Grosvenor Avenue

Address: 114 Grosvenor Avenue, Islington N5 2NY

Open: 1971 -2002

Number of ISN survivors that lived at Grosvenor Avenue children’s home: 25: 17 men and 8 women

1970s: 7 boys 4 girls

1980s: 10 boys 4 girls

Numbers of children named by ISN survivors as living at Grosvenor Avenue children’s home: 92 : 53 boys and 39 girls

1970s: 34 boys 19 girls

1980s: 19 boys 20 girls

In 1983 a file entry stated that the home was for 11 years and younger for those interested in being fostered. No longer a long stay home (Islington Survivor file).

Residential staff named by ISN survivors as working at Gisburne House children’s home: 67: 35 men and 32 women

In 1992 savings were being made by Colgrain, 29 Highbury New Park and Grosvenor having 27 places as Grosvenor was no longer having 3 bedded units.

Life at Grosvenor Avenue children’s home This information will be added soon

Grosvenor Avenue children’s home was inspected in 1992

The Senior LBI Manager who conducted the Inspection wrote a damning report and was subsequently then demoted. See Evening Standard article 11.3.93 below. ISN have unfortunately to this day never seen a copy of this report.

LBI conducted an inspection of Grosvenor Avenue in 1992

Child home inspector is demoted (11.03.93)

Evening Standard, 11th March 1993

by Eileen Fairweather

MIKE BETTS, the Islington children’s home inspector whose damning reports on the borough’s homes were suppressed by management, has been demoted.

Two weeks ago the Evening Standard revealed that senior officials denied the existence of his horrifying reports to councillors and the independent inquiry ordered by Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley, following our expose in October of the borough’s child care.

Our three-month investigation uncovered management indifference to suspected pimps and paedophiles sleeping with children at the homes and sexual abuse by staff. The inquiry’s interim report, published last month, upheld the paper’s major allegations.

In a Press release today the social workers’ union, Nalgo, confirmed a cover-up of Mr Betts’s reports.

Nalgo says that Mr Betts, who was removed from his post without explanation last month, has been victimised. His reports, it said, ‘were suppressed because they supported serious allegations made in the London Evening Standard’.

The Standard discovered the concealment of Mr Betts’s reports a few days before the inquiry published its findings last month.

We informed the inquiry team who interviewed Mr Betts, obtained his reports and in their own report noted their ‘concern’ that they had not been made available to them.

Martin Higgins says that reports did exist, but were not submitted to councillors because they were ‘incomplete’ as Mr Betts had joined a strike by social workers.

When it ended in February, Mr Betts, who has 20 years’ experience as a social worker and manager, was told to clear his desk and has been demoted to an assistant neighbourhood officer.

Mr McDonald, 28, was previously vice chairman of social services in neighbouring Camden. The council said that if Mr Betts was unhappy with his treatment ”there are appeal procedures’.

Nicholas Rabet was the Deputy Manager of 114 Grosvenor Avenue children’s home and ‘dressed like a cowboy’. He had previously worked at Gisburne House. He owned a children’s activity centre in Sussex called The Stables. He was investigated by Sussex Police in 1992 and they asked for Islington Council’s assistance, but, despite the police’s best efforts, no prosecution followed. He moved to Thailand and was prosecuted there of abuse of 30 boys some as young as 6 years old, and he committed suicide in 2006 before any conviction took place. One residential social worker and whistleblower said that children were taken from Grosvenor Avenue to The Stables. Children from Grosvenor Avenue were also taken by Rabet to Jersey.