Vulnerable kids ‘still not getting help they need’

SOME vulnerable youngsters are still not getting the help they need from social workers, almost four years after children’s services were downgraded by inspectors.

In January this year Ofsted carried out its first full inspection of the Oldham council service since it was demoted from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ in August 2015.

All four areas investigated the impact of leaders on social work practice, the progress of children who need protection, experiences of children in care, and overall effectiveness - have not improved enough to boost the rating.

But town hall chiefs say the latest judgement matches their own assessment of the service, which is continuing to struggle with the huge demand for youngsters’ care services.

Now £12m is being invested from the council’s budget over the next three years to cement improvement of the system.

Ofsted particularly highlight a lack of action following the earlier inspection, stating that the leadership has not delivered ‘continuous improvement of services for children’.

Council leader Sean Fielding and cabinet member for children’s services Amanda Chadderton admitted they were not shocked by any of the watchdog’s findings.

But they said that new measures put in place would yield a ‘vastly different’ result in the near future.