Safeguarding Answers

Child Q - Safeguarding Practice Review

In 2020, Child Q, a Black female child of secondary school age, was strip searched by female police officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The search, which involved the exposure of Child Q’s intimate body parts, took place on school premises, without an Appropriate Adult present and with the knowledge that Child Q was menstruating. Due to the level of her distress, Child Q’s mother took her to the family GP who made a referral for psychological support leading to contact with Hackney Children and Families Services (Hackney CFS).

The review report by City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership published in March 2022 makes dreadful reading. There are a number of shocking aspects to the case, not least that no-one from the police or the school spoke to a parent. 

Strip search of Child Q should never have happened

The review report is 'clear that the strip search of Child Q should never have happened and there was no reasonable justification for it.' The report found that the school was fully compliant with expected practice standards when responding to its concerns about Child Q smelling of cannabis and its subsequent search of Child Q’s coat, bag, scarf and shoes. 'This demonstrated good curiosity by involved staff and an alertness to potential indicators of risk.'

It was what happened next where the situation worsened. As far as the review team are aware there has never been another incident of a strip search taking place in a school in these London boroughs.

School staff 'deferred to the authority of the police'

The review found that the school staff 'deferred to the authority of the police on their arrival at school. They should have been more challenging to the police, seeking clarity about the actions they intended to take. All practitioners need to be mindful of their duties to uphold the best interests of children.'

In my career working with teenagers who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties, there have been occasions when I've asked for the police to come into school to support us. There is of course a tendency to defer to the police, they have police powers and I trust them to use them appropriately. However, I think the case of Child Q does ask us to reflect on that. One member of staff from the school concerned to the review, 'In hindsight I put my trust in the law; I know now that I need to understand the law better... For example, insisting on staying with a student at all times.'

Appropriate Adult

Another aspect that comes through for me, is the role of 'Appropriate Adult'. A role that I now realise I didn't fully understand. Appropriate Adults are there 'to safeguard the interests, rights, entitlements and welfare of children and vulnerable people who are suspected of a criminal offence, by ensuring that they are treated in a fair and just manner and are able to participate effectively.' Appropriate Adults are not merely passive observers, they are 'expected to be an active participant. In order to be effective, they need to be assertive and speak up.'

Racism

The review evaluated the actions of professionals involved on the day of the strip search in the context of Child Q’s ethnicity and whether she was treated differently because she is Black. The report concluded: 'the disproportionate decision to strip search Child Q is unlikely to have been disconnected from her ethnicity and her background as a child growing up on an estate in Hackney.' As complex as racism is, one significant feature here is 'adultification bias' - where children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities are perceived as being more ‘streetwise’, more ‘grown up’, less innocent and less vulnerable than other children. This particularly affects Black children, who might be viewed primarily as a threat rather than as a child who needs support’.

Webinar - Child Q

In order to understand what happened, I've looked carefully at the review and created a 40 min online seminar. I've drawn out the important issues, so that schools can ensure that, as far as we are able, a similar situation does not happen again. The seminar sets out some of the actions that schools should take to strengthen their responses when working with the police and understand what their role might be when facilitating further searches.

Content includes:

What happened to Child Q?
What are the different searches the police can undertake?
What is the role of the 'appropriate adult'?
What part did racism play in this case?
What actions should schools take as a response to this case?

Download the Learning Review

The review report can be found here: Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review – Child Q (City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership)