A badly neglected "invisible" boy started school at seven still in nappies and couldn't drink from a cup, a damning report shows.
Education and social workers have been criticised after the boy began lessons two years late, with the report illustrating how the Covid lockdown helped his parents escape scrutiny over absences.
When the boy - known only as Child Y - began school at the age of seven, his personal development had been so badly affected that he was still wearing nappies, couldn't drink from a cup or use cutlery.
The distressing case has become the subject of a Serious Case Review with a published report making multiple recommendations, including a review of systems in place to identify and help children missing from education.
The report revealed how the young boy was due to start school in September 2018 but his parents didn't make an application for a school place - and no official had initially questioned them about it.
"Child Y’s parents did not complete an application form and this was not identified by the council or any other agency at the time," the report said.
"It was in June 2019, a year after they should have started school, that it was established that Child Y was living in Dudley, was not attending school and had no school place in the borough or in any other area, due to a housing issue.
"It became apparent that the parents had probably been avoiding professionals since Child Y was three years old."
Despite finally identifying the absences, it took the authorities a further 16 months to ensure the youngster started school in Dudley, West Midlands,.
And when he did, neglect was soon identified because of his poor personal development, BirminghamLive reports.
"The areas of delay included speech and language, mobility, wearing nappies and being unable to drink from a cup or use cutlery. There were also concerns about hygiene," the report added.
It went on to state that the Covid lockdown also had an adverse impact on the case.
Social workers had only been able to carry out 'doorstep' visits to the family, meaning they could not assess living conditions.
Dudley Borough Council had also temporarily dropped prosecutions of parents over prolonged school absences during the pandemic.
The report concluded that "good information sharing, open communication between professionals and embedded relationships between the professionals working with a child can make a positive difference, but it also exposes the vulnerabilities, particularly when a child and their family are effectively invisible to the services that safeguard children".
Recommendations included conducting a review of systems in place to identify children missing in education in the area.
The report added that school admissions teams in Dudley should "provide assurance about what processes are in place to ensure that all children living in Dudley who are due to start school are known about and receive timely support if an application has not been received".
Dr Paul Kingston, independent chair of the Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership, said: "As a partnership our role is to ensure robust measures are in place to protect the safety and wellbeing of our residents. This case in particular highlights some of the difficulties brought about by the pandemic for professionals trying to engage with families.
“The review of the case does identify missed opportunities but also highlights the swift action and persistence of some professionals to address concerns once they were raised. No child should experience neglect, every child deserves to have a happy and safe childhood and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
"We have taken action as a result of this case to improve the way we work and avoid similar cases in the future. This includes a review of procedures for children missing in education and creating better links between services to identify children who are due to start school.”
