Council ordered to improve services for kids in care
Leaders’ vow as authority’s shortcomings are laid bare in critical report by watchdog
IMPROVEMENTS to Staffordshire County Council’s children’s services are being prioritised by leaders after a critical inspection report.
A recent Ofsted inspection of children’s services found the service ‘required improvement to be good.’
The council is supporting 5,042 children, of which 1,345 are in care, and has seen its budget rise by 152 per cent since 2009 to £146 million for 2024/25.
Following its inspection in November 2023, Ofsted praised provision for the 1,345 children and young people in care.
But it also criticised other aspects of the children’s social care service, including inconsistent oversight of cases, initial assessments taking too long to complete, and insufficient practical support for those leaving care.
Councillor Mark Sutton, cabinet member for children and young people, left, said: “Child protection services in Staffordshire have been rated ‘good’ for a decade so this result is very disappointing.
“We accept the findings and I can assure everyone who will be concerned by this news that protecting vulnerable young people is a priority and we are committed to putting this right as quickly as possible.
“What gives me encouragement for the task ahead is that we have frontline staff that we can be proud of.
“Hard-working professionals who make a positive difference on a daily basis and we have already begun making the necessary changes to better support them in their work.”
Now the council is committing to action including:
stronger performance targets with more structured monitoring;
a clearer escalation process for children and young people if they feel progress on issues isn’t fast enough;
closer cooperation with health and housing providers; more sampling of work; better provision of broadband access for care leavers to support their first independent steps.
Mr Sutton said : “We had already allocated an additional £5 million for the coming year and we will be putting in place a series of practical measures to boost oversight, increase support and reduce workloads.
“We know that there are things we need to improve, but the report also recognises that there are many things that we are doing well to help some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Staffordshire.”