A safeguarding review has found that council staff visited the wrong address the day before Sara Sharif was murdered, highlighting a series of failures by multiple agencies. The 10-year-old was killed by her father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool in August 2023 after years of escalating abuse.
The review, commissioned after Sara's death, revealed that on 7 August 2023, Surrey County Council's home education team attempted a home visit but went to the family's old address. The error was spotted upon return to the office, but a rescheduled visit was not due until September.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the report highlighted 'glaring failures and missed opportunities' across agencies. The review found that services failed to identify Sara was at risk, did not question unexplained bruising, and overlooked the father's history of domestic abuse.
Sara was placed on a child protection plan at birth in 2013 due to concerns about her parents. She returned to her father's care after a family court ruling in 2019, and was withdrawn from school in 2023, after which she 'disappeared from view' until her body was found on 9 August.
The review criticised legislation that did not require formal discussion about homeschooling despite prior social services contact. It also noted an over-reliance on Sara's views without considering the difficulty children face in disclosing abuse.
Sharif and Batool were jailed for life, with minimum terms of 40 and 33 years respectively. Sara's uncle Faisal Malik was sentenced to 16 years for causing or allowing the death of a child.
