Liverpool Council vows to improve children’s services after ‘inadequate’ rating

Liverpool City Council’s children’s services has been downgraded from “requires improvement to be good” following a visit by the inspectorate in March.

Ofsted’s report, which was published last month, highlights “a deterioration in the quality of practice” since Liverpool’s last children’s services inspection in May 2018.

“There has not been a systematic approach to improvement, and this has been compounded by an ineffective response to long-standing issues of recruitment and retention. The capacity issues across the service seriously impact on the ability of social workers and personal advisers (PAs) to provide the quality of support they aspire to achieve,” the report states.

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It adds that “this inspection identified serious weaknesses for children who need help and protection, which leave children being harmed or at risk of harm”.

According to Ofsted, the council must improve the quality of decision-making when removing child protection plans, of core social work practice, including assessments, plans and planning, and the of support, advice and guidance for care leavers.

The sufficiency of suitable placements that can meet children and young people’s assessed needs, including "staying put" arrangements, must also be improved, the report adds.

Inspectors highlight significant changes in management at Liverpool, noting that a new interim chief executive officer at the council “has substantially accelerated the pace of improvement through additional financial investment and securing increased social work capacity, and work is under way to address placement sufficiency issues”.

Work is also underway to hire a new interim director of children’s services following the departure of Steve Reddy in February.

However, the report states that “it is too soon to see the impact of these improvements on children and young people”.

Responding to the report, Liverpool’s new council leader, councillor Liam Robinson said: “We have been letting down our most vulnerable children and young people, as well as their families which is completely unacceptable.

“As a new leader working with a new cabinet and new senior management team, we are determined to put this right.”

In a joint statement, interim chief executive Theresa Grant and incoming chief executive Andrew Lewis, added: “We have already made progress in creating additional capacity, and work is under way to implement a new social work practice model which will make a huge difference to the support that our most vulnerable young people receive.

“An improvement plan will be implemented later this year, overseen by a new director of children’s services who we are currently out to recruitment for.”

The council has allocated an extra £4.5m for its children’s services budget to carry out a restructure of the department and has recruited four temporary social work teams – three of which will become permanent – to create additional capacity, the council says.