Council Failed to Visit Sara Sharif Before Her Death

Published: 13 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

A safeguarding review has found that council staff attempting to check on 10-year-old Sara Sharif the day before she was murdered went to the wrong address, missing critical warning signs of abuse.

Sara, who suffered two years of abuse, was found dead at her family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023. Her father, Urfan Sharif, 43, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were jailed for life for her murder.

The review, commissioned by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership, examined how organisations worked together in the months leading up to Sara’s death. It concluded that “the seriousness and significance of [Sharif] as a serial perpetrator of domestic abuse was overlooked” and that Sara’s father and stepmother “should never have been trusted with her care.”

School staff had raised concerns in March 2023 after noticing three bruises on Sara’s face, including one the size of a golf ball. Surrey Children’s Services classified the report as amber, meaning action should have been taken within 24 hours, but no further checks were made. Social workers failed to verify her injuries or consult the school, despite her father giving false explanations.

The review also highlighted that Sara’s decision to wear a hijab from the age of eight, unusual for a child her age, was never properly investigated. It later emerged she had used it to hide injuries.

After being removed from school for home schooling, Sara effectively disappeared from official oversight. When the home education team tried to visit on 7 August 2023, they went to her old address. The mistake was realised too late, and no follow-up visit occurred before her death the following day, by which time she had “unbelievably severe physical injuries,” the report said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described Sara’s death as “an appalling tragedy,” emphasising that the review “highlights the glaring failures and missed opportunities across all agencies” that contributed to her murder. Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said urgent change is needed, warning that “children are still dying” two years after Sara’s preventable death.

Surrey Police called the case “one of the most shocking and tragic” in their history. Assistant Chief Constable Tanya Jones said, “No child should ever have to suffer what Sara did at the hands of those who should have shown her only love.” The force pledged to implement the review’s recommendations in partnership with local services.

The report makes 15 recommendations aimed at improving communication, home-schooling oversight, and inter-agency coordination to prevent future tragedies.