Council under fire for child services
BOSSES TO GET OFFICIAL IMPROVEMENT NOTICE FROM GOVERNMENT
THE GOVERNMENT is to issue a council with an official improvement notice over its children’s care department, which has been repeatedly criticised by Ofsted.
Earlier this month the watchdog issued a report into Tameside borough’s children’s services - which have been rated ‘requires improvement’ since 2019 - saying political and corporate leaders did not know their service and the impact on children ‘well enough.’ Following a focused visit assessing the ‘front door’ of the department, Ofsted also said the response to some children ‘at immediate risk of harm had deteriorated’ since its last inspection in 2021.
After the publication of the report, Andrew Gwynne, the Labour MP for Denton and Reddish, called for Tameside’s children’s services to be taken out of the council’s hands and placed with an independent trust.
He had said the service is currently ‘letting children and families down.’
However Councillor Bill Fairfoull, the council’s cabinet member for children’s services said the MP’s comments were ‘unhelpful.’ “This council has no intention whatsoever of taking children’s services into a trust,” he told councillors at at an extraordinary meeting of the town hall.
“I know this suggestion has been very unsettling for members of staff and our foster carers but language like this is unhelpful when one of our priorities is actually to work towards staff retention and also grow our foster service.”
He was outlining an action plan, which was agreed by council, about how to turn the service around.
“In addition to being required to respond to the urgent immediate recommendations from Ofsted, the Department for Education have now advised us that they will be issuing Tameside with a formal improvement notice which will be in place for 12 months or as long as it takes to get to a good situation,” Coun Fairfoull added.
“This notice brings us additional support and advice and there will be an appointed improvement advisor who will work with us to give assurance to ministers that we’re on track to deliver improvement action and we all see this as positive support.”
Coun Dan Costello, Tory member for Ashton Hurst directly criticised Coun Fairfoull, who has held the portfolio for services for children for three years.
“Where is the accountability for the political leader of this department? How long must we continue to suffer with his failings.”
Coun Fairfoull said if he thought Ofsted wanted a change of leadership, he would step aside.