Social services leadership in ‘chaos’

Failing social services bosses could be named and shamed because “catastrophically chaotic” leadership is leaving children in troubled families at risk, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has suggested.

Sir Michael, who finishes his term later this year, said overworked and dedicated social workers are being let down by bad leadership in local authorities. “In the worst local authorities we’ve seen systemic failure on a shocking scale,” he said.

As a result, thousands of children across England growing up in troubled or deprived households and in need of help could be overlooked, he said. He was speaking as Ofsted published its annual report on children’s social care which showed three quarters of departments across England are inadequate or require improvement.

Common features of poor services include high caseloads, delays in undertaking visits and a failure to see children alone.