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Ofsted has today confirmed that progress has been made in all areas of child protection in Knowsley’s Children’s Services.

Ofsted has published its findings from a monitoring inspection conducted in August. This follows Ofsted’s last published report in June 2014 which rated the council’s services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers as ‘inadequate’. 

“I’m delighted that Ofsted have had the chance to formally acknowledge the improvements we have made over the last two years. We have created a really positive working environment for our social workers and our partners and this report confirms that we are doing the right things to protect and safeguard our children.

The outcome of this inspection is a great testament to the actions we have taken, improvements we have made, along with the hard work and commitment of our staff and partners. I am particularly pleased that Ofsted have recognised that we have the capacity and capability needed not only to sustain the pace of improvement but also to deliver high quality services to our children and families.”

What did the monitoring inspection cover?

The two day monitoring inspection focussed on child protection. Inspectors considered a range of evidence including case records, supervision records, performance data and findings from quality assurance work. In addition, they spoke to a range of staff, including social workers, child protection conference chairs, managers and senior leaders.

What was the outcome?

Inspectors identified that progress has been made in all areas of help and protection with a particular focus on the services provided to children subject to a child protection plan. Key findings from the monitoring inspection include:-

• Children in the cases reviewed are now benefiting from stable social work support from a worker who knows them well. This is as a result of the recruitment of permanent suitably qualified staff and managers to social work teams and a low number of agency workers.
• A quality assurance framework has been developed and is used effectively to evaluate the quality of services that children receive, as well as to inform service developments.
• The timeliness and quality of assessments has improved, with children seen as part of their assessments and their views recorded.
• Significant work undertaken to improve the electronic system has supported more effective recording of work with children.
• Child protection plans are in place and these are regularly reviewed and updated.
• Social workers and managers in child protection teams demonstrate passion and commitment to children and young people.

Did inspectors review the areas for improvement that were identified in June 2014?

Yes, the inspection also reviewed the action points identified following the 2014 inspection. These included that visits to children on child protection plans are regular, that children are seen alone and that records include their views, ensure that core groups are held regularly and that agencies involved with the family routinely attend, improve the quality of plans, ensure that professionals who attend child protection conferences consistently provide written reports, social work reports for child protection conferences include up to date assessment of risk and improve scrutiny and challenge by child protection chairs.

Inspectors found that there had been improvement in all of these areas.

Inspectors also noted that the progress identified was the result of the actions of senior leaders, managers and staff to improve services. There had been a focus on creating the right environment for good social work practice, including effective staff recruitment, retention and reduction of caseloads.

What steps have been taken to achieve these improvements?

Over the last two years, a number of steps have been taken which has led to improvements in Children’s Services. This includes:-

• An improvement plan was developed, clearly stating where improvements needed to be made, how and by when.
• A Children’s Services Improvement Board was established, chaired by an independent Chair, Malcolm Newsam. He held the council and partners to account, offering challenge and scrutiny.
• Ofsted carried out a number of monitoring visits which identified strengths and areas for further development.
• Strong leadership was provided by the Chief Executive (Mike Harden), Cabinet Member (Cllr Gary See) and Executive Director – Children’s (Paul Boyce). Cllr See and Paul Boyce have a monthly programme of visits to all teams which identify issues and areas of good practice.
• Partnership working has been strengthened, enabling better working and engagement with children and families.
• A priority was to stabilise the workforce – recruitment across all levels in Children’s Services has resulted in an experienced workforce with little demand for agency working.
• Invested in training and equipment for staff, including equipping social workers with mobile technology enabling them to have access to information and be able to update records whilst out and about.
• Improvements to Children’s Social Care was a council priority – other services within the council have worked with Children’s Services. The commitment and staff across the whole council has help to deliver improvement.

What’s next

We await a further full inspection from Ofsted, but will continue to build on this positive outcome.