Council plan to improve child services

AN improvement plan for Bridgend’s children’s services has been produced.

The move by the council comes in response to an inspection report published by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate.

The inspection, which was carried out in January and February, found no widespread or serious failures that left children being harmed or at risk of harm.

But the quality of threshold screening, assessments and care plus support planning was found to be inconsistent.

Inspectors also found that children, young people and families were not been consulted about changes. They also found that there were no leaflets or materials available to the public about the range of services available or how to access them.

At the time of the inspection the local authority was undergoing significant change while implementing the Social Services Act 2014.

The social services and well-being directorate was also working hard to transform services while making savings, the report found.

Inspectors noted that senior managers were already taking steps to look at the impact services are having on reducing need and risk.

But they recommended that the local authority listen more to the views of children and families when shaping services.

It was also recommended that Bridgend continued to focus on how they can retain staff for longer and more timely recruitment of experienced staff.

The CSSIW said the recommendations in the report are intended to help Bridgend County Borough Council and partners in their continuing improvement.

Councillor Phil White, Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help, said: “As the inspection was carried out at a time when the council was going through a great deal of internal change as well as implementing the requirements of the Social Services and Well-Being Act 2014, I’m really pleased to see their report confirm that Bridgend takes swift action to protect local children.

“Bridgend was one of the first authorities to be inspected under the new framework and we were expecting the CSSIW to identify areas where improvements need to be made.

“Work is already underway on addressing this and I am confident that when the inspectors return, they will be pleased to see how we have delivered improvements and met the new requirements while continuing to ensure that safeguarding children remains one of the council’s top priorities.”