A two-year-old girl drowned in an east London garden after a council failed to find foster care for her while her mother was in hospital with her seriously ill baby brother.
Mazeedat Adeoye drowned after falling headfirst into a bin while she was playing alone on January 29, 2022.
A coroner has now blasted Newham Council, accusing the authority and those caring for Mazeedat on the day she died of “gross failure”.
Mazeedat’s mother Balikis Adeoye had “consistently” asked Newham Council’s social services to find her daughter a foster placement, while she stayed in hospital with her three-month-old son as he underwent life-saving surgery for a hole in his heart.
Medics had also requested help from the council, but no foster care was arranged.
Ms Adeoye - a single mother from Nigeria who had only lived in the UK for 10 months - had no local relatives or support network while Covid restrictions meant two-year-old Mazeedat was not allowed to stay with her in hospital.
The mother says she was instead forced to leave her daughter - who she describes as “the most beautiful and happy little girl” - with people she “didn’t know or trust well enough”.
On the day she and her baby son were due to return home from hospital, Mazeedat went missing from the house in Dagenham where she was staying.
Police were called, and following a search the two-year-old was found in a plastic bin in the back garden.
She had fallen into it headfirst, and drowned in around nine centimetres of water that had collected inside.
Following an inquest at East London Coroner’s Court, coroner Graeme Irvine concluded Mazeedat had drowned while playing alone and “inadequately supervised” in the garden.
He said Ms Adeoye had allowed an acquiantance to care for her daughter “as a matter of last resort”.
“Despite significant efforts, Mazeedat's mother had been unable to secure state assistance for childcare,” said Mr Irvine. “Mazeedat's mother was a single parent without family or friends to rely upon for support.
“Local authority child services failed to support Mazeedat's family and put in place appropriate support for Mazeedat's care at this time.
“The combined failures of the local authority and those caring for Mazeedat on 29th January 2022 taken cumulatively, constitute a gross failure.
“Those aggregated failures, on the balance of probability more than minimally contributed to Mazeedat's death.
“There was a missed opportunity to provide effective care in the form of an offer of a temporary fostering placement which would have probably resulted in the avoidance of Mazeedat's death.”
Ms Adeoye and Mazeedat moved from Nigeria to join her partner in the UK in March 2021, searching for “a better life”.
But after Ms Adeoye and her partner separated, she had no means to return to Nigeria and overstayed her visa.
As an “overstayer” Ms Adeoye had no recourse to public funds (NRTPF), meaning she could not claim financial help, though Newham Council still had a duty to support her struggling family.
In September 2021 Ms Adeoye was referred to Newham Council’s children’s services by medics who were concerned there would be nobody to look after Mazeedat when Ms Adeoye gave birth to her second child.
But the council reportedly failed to arrange a placement for Mazeedat while Ms Adeoye gave birth, and hospital staff instead had to look after the two-year-old.
Ms Adeoye’s baby son was later diagnosed with a hole in the heart.
The mother asked Newham Council’s social services to find a foster placement for Mazeedat so she could stay with her son in hospital as he underwent major surgery.
But social workers did not arrange a placement and reportedly advised Ms Adeoye to find support from the community or friends.
During Mazeedat’s inquest, coroner Mr Irvine found a “culture of hostility” towards families existed in Newham Council’s NRTPF team. Management had allowed a “culture of impunity” where staff felt capable of “bullying” clients and Ms Adeoye was treated in a “dehumanising” way, he said.
Ms Adeoye, whose son is British, has since been granted leave to remain. But she and her lawyers are calling for local authorities to ensure that the needs of vulnerable children with no recourse to public funds are met.
The grief-stricken mother said: “At the time she died, Mazeedat was staying with people I didn’t know or trust well enough. However, I felt that I had no choice but to leave her in their care.
“Faced with the alternative of leaving my other child, a three-month-old baby alone in hospital to recover from heart surgery, this was no choice at all. I consistently asked for help from social services, but none was arranged.
“I struggle to find the words to describe the heartbreak I feel over Mazeedat’s death. She was the most beautiful and happy little girl who brought sunshine to my life.
“Before her birth, I only knew how to love myself. When she was born Mazeedat was the best thing that had happened in my life. We came to the UK for a better life but that never happened. Our family will never be the same again without Mazeedat.
“I just hope that by speaking out other families facing the same situation don’t have to experience the same pain I will always live with.”
Juliet Spender, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Ms Adeoye, described Mazeedat’s death as “a truly tragic case” which “shines a worrying light on how families can be left struggling to access social care”.
“At the time of Mazeedat’s death the family were subject to the no recourse to public funds policy and facing destitution,” she said.
“There were several opportunities to ensure an appropriate foster placement was put in place for Mazeedat while her mum gave birth and while she went through the ordeal of her then three-month-old baby undergoing life-saving heart surgery.
“Sadly, we believe, these opportunities were missed with devastating consequences.
“Balikis remains deeply upset and aggrieved that during evidence, representatives of Newham Council, maintained that it was her choice to leave Mazeedat in someone else’s care, rather than have her in a temporary foster placement.
“The family had not long been in the UK and had no relatives or close friends who could care for Mazeedat. With no ability to work or recourse to public funds, suitable alternative childcare was well beyond their reach. The family firmly believe that they were dependent on the local authority to work with them to find a solution.
“Local authorities have legal duties under The Children Act to safeguard and promote the welfare of children regardless of their immigration status.
“Charities and research organisations have consistently raised concerns that councils can adopt hostile gatekeeping tactics that prevent children in families with no recourse to public funds from accessing the support they are entitled to.”
She praised Ms Adeoye’s “incredible courage” in giving evidence, adding: “It’s now vital that lessons are learned from this tragedy to protect children in the future.”
A Newham Council spokesperson said: “We were devastated by Mazeedat’s tragic death. Our thoughts remain with her family and loved ones.
“After the terrible accident which led to her death in January 2022 we undertook an investigation into our role and since that time our social work practice and approach has been overhauled – a change, which has since been recognised by Ofsted who now rate our services as ‘Good’.
“We will very carefully consider the inquest findings, and will comply with the request from the coroner to provide further information within the next 56 days.”
