It is not known if he was stamped on, punched or kicked.

When he died on March 16 last year, the toddler had 40 injuries, including old fractures on his ribs, cuts and bruises to his back and further bruising to the back of his head. His injuries were such that he bled to death internally.

His mother Heather Boyd, 23, was a heroin user and worked as a prostitute to raise money not only for her own habit, but also to furnish the addiction of her partner Robert Cunningham, 23 -- the man found guilty of Brandon’s culpable homicide earlier this year.

While the cruel story of Brandon’s short life seems exceptional, it shares striking and disturbing similarities with many of the children under two years old covered by a new report from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA).

Last year, almost one in 20 of all Scottish children under two years old were referred to SCRA because of serious concerns about their welfare.

Most tellingly, more than 900 were placed on Supervision Requirements and emergency measures for their own protection.

The fact that such children are being referred and that services are aware of them is positive. The report makes clear that professionals from health and social work are involved with many of the families involved. But the fact that the numbers are so high casts a dark shadow across hopes for the next generation.

The Scottish Government’s Getting it Right for Every Child report can not be working very well if growing numbers of the youngest and most vulnerable children are living in such dire circumstances.

Last year some 269 children under two were subjects of Child Protection Orders -- a 25% increase since 2005/06. Many such orders are made at birth or on the child’s first day in the world. Some 441 children under two were subjects of Place of Safety Warrants -- a 17% increase since 2005/06.

The report states: “These data demonstrate the vulnerability of young children, and that there are growing numbers of children at such high risk that emergency measures are needed to protect them.”

The fact that 30% of the children had at least one parent who was known to the Reporter as a child, and that six of the parents had been on Supervision Requirements at some point in their childhoods, points to a wholly depressing cycle of poor parenting.

From January 2003 to June 2009, 144 children and young people who had been referred to the Reporter died, according to the report.

Some 40% of them were under two years old and common factors were parental substance misuse and poor housing or homelessness.

Tam Baillie, Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner, said: “I think it is a valuable piece of research because it adds so much to our understanding of what is happening. On the one hand the rise in children coming to the attention of the Reporter so young is very concerning and it could be taken as a measure of increased risk for them.

“On the other hand it is very helpful that these children are being identified at such an early stage, meaning that we can put interventions in place.

“It is a very clear indication that we need to re-double our efforts to help the youngest and most vulnerable children.”

Poor accommodation and homelessness are factors in the lives of many of the young children covered by the report.

In the week before Brandon’s death, there was no electricity supply in his home in Dundee.

He slept on a bare mattress and had few toys.

What this report and the case of Brandon Muir emphasise in the starkest terms is the need to do more to help the youngest and most vulnerable in society.

 

‘We must listen and respond to the needs of every child’

COMMENT: Netta Maciver

 

Forty years ago, when the Hearings System was established, most children were referred because they had committed an offence. It was acknowledged that they had difficult family backgrounds, and that the emphasis was to be on the support offered to the family.

Today, most children are referred because of care and protection needs. Of particular concern are the number of children under two referred, and the number subject to child protection orders.

They are the most vulnerable of our children. They are dependent on the adults in their lives and are not able

to tell us in words what their lives are like, although their behaviours might.

We wanted to know more about their lives. The research findings may not surprise you -- they identify the presence of drug or alcohol problems, mental ill-health, and histories of offending.

They show most of the parents had difficult childhoods themselves, including being known to us as children. Their experience of being poorly parented has contributed to their children being referred to us.

Such research can depress us, but there are some positives. Many parents are trying -- we saw that they were making and keeping medical appointments for the children. There were positive attachments between child and mother, and grand­parents were part of their support network.

We saw that agencies involved in their care were identifying them early -- many even pre-birth -- and that services to support them had been put in place.

Ongoing concerns about parental substance use and violence, however, mean that there continues to be concern for the children’s safety.

A critical part for the system is to make sure that what is offered to parents impacts fast enough for the youngest and most vulnerable children to benefit. At all costs we must listen and respond to the child’s needs, recognising that they do not yet have a voice.

 

Netta Maciver is SCRA’s principal reporter/chief executive