Sandwell starts to tackle service problems after private partner deal

Sandwell Council’s decision six months ago to bring in a private company to put right its struggling children’s services might have been seen as a last, desperate throw of the dice.

Although the West Midlands authority’s rating for safeguarding services improved to “adequate” in February last year, trouble was on the horizon in the form of a critical Ofsted inspection of child protection services this April.

Perhaps with knowledge of what was around the corner, the council felt it needed radical action to tackle deep-seated problems. It appointed private company Impower in November on a two-and-a-half year, £1.15m deal to help the council manage change.

Although it has experience of working on large projects with local authorities, Impower is believed to be the first outside agency to be given such an integral role in the running of a children’s department.

Setting a precedent
Six months into the partnership, changes are already under way. Earlier this year, children’s services manager Helen Smith and the council’s cabinet member for children and families resigned. 

Impower recruited a new director of children’s services, Simon White from Suffolk County Council, to lead the process. Speaking exclusively to CYP Now, White believes that far from being a one-off, the partnership could set a precedent for others to follow.

“There is a group of councils like Sandwell that have been in and out of difficulties over the years and no one is yet able to find a sustainable way of improving,” White says.
“We will be able to use the same improvement model with other councils in similar positions in the future.”

The success of the partnership will depend on finding sustainable solutions. With this in mind, the priorities are the recruitment and retention of senior staff, and reducing the amount spent on intensive, high-cost care packages.

An improvement plan for use across the department is under development, explains White. “If we get that right, it will enable us to tackle any problems that come our way, even those we don’t yet know about – and there will almost certainly be some.”

Working effectively with other agencies – police, schools, health – will be crucial in reducing the flow of children referred for safeguarding services, he says.

The council is monitoring progress regularly, with Impower’s performance judged against a set of targets around reducing the number of children in care and the amount spent on care placements. Part of the contract fee – “not a huge element, but enough to make us focus on things”, says White – is performance-related.

White expects to see an improvement in its inspection rating within the timescale of the contract. However, overcoming systemic problems – such as high turnover of senior staff – will be key, he adds.

“Sandwell has been in and out of [Ofsted] inadequate or poor [ratings grades] for the past 10 years. There are some systemic problems that fit with that characteristic. It is often hard for organisations to look at themselves as they get stuck into the [daily] pressures.”

White says inconsistencies in senior management and a “marked” over-reliance on temporary staff across the whole department has made it difficult to create a “Sandwell way of doing things”.

“To make it sustainable, we have to have a workforce that is high-quality and here to stay. Providing these things are in place, there is no reason to think we won’t be successful,” he adds.