Statement on media report about Kyle Birchall
A BBC South East Today news bulletin reported on a serious case review which was carried out following the death of a young person, Kyle Birchall, in 2014. The review's findings were released last summer. The BBC today (14 March 2017) ran an interview with a member of the family followed by a brief comment from the council's Director for families, children and learning.
Here's more information about the situation.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Executive Director for families, children and learning, Pinaki Ghoshal, said:
"This is an extremely tragic situation and we continue to extend our condolences to the carers and family of the young person involved.
"The death of any young person is a serious matter and in this case, following the death in late 2014, the circumstances were investigated fully. Last year when the findings of the serious case review were released we accepted the outcome and all the recommendations.
"There were no findings that suggested any agency’s actions could have predicted or prevented the death of the young person.
"However we’ve reviewed and improved the way we run some of our children’s services, particularly with regard to record keeping and data management, care planning, team structure and communication with carers.
"Social work is an incredibly complex area, with difficult judgements often having to be made instantly under extreme pressure.
"We take our responsibilities very seriously and will always look at ways to improve our services to help keep children and young people safe.
"If anyone has any concerns about a child or young person, our team is here to help. Please contact our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 01273 290400 for help and advice.”
Additional information: