The council’s children’s services department, which was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted in 2018, will be run independently by a council-owned trust, the Department for Education has announced.
The move is based on recommendations made to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi by commissioner Steve Walker, director of Leeds’ strengthening families, protecting children improvement programme, who was appointed last September to conduct a thorough three-month review of Bradford’s children’s social care services.
In his report, Walker states that improvement at the council following the 2018 Ofsted inspection has been “too slow”.
He notes the lack of a permanent senior leadership team at the council after director of children’s services Mark Douglas resigned in October 2021 and the council’s deputy director for children’s social care left in November 2021.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
