It is now known that 37 reports for another child abuse victim were disregarded by the social services tasked with Preston Davey’s safety when he was murdered by his adoptive father a year prior.
According to a safeguarding evaluation, Abdur, a ten-year-old boy known to Oldham Council’s child services since birth, was hospitalised in February 2022 with scurvy and life-threatening malnutrition after his mother neglected him for several months.
According to the report, his teachers observed that he was “rapidly” losing weight, complaining of dental pain, and carrying “mouldy” bread in his lunchbox. After being discharged from the hospital, Abdur—not his real name—returned home to his drug-addicted mother because Oldham Council did not take action on the recommendations from his school. Since the family moved out of Oldham, Greater Manchester, the council is unable to keep an eye on him.
Before they were killed or gravely injured during 19 months between late 2021 and mid-2023, Abdur, Preston, and three other children were known to Oldham’s social services.
According to government statistics, the municipality had the highest rate of physical child abuse in the nation last year, with 146 instances per 10,000 children.
Two months before Abdur’s hospitalisation, in December 2021, five-year-old Dylan Scanlon’s mother, Claire, 40, killed him with a fatal dose of pharmaceuticals.
When Dylan was discovered crawling alone along the street at the age of one, social services became aware of him. A safeguarding evaluation also revealed that Oldham Council failed to respond to several referrals.
One of the most impoverished places in the nation, the town was embroiled in the grooming gang controversy in the early 2000s. A 2022–2023 council report states that the biggest percentage of children in Britain—38%—live in poverty.
MPs have demanded an investigation into the quality of social services in Oldham, where hospital admissions due to intentional and inadvertent child injuries surpassed the regional and national average last year, according to council data.
Jamie Varley, who had adopted Preston together with John McGowan-Fazakerley three months prior, killed him in July 2023.
Preston, whose mother was incarcerated when he was born, was subjected to severe physical and sexual abuse before his passing, according to testimony given during their trial. Social workers had several chances to step in.
Limited resources seem to be worsening the demand for children’s services in Oldham.
Government statistics show that the percentage of open social worker positions in Oldham increased from 1.8% in 2017 to 38.7% in 2024.
17.3% is the national average. Over the same time period, the staff turnover rate rose from 9.4% to 18.3%.
A councillor acknowledged that the excessive turnover among social workers was a major factor in the local authority’s “terrible” failure to take any action regarding Abdur’s care, despite multiple referrals.
The councillor stated, “The transience of social workers, from one local authority to another, not staying long, is a big problem.”
According to MP, social workers don’t step in because they are afraid of offending someone.
Due to his mother’s past drug usage, Abdur’s predicament was reported to social services at birth. Another local authority had permanently taken his older siblings away from her.
When Abdur’s health began to worsen in 2021, the council was monitoring him under an at-home care order, which allows a child to remain at home while the local government shares parental responsibilities.
Out of his teachers’ 38 referrals, just one was followed through on. After Abdur told his teachers that his mother had “stomped” on his leg, Oldham Council was notified, and a social worker visited the family. Nothing more was done after his mother refuted the story.
Additionally, it is alleged that Oldham Council ignored several indications that Preston was being abused before his murder.
Preston was taken to the hospital three times by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley due to physical injuries, including bruises and an elbow fracture. The couple was informed by their social worker that the medical staff “had absolutely no concerns” and that they “absolutely did the right thing.”
Preston’s biological grandmother, Debbie Davey, accused the authorities of overlooking the abuse because she was unable to care for him due to a breast cancer diagnosis. She has demanded that everyone who put him with the pair be fired.
“They were here apologising when it all happened. However, it’s insufficient,” Davey remarked. “Isn’t that their grandchild? My life has been devastated by it. They said that everything was completed correctly. They didn’t go far enough, in my opinion. I believe everything is completely incorrect.
In December 2021, Varley, 37, and McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, registered to become adoptive parents; their application was accepted in January 2023.
Preston was adopted by the couple two months later, and they renamed him Elijah. A week later, he had his first overnight stay. He was put under their full-time care in three days, and the council was given legal supervision for a further ten weeks.
Neighbours of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley in the small village of Staining, close to Blackpool, reported that the pair said the procedure had gone more quickly than they had anticipated.
One female neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “They were really looking forward [to it] because they were telling me about it and that it had come quicker than they thought, but that didn’t matter.” “They weren’t prepared for the adoption to happen so quickly.”
The woman thought the pair’s seeming respectability had deceived the authorities. McGowan-Fazakerley worked as a sales manager in finance, while Varley was a teacher.
“This is what I find happens a lot, [social workers] decide if they like someone or not and they base their judgements about suitability on that,” the Oldham council member stated.
The previous carer for Preston Davey “struggles to let other children leave.”
It has to do with class. He works as a teacher. I believe they assume that because he works in such a field, their judgment may be impacted. It goes the other way if they don’t like you.
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