Broken: A traumatised girl. Her troubled brother. Their shocking secret.

‘I know, honey. You’ve said.’ The prospect of returning to school seemed to have cracked his facade. He had been fidgety all morning and extra fastidious, straightening every wonky item in his sight. ‘I’ll be here, don’t worry. You enjoy your day.’ He nodded soberly, ruffled the top of his sister’s hair and then picked his way through a crowd of children. Not a single one of them turned to greet or even acknowledge him as he passed. My heart squeezed at the sight. Children in care often struggle to make and maintain friendships, their ability to form relationships compromised by their early experiences.

The Early Years play area was separated from the main playground by a multi-coloured fence. Inside the confines I could see a sand pit, climbing frame and, at the far end, a race track with buggies and cars lined up neatly on the starting line. Part of the playground was shaded by enormous sheets of coloured canvas fixed to tall posts, designed to look like sails on a ship. It was a bright, welcoming space, but one that was failing to work its magic on Bobbi. At my side, she was clinging onto my hand so tightly that I could feel her fingernails digging into my palm.

A young woman with crinkly red hair tied into two long plaits appeared at the Early Years gate, ready to welcome the Reception children in. ‘Hello, nice to meet you, I’m Rosie,’ I said, doing my best to stay upright with Bobbi now clutching at my legs.

The teacher smiled uncertainly. ‘I’m Miss Granville,’ she said, giving Bobbi a wary, almost fearful look. Any help I was hoping for in coaxing Bobbi away from me wasn’t forthcoming, so I went into the classroom with her and gently disentangled myself there.

‘That’s so thoughtful of you,’ the receptionist said when I dropped in my contact information details. ‘I think we have these on file already though. The MASH team were in touch yesterday.’ A motherly-looking woman with a round face and greying hair, she lowered her tone and leaned closer to the glass partition she was sitting behind. ‘Those poor children. It breaks your heart, doesn’t it? I don’t know how you do it.’

Almost every serious case review triggered by the death or serious injury of a child previously identified as being at risk had highlighted a lack of information sharing as a major failing. Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) were considered the solution; a co-located arrangement of agencies – social services, police, health and education, with close links to probation, youth offending teams and mental health. It was thought that by bringing the agencies together, information sharing, intelligence gathering and networking would vastly improve. The results were noticeable. Now, if police are called to an incident of domestic violence and children are living in the house, their schools are notified before 9 a.m. the following day. Forewarned of the trauma the child may have experienced, teachers are now in a better position to understand distressed or difficult behaviour.

I thanked the receptionist and made to leave, but before I’d reached the door I heard a tapping sound. I turned to see a tall, bespectacled woman with dark hair at the glass. ‘Rosie, sorry,’ she called through a grille in the window. ‘I overheard you introducing yourself. I’m Clare Barnard, the SENCO. Have you got time for a quick word?’