The need for everyone to understand how child protection really works was brought home in 2007, when a private family problem (in North Tyneside, England) became very public. The predicament of Connor McCreaddie, eight years of age and weighing 14 stone, was reported in newspapers with headlines of ‘Fat boy may be put into care’ (Sunday Times, 25 February) and ‘Mother’s anger as obese boy, 8, faces care order’ (Guardian, 26 February). Muddled reporting implied that removing children from their family was a prominent choice for social workers. The Times (26 February) went further, with the headline, ‘Go on diet or be taken into care, 14-stone boy is told’: a message that being taken from your family is used as a threat to children. There was limited explanation of the signifi cant role of family support within safeguarding, even in the briefer follow-up reports. The child protection conference, in North Tyneside, had decided that the best route was to continue to support Connor’s mother and grandmother while he remained at home.
● Follow up this story on the internet, by typing Connor’s name into a search engine such as Google. What do you think people who are not professionally involved at all in safeguarding may take away from these media stories?
● Connor’s story became public property because his family decided to speak to their local newspaper, followed by GMTV, and to be fi lmed for the ITV programme Tonight with Trevor Mcdonald (broadcast on 26 February 2007). What do you think about this choice? What could be the impact on Connor himself, especially now that this child has a permanent presence on the internet, with images and YouTube videos?
