CYP Now - North East Lincolnshire Council: Local Spotlight

New leadership team has changed the culture and delivered improvements at struggling council but workforce challenges remain.

Significant regeneration plans have been approved for North East Lincolnshire but recruitment of experienced children’s social workers has proved difficult during the pandemic. Picture: simon/Adobe Stock

Recruiting a new management team to lead children’s services improvement is not easily done during a global health pandemic, but that was what North East Lincolnshire Council had to do in early 2020.

The council, which includes within its boundaries the major Humber Estuary towns of Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham, received two critical Ofsted reports in 2019 that culminated in then director of children’s services (DCS) Steve Kay stepping down in November that year after a decade at the authority.

Serious weaknesses

Those reports found serious weaknesses in front door decision-making that were failing to protect children at risk of significant harm and failing to ensure vulnerable children had their needs met.

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