The cases of children and teenagers killed or injured in stabbings, arrested for violent crimes or lost to suicide sparked a series of safeguarding investigations.

Newham Council had to launch a dozen “rapid reviews” after 12 children were involved in incidents of serious harm or death since October 2020.

According to documents for its Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission, nine children were involved in incidents of serious harm that took place outside the family, while three other children were involved in intra-familial sexual abuse.

The report added: “One teenager tragically died because of stab wounds and five teenagers were arrested for murder. Two other teenagers survived separate stabbing incidents.

“In one of these incidents, another teenager was arrested for attempted murder.”

A safeguarding review was also completed by the council in 2022 after a 17-year-old called “Pip” took her own life.

The report noted: “Pip found it difficult to attend CAMHS [Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services] appointments as these clashed with revision classes.

“When Pip sought help from her GP, her needs were not considered holistically and information from external agencies was not sought.”

Another death involving a teen who died from stab wounds in Newham resulted in the council performing “a whole system change” in its approach to safeguarding children from harm in the community.

In Pip’s case, the CAMHS now offers a more flexible appointments system which operates outside of school hours, while the Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership has adopted and publicised the Newham Suicide Prevention plan.

The council report added: “Time and effort has been invested in building relationships between the safeguarding partners to allow for greater levels of scrutiny, challenge and support.

“There is better awareness of the escalation policy and how to use this. These changes in culture demonstrate the partnership’s desire to be an outstanding one.”