Inadequate council launches £4.6m recruitment drive

Earlier this month Lancashire County Council was told by the Department for Education that if it does not deliver improvements within 12 months, the government may intervene.

The authority was criticised by Ofsted inspectors in November last year for “poor practice” in relation to three children who died in unrelated incidents while receiving services as children in need.

The recruitment drive will aim to attract social workers and other specialist staff across the council's social care, safeguarding, and adoption services. It is hoped that 48 frontline social workers, 12 advanced practitioners and 15 independent reviewing officers, as well as a range of team leaders and more senior managers will be taken on.

Lancashire County Council said the investment will enable caseloads to be reduced and increase support for frontline staff, as well as improving the quality of practice and recording of case work.

Matthew Tomlinson, lead member for children and young people, said: "We believe that putting more staff in place will ultimately help us to improve these vital services for children and their families.

“We have already filled all of the vacant posts we had prior to the Ofsted inspection and this recruitment drive will expand our team further.

"The difficulty of recruiting experienced frontline staff is recognised across the country which is why we are looking at new ways of recruiting.

“We've created a dedicated area on the county council's website to explain the opportunities and benefits on offer, and we're also running a recruitment evening for potential applicants to come along and find out more.

"We passionately believe that this is a great place to live and work and we are really keen to talk to people who want to commit to providing high-quality services for children and their families in Lancashire."