Latest news with #ArthurLabinjoHughes
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
New SQA chief named months before exams body scrapped
The new head of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has been named as Nick Page, just months before the exams body is Scottish government passed legislation on Wednesday to abolish the SQA within months and replace it with a new body called Qualifications Page was chief executive of Solihull Council when the authority was criticised after six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was murdered by his step-mother in June 2020.A review in January 2023 found children faced "significant harm" due to delayed responses from the council's children's services, which it rated as "inadequate". Emma Tustin poisoned, starved and beat Arthur during the Covid lockdown. She was jailed along with Arthur's father Thomas Hughes, who was found guilty of Page resigned as chief executive of the council in the wake of the Ofsted report. He said that new leadership would bring about necessary improvements.A spokesperson for the SQA said: "Nick Page chose to step down from his last role after a critical inspection."It was a principled decision to allow fresh leadership to take improvements forward."The SQA board carried out full due diligence and was unanimous in its selection. Nick was also the unanimous choice of the SQA staff panel which interviewed all candidates." 'Transforming at pace' Mr Page's appointment comes after Fiona Robertson announced she was quitting as SQA chief executive in will begin work at the SQA on 7 July and will then lead Qualifications Scotland when it is established in former teacher said he was "honoured" to take over the role from John Booth, who held the post on an interim added: "SQA is already transforming at pace to build strong foundations for Qualifications Scotland, harnessing the deep knowledge, skills and commitment of our people."We will accelerate that work to deliver a future that improves outcomes and supports learning and teaching."We will also work across the education and skills community to ensure that assessment and awarding align with wider pathways for success."The SQA highlighted Mr Page's "track record of successful delivery, service transformation and improved outcomes across a 30-year career spanning teaching, children's services and local authority leadership".Chairwoman Shirley Rogers, who led the recruitment process for the new chief executive, said she was "absolutely delighted" with Mr Page's added: "His career spans many achievements and a proven ability to lead through both change and challenge."I am confident that, drawing on these experiences and a commitment to learning from them, Nick will drive the positive transformation that ensures Qualifications Scotland delivers for every learner, every educator, and every community."
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Council 'strides' five years on from death
The leader of Solihull Council says "significant strides" have been made in improving children's services in the five years since the murder of six-year-old Arthur Grinsell, Conservative, said the authority had made "considerable progress" in how it worked with other bodies such as police and health experts, and had improved leadership and support for staff, such as reducing workloads. That, she added, was improving response to children in need of authority came in for major criticism following Arthur's death, with shortcomings in its dealings with the schoolboy councillors welcomed Grinsell's comments but said more could still be done. Arthur was tortured by his father, Thomas Hughes, and Hughes's partner, Emma Tustin. He died of a head injury on 17 June 2020 at the couple's home. Tustin was found guilty of murder and in December 2021 jailed for a minimum term of 29 years. Hughes was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 21 years, although his sentence was later increased to 24 Ofsted inspection in 2022 deemed Solihull's children's services to be inadequate.A monitoring visit, which took place in April, found the authority had improved in areas such as managing safeguarding referrals and staff was the sixth and final assessment ahead of an expected full inspection later this year. "Our thoughts are with Arthur's family and friends on the anniversary [of his death]," said Grinsell."We have worked hard to improve our services for children and families since then and I am pleased we have made significant strides with this, as recognised by our most recent monitoring visit."We know we must not rest on our laurels and we will continue to make improvements so that children and families receive the support that they deserve." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Solihull Council's children's services show improvement
Children in Solihull are receiving better and more timely support from social workers, an Ofsted visit has Council's children's services came under scrutiny after the murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in 2020. An Ofsted inspection in 2022 deemed the service inadequate with widespread local authority has since improved in areas such as managing safeguarding referrals and staff workloads an Ofsted inspector said after the latest monitoring council has had six monitoring visits since its inadequate rating, with a visit last year concluding that services for young people who had been in care had also improved. Ofsted's letter to the council setting out its findings was published on Monday, following a visit that took place on 29 and 30 April. Rebecca Quested, one of the inspectors, said there had been considerable progress with managing referrals to the service's safeguarding hub since the 2022 also said new arrangements, such as specialised workers based at family hubs and a recently-launched helpline, were helping some families receive early leadership and lower workloads for social workers had boosted the service since 2022, so the response to children who need help and support was now timely and the council's support for young carers was one area that could still be improved, as assessments of such children often did not include information from other leaders had acknowledged a need for more co-ordination in this area and had a plan in place.A commissioner was appointed in 2022 to help the council step-mother was found guilty of murder and his father was found guilty of manslaughter in Council has been contacted for comment. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
We are in danger of going backwards on child protection
The roll call of vulnerable children who have lost their lives as a result of serious failures in child protection is a long and shameful one. It includes Sara Sharif, ten, murdered by her father and stepmother; six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, murdered by his father and father's partner; and toddler Star Hobson, who endured months of abuse at the hands of her mother and her mother's partner. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, being debated in the House of Lords, is an attempt to prevent such appalling cases from recurring. It contains some broad but welcome thinking about empowering those who work with children, including teachers, to break the cycle of late intervention, a repeated failing identified in child neglect cases. Welcome too is the pilot
