By Children’s services remains under council control following damning Ofsted report
A government-appointed commissioner has recommended that Children’s Services at North East Lincolnshire Council remain under Local Authority control.
Department of Education commissioner Peter Dwyer CBE carried out a three-month review of Children’s Services following an Ofsted report which found the service ‘inadequate’ in all areas.
His course of action to keep the service under council control has been approved by the Government. As a result, a formal options appraisal is underway to determine the most appropriate Local Authority.
In the short term, some assistance in certain areas is already being provided by North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire County Councils – both with overall outstanding Children’s Services Ofsted ratings.
Mr Dwyer made a thorough appraisal of the North East Lincolnshire Council Service after spending a large amount of time in the borough between January and March this year.
In his in-depth report, which was submitted to the DfE, Mr Dwyer acknowledged the efforts to improve that began straight after the Ofsted judgement.
Mr Dwyer states: “There are clearly some good people in the organisation who understand what good delivery looks like, who care deeply about place and have a significant history and understanding of the organisation. The Ofsted inspection has resulted in the LA (Local Authority) acting quickly to address some specific issues of concern and reprioritising activity to seek to address other issues. An improvement plan is in place and new leadership arrangements with enhanced capacity have been established.”
However, in his conclusion he does state that there has been ‘significant’ reputational damage from the report and that many issues remain such as unallocated work, new teams leading to inconsitency and only 49% of families reporting that they see their case worker regularly.
Following this report, the authority has stated how improvements already underway include:
• Specialist training to ensure the practice model is embedded;
• The appointment of the Director of Children’s Services Joanne Hewson, who also retains her council position as Deputy Chief Executive;
• New assessment documents ensuring a consistency of approach are being prepared;
• An increase in the cohort of experienced staff with agency project teams brought in with a commitment to agreed time-frames;
• The launch of an active recruitment drive whilst recruiting to the Social Worker Academy programme for Autumn 2022;
• The recruitment into key positions as identified in the October Ofsted report;
• Establishing a robust political and senior leadership governance, which will ensure a comprehensive understanding of children’s services;
• The implementation of a reporting governance framework, giving political and senior leadership a thorough understanding of children’s services and an ability to provide appropriate challenge and support;
• Improvements in internal communications.
On receiving and fully accepting the Commissioner’s report, the Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Cllr Philip Jackson said: “During the visits to North East Lincolnshire by Mr Peter Dwyer, it was clear how he fairly and accurately identified the improvements that had been made and the challenges we have ahead to address our weaknesses. His recommendations are accepted, and we must continue to look forward, working with fellow members, officers, and partners to ensure the improvement of our service for the benefit of our families, young people and communities as a whole. This will be done.
“We also welcome the opportunity to work with other local authorities, using their experiences and support for the good of our future,” he added.
