By the end of 2008, and within the six weeks of the story of ‘Baby P’ being launched within the media, the story line was already well established, with The Sun prominent, although not on its own, in its shaping and telling. The focus was almost exclusively on Sharon Shoesmith, by now already the former Director of Children’s Services in Haringey Council, and on a complete organisational line of Haringey Council’s children’s services managers and social workers. The attention given to the adults convicted of ‘causing or allowing’ Peter’s death had moved from the centre stage of the media’s attention. Their media moment would come again in summer 2009. In the meantime, at the end of 2008, they were each in prison awaiting sentence, an event not to take place until six months later.

But for Sharon Shoesmith, the social workers and their managers, the media attention was relentless, with the paediatrician from St Ann’s Clinic also receiving media attention, albeit to a lesser extent when she moved away from London.

In Haringey Council the Leader and Councillor who led on children’s services resigned from their roles, Haringey Council was required by Mr Balls to appoint a new director of children’s services, and three reviews and inspections were under way. One by Ofsted was focused on children’s services in Haringey, one was the re-running of the serious case review by Haringey’s LSCB with a new chair of the board and a new report author, and the third was a national review by Lord Laming of the state of child protection across England. Further reviews were to be initiated in 2009 and 2010 (the review of social work by the Social Work Reform Board and the Munro review of child protection and social work). All were undertaken within the context of the continuing media attention to the ‘Baby P story’ and how it had been shaped and how it would be reinforced.

But what was not being given attention within how the ‘Baby P story’ was being told? First, little attention was given to the police or the NHS, when both services had significant roles and responsibilities in protecting Peter Connelly. In relation to both services there were already known to be concerns about how these services had performed in working with Peter and his family. More will become known later about these serious concerns.