Services remain at County Hall
Children’s services will remain under the control of West Sussex County Council due to improvements following a disastrous inspection back in 2019.
The government’s minister for children and families has announced the services will no longer become a standalone trust as previously proposed.
The decision was made on the evidence of significant improvements within the service over the last two years.
It means children’s services will not be placed into an independent trust and will continue to be run by WSCC pending a reinspection by Ofsted.
Deborah Urquhart, deputy leader of the council, said: “The decision shows that the council has demonstrated the ability to make the necessary progress and that it is in the best interests of vulnerable children and families for services to remain under our control.
“It is also a testament to the quality of our managers and staff, their incredible hard work and dedication and their commitment to improvements even during the pandemic.
“We do not underestimate the work still needed to raise the standards to the best they can be for our children, young people and families and we remain focused and committed to continuing our improvement work.”