Safeguarding measures deemed ‘insufficient’ in final weeks of Finley Boden’s life before his murder

The tragic death of Finley Boden, a 10-month-old baby who was murdered by his parents just weeks after being placed back into their care in 2020, has sparked a safeguarding review that concluded he “should have been one of the most protected children in the local authority area”. Despite social services raising concerns over the parents’ drug use and the condition of the family home, Finley was returned to their care and suffered 130 injuries before his death on Christmas Day. His parents were sentenced to life in prison with minimum terms of 27 and 29 years.

The report highlighted that safeguarding practices were inadequate and failed to protect Finley, even though most of the abuse he suffered in his final weeks was unknown to professionals working with the family at that time. The decision for Finley to live with his parents was deemed the most significant professional decision, and the review found that the safeguarding environment was weakened by preceding events. The sentencing judge described the parents as “persuasive and accomplished liars” who brutally assaulted their son.

Details of a Family Court order from October 2020 revealed that the court did not require the parents to be drug tested before being given custody of Finley, despite concerns raised by the council about their drug use. The review identified significant shortcomings in the plans for family reunification, stating that positive assessments of the parents’ capabilities fell short of evaluating the risks to which Finley would be exposed. Cafcass expressed profound regret for not being able to prevent Finley’s death, as everyone involved believed the parents were capable of caring for him safely.

Derbyshire County Council’s children’s services issued an apology for the missed opportunities in protecting Finley, acknowledging that there were lapses in practice. The council acted swiftly to review and strengthen its systems after Finley’s death and accepted the findings and recommendations of the safeguarding review. The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership also accepted the review’s recommendations and pledged to take additional action to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future.

The review made 11 recommendations, including conducting a multi-agency audit of recent parenting assessments, distinguishing between informal family arrangements and formal placements, working with public health commissioners on substance misuse services, and ensuring an effective local response to domestic abuse. The local authority is required to provide evidence of improved practice by the end of June in distinguishing between different types of arrangements since 2020. Overall, the tragic death of Finley Boden has highlighted the importance of robust safeguarding practices and collaboration among agencies to protect vulnerable children from harm.