Dylan] be made subject to a period of child in need planning, there was no contact made with the health visitor for two months, with just one child in need meeting held after three months," the report reads.
"The recommendation was to step down to early help services."
The report describes the 'child and family assessment' as 'superficial' and says it 'did not achieve any real engagement'. It adds: "The period of child in need planning lacked any real purpose or ambition." Assessment and planning by agencies was 'passive and unremarkable', it is said.
The report describes 'extremely limited multi-agency engagement' and says 'no multi-agency gathering had taken place'.
"This period of time presented an early opportunity to achieve a better understanding of three issues that would become significant at a later date, firstly, [Scanlon's] emotional and sometimes angry presentation, secondly to have an insight into the relationship between [Scanlon] and [Gary] and how this impacted on their parenting and thirdly, how [Scanlon] responded and refused offers of professional support and the isolating impact for [Dylan]," the report adds.
'Playing alongside rats'
When Dylan turned four, in 2020, an anonymous referral was made to MASH. Neighbours reported piles of rubbish outside the home and said Dylan was 'playing alongside rats'.
A health visitor attended and concluded conditions were 'good enough', the report adds. The investigation found the judgement to take no further action was 'misplaced' and that neither parent had been informed of the referral.
In 2021, there was a second anonymous referral to social services, as well as Greater Manchester Police and Dylan's school. Concerns were raised about Dylan's appearance and how much time he was spending inside.
It was noted that Dylan looked 'very dirty and unkempt'; that the house was 'filthy'; and that Scanlon 'like[d] to smoke weed on a daily basis'. She often forgot to pick Dylan up from school, the report adds.
Following that second referral, GMP and children's social care failed to communicate properly, the report adds, believing the other agency would respond. That eventually led to the log being closed 'without a clear understanding of what actions were being taken by whom', it is said.
The review found there was an 'overall lack of clarity between GMP and children's social care'. It said it seemed 'incredible' there was such a significant misunderstanding considering staff involved in the case worked in the same building.
The response to that referral was described as 'wholly inadequate'. The report adds: "The social workers contributing to the review were extremely reflective and able to link the systems failure that resulted in a wholly inadequate response to the second anonymous referral but also felt a sense of frustration at the management direction and concern about the ability of the MASH to recover into a strong position."
The report adds: "It is notable that the previous two recorded referrals to the MASH did not result in any conversation with [Dylan's] parents, this would suggest that the approach to consent was not consistent, leaving an impression that this was at best confused and at worst used as a workload management screening, albeit this may have been unconsciously.
"Ultimately, the response from the MASH was not because of a confused interpretation of consent, but because of a lack of effective communication between police and children's social care that left both believing the other agency was responding."
The report adds that there is a 'tendency to attribute greater value to professional referrals' over anonymous reports, which officials 'must guard against'.
'Using Dylan as a weapon'
An initial report, prior to the full safeguarding review, found that four contacts were made regarding Dylan. Only one led to a referral and resulted in a child and family assessment.
"This raised significant concern about the operation of the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) and an internal investigation took place," the report reads.
Scanlon's messages to her ex Mr Keenan suggested she was 'using Dylan as a weapon to exact revenge' because he had commenced a new relationship, the report adds.
"These events are extremely complex and not generally identifiable or predictable," it continues. "What we do know however is that points of parental separation can exacerbate any aspect of family risk and vulnerability.
"Throughout the points of intervention for [Dylan], only one assessment took place. That assessment did not fully appraise the relationship between [Scanlon] and [Gary] but merely noted that [Gary] lived in the family home for half of the week.
"As the later points of opportunity to make contact with the family were not taken, there was no emerging recognition that [Scanlon] may have needed additional support, nor was [Scanlon] or [Gary] encouraged to see children's services to offer guidance and support in navigating a change in the family or their relationship that was starting to impact on [Dylan].
"This review points to the importance of working with both parents, and that a separated status should not mean that only one parent is engaged by statutory agencies."
An Ofsted report into Oldham's children's services in 2024 determined contacts and referrals into MASH were subsequently dealt with in timely manner and prioritised properly. The report says MASH, by then, was operating safely that 'significant progress had been made'.
It does, however, add that 'no opportunities [were] created to elicit the voice' of Dylan. The report concludes: "This review tells us that we sometimes have very limited opportunities to have a positive impact for a child. Therefore, every interaction must be seen as an opportunity."
The report recommends:
A review and refreshing of guidance when responding to anonymous referrals
The Oldham Safeguarding Children Board creates a 'challenge event' requiring partners to review and identify ways to improve parents' engagement
Ensuring professionals 'develop strong critical thinking skills as a foundation to supporting professional curiosity and robust judgement'
What Oldham council and GMP say
A spokesperson for Oldham council said: "What happened to Dylan was tragic, and our thoughts go out to the family and community who loved him. Every child death is a tragedy, and so whenever a case like this occurs, there is a lot of soul searching and reflection to see what could have been done differently.
"Oldham children's services and the safeguarding partnership are now in a much different place compared to 2021. Our processes for keeping children safe were reviewed at the time and have been improved. We have strengthened areas where Ofsted identified a need for improvement, and this progress has been recognised by them in our last inspection in May 2024.
"This of course is not making us complacent. Cases like Dylan's are a terrible reminder of why we commit to continually improving and challenging ourselves, and hold each other to the highest standards of care."
A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: "Dylan's death is a tragic case and his killer will rightly remain behind bars for many years to come. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones who have had to deal with losing him over four years ago.
"We recognise and regret the failures that have been highlighted in the review, particularly the issue regarding communication with partners. This has been addressed and effective partnership working remains a firm focus.
"Protecting children is our top priority in Greater Manchester and we work closely with all our local partners to keep children safe."