The local authority will now take the children’s social care services, which have been run by the company Worcestershire Children First (WCF) since 2019, back in house.
The Department for Education had told the council to launch the company as an alternative way to deliver children’s social care following an “inadequate” Ofsted rating for the service in 2017.
But after the regulator uplifted its rating to “good” last year, the council has decided to transfer the service back when its current contract with the company ends later this year.
The move was backed by cabinet members this month and means WCF will no longer exist from 1 October. The decision does not have to be approved by full council as its cabinet has delegated authority on this issue, says the local authority.
“The services currently delivered by WCF are largely statutory and therefore ending of the WCF contract will see those services come back ‘in house’ to Worcestershire County Council,” it added.
The move will see all existing staff at the company transferred to the council.
“Bringing children’s services back to the county council once the contract has ended is the right thing to do,” said Worcestershire cabinet member Tracey Onslow.
“The wholly owned company was set up at a time when Ofsted deemed our children’s services to be 'inadequate'.
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our officers we have seen this rating rise to 'good' at our last inspection in 2023.
“Our officers and service users will transfer back to the county council and will continue to work tirelessly to deliver quality services and support for the children of Worcestershire.”
Following its visit last year, Ofsted said children’s outcomes in the area have improved due to the council’s “family focused, child centred early help and proportionate statutory intervention”.
“Strong work with children and families to divert children from care and to improve the timeliness of care proceedings is leading to positive changes for children,” inspectors added.
