Northamptonshire agencies had 'delayed responses' before baby death

Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children Partnership found agencies did not know about the pregnancy until two weeks before birth

There were "insufficiently robust or delayed responses" to a family whose six-week-old baby died, a report found.

Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children Partnership found the boy had injuries "not inconsistent" with co-sleeping when he died in November 2021.

It said his mother concealed the pregnancy from social workers, but had they known it may not have prevented his death.

The agencies involved said they had learned lessons from the case.

A criminal investigation is ongoing, the Local Democracy Reporting Services said.

The report said the boy's mother had been a victim of domestic abuse, had interaction with the police and social workers and led a "chaotic lifestyle".

'Ineffective management oversight'

A urine sample taken from her after the baby's death showed evidence of drugs in her system and a hair strand test later showed substance misuse over a 14-month period.

The baby's 16-month-old sibling was found crying and alone in a car park near his home in October 2020, but it was not recorded as a crime of neglect, despite the mother telling police she had left the child alone, the report said.

Despite an extensive history over years with agencies, none knew that the baby's mother was pregnant with him before his half-siblings told people at their school. The baby was born two weeks later in October 2021.

The report found there had been "several examples of insufficiently robust or delayed responses and insufficient or ineffective management oversight" with his family in the months leading up to his birth.

'Risks of co-sleeping'

Social workers believed the mother had concealed her pregnancy, but there was "no evidence that anyone discussed or shared any hypotheses about why the pregnancy was concealed and the potential impact on [the baby] accordingly", the report said.

The review said social workers involved in the case already had "high" caseloads, but an Ofsted inspection last October found they had since reduced.

Julian Wooster, chair of Northamptonshire Children's Trust, said it had "already implemented the learning from this safeguarding practice review, and we are working closely with our partners to reduce the likelihood of these situations arising in the future".

Det Supt Joe Banfield, from Northamptonshire Police, said the force had "implemented a number of improvements to our safeguarding processes since this case first came to light".

Yvonne Higgins, chief nursing officer at Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said the review "highlighted a range of learning for practitioners", including "the need to share and record the reasons and risks of a person concealing their pregnancies".

She added the ICB would work with other agencies to "raise awareness of the risks of co-sleeping and encourage safer sleeping practices for babies".