Children's services move out of 'inadequate' at two councils

Coventry Council had been rated inadequate in 2014 amid concerns that social workers were bogged down by high caseloads and were not acting swiftly enough on child protection concerns.

Standards at Knowsley Council were given the lowest rating in the same year due to similar concerns that children in need of help and support were subject to "drift and delay".

But fresh inspections by Ofsted have found significant improvements - with both councils now rated as "requires improvement".

Inspectors were impressed with an "intense focus" by Coventry to improve support for children over the past year.

This has included establishing a multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) to improve the quality of responses and better deal with initial calls of concern about children.

The quality of assessments and planning of support for children at risk of harm has also improved.

In addition, looked-after children are placed swiftly and those with disabilities feel their views are taken into account during decisions about their support, Ofsted's report, following their visit in March, states.

Care leaver support is a particular area of improvement at Coventry. This received a rating of "good", with inspectors praising the work of personal advisers in helping them make the transition to adulthood and in tackling issues such as online grooming and bullying.

Coventry has reduced caseloads, inspectors found, with social workers now averaging 20 cases, but referral and assessment teams are still blighted by vacancies and higher workloads.

Meanwhile, although a recruitment campaign resulted in 61 new social workers in the last year, teams were found to be reliant on inexperienced staff, with more than half (51 per cent) of social workers having qualified less than two years ago.

"The local authority is aware of and has a detailed view of the strengths and weaknesses of its services for children," the report states.

"Senior leaders had already identified and made plans to remedy many of the deficits seen in this inspection. Elected members and senior managers are aware that their improvement journey must continue at pace."

Knowsley has been handed an improved rating due to a council-wide strategy to improve support for vulnerable children, including working better in partnership with other agencies.

Knowsley released details of the inspection findings last month and the official report, published today, confirms that Ofsted found a "wholesale and effective cultural and structural transformation" within children's services at the local authority.

Stronger partnerships with health workers have ensured children get good access to therapeutic support, and social worker recruitment and retention has also been addressed, which has helped reduce caseloads, Ofsted's report states.

"The local authority has been highly successful in recruiting and retaining a stable workforce in a challengingly competitive market," it says.

"As a result, caseloads have reduced to manageable levels and workers are able to make positive trusting relationships that endure with children."

Knowsley's adoption services, care leaver support and the department's leadership all received a rating of "good", while child protection and looked-after children's services were rated "requires improvement".

Care assessments and education planning are still variable in quality and inspectors remain concerned about the poor academic progress of many looked-after children in Knowsley.

Meanwhile, three councils - Kent, North Tyneside and Southwark - have been rated "good", with North Tyneside receiving particular praise for its "outstanding" support for care leavers, and Southwark being rated "outstanding" for its adoption work.

North Tyneside director of children's services Jacqui Old said: "Our focus is always on providing better outcomes for children, while making sure they are safe and cared for."

Kent's favourable inspection comes seven years after it was rated as inadequate with concerns continuing following a 2013 inspection, in which it was rated as "adequate".

But while inspectors praised the council's "substantial improvement" journey since then, they continue to be critical of efforts to protect the county's most vulnerable young people.

This includes the need to improve the quality of decision making when child protection concerns are first raised, as well as the quality of assessments of children living in private fostering arrangements.