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Following the conclusion of criminal proceedings at Preston Crown Court, the focus of the public inquiry shifts to the systemic gaps that failed to protect 13-month-old Preston Davey. A statutory Independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review, initially commissioned by Oldham Council and paused during the trial, has officially resumed to dissect why multiple official bodies failed to intervene despite clear warning indicators.
The 13-month-old met a tragic end in July 2023, just four months after being placed with prospective adoptive parents Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley at their Blackpool residence. Varley, a 37-year-old high school teacher, was handed a whole life order on Thursday after being convicted of murder and a catalogue of severe physical and sexual abuse offences. McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, received a 25-year sentence for child cruelty and for allowing the child’s death.
Red Flags In The Four-Month Placement
Information emerging post-trial indicates that the upcoming independent review will focus on the coordination—or lack thereof—between the local authorities, medical teams, and social workers assigned to monitor the placement. During the four months Preston was in the couple's care, he was reportedly seen by a "battery of professionals," including social workers from Adoption Now, health visitors, and medical staff.
The child was presented at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on three separate occasions with complex clinical presentations, including unexplained head bruising and a fractured arm. While hospital staff triggered initial safeguarding protocols and notified both social services and Lancashire Police on the first visit, the injuries were ultimately accepted as accidental.
A critical element under investigative scrutiny is an abandoned emergency call made from the property weeks before the child's death, which was subsequently dismissed when operators called back and were told it was an error. Furthermore, an independent reviewer visited the home weeks before the tragedy, noting the frequent hospital visits but recording no actionable visual concerns.
Family and Institutional Reactions
The biological family has voiced profound criticisms of the local authority's decision-making process. The grandmother, Debra Davey, stated to journalists that her daughter had communicated an explicit intuitive discomfort regarding the pairing from the outset. "Sarah knew right from the start. Not because it was two men, she just got a horrible feeling about it, a gut feeling," she noted, adding that these reservations were formally raised to social services to no avail.
The biological mother expressed her devastation in a victim impact statement read in court. "The day he was taken from me was one of the worst days of my life," she stated. "I tried to take some comfort in believing he would be safe, loved, and protected... that trust was completely and unforgivably broken."
The national implications have drawn formal attention from the Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel De Souza, who described the institutional handling of the case as a massive safeguarding failure. Concurrently, the Consortium for Voluntary Adoption Agencies issued a formal statement verifying that a briefing note has been distributed across all voluntary networks to reinforce vetting standards and ensure that outcomes from the independent review are institutionalised globally to prevent future oversight.
The publication Daily Dazzling Dawn will continue to follow the findings of the child safeguarding review as the documentation becomes public.
