Ofsted has found that Children’s Services in Liverpool are “laying strong foundations to enable the necessary improvements to be made” and working with “determination and pace” following an inadequate inspection judgement last May.
A monitoring visit was carried out before Christmas, and a letter has now been sent to the Council summarising the findings.
Ofsted have confirmed that there have been improvements in the areas that the local authority has focused on, and they agree with the Council’s view, that it has much more to do.
There is particular praise for the work identifying and responding to immediate risks to children, and applying appropriate thresholds at the ‘front door’ for children who need a social work service, although the inspectors note that it is not always prompt enough. Ofsted commented that decisions made at the front door of Children’s Services are the right decisions. This is an improvement since the Inspection in May 2023.
The Ofsted team has also recognised improvements in strategy meetings, which they say are “well attended by key partners, who share detailed information and contribute appropriately to decision making”.
We need to improve the quality of assessments to make sure that children’s needs are identified and responded to effectively, as well as making sure social workers know the range of services that are available to support children and families.
Also highlighted in the letter is the need to reduce caseloads, which is something the Council is focused on. Ofsted found that caseloads have reduced, and there are plans to reduce them further with a drive to recruit more social workers and lessen the dependency on temporary workers.
The Ofsted letter follows a visit by the Department for Education last month, who also praised the improvements being made.
Councillor Liz Parsons, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “I am pleased that the inspectors have found that we have made improvements in a short space of time, and they recognise that we know the areas of weakness we still need to address.
“Our staff are embracing the changes we are making to deliver on our ambition to provide the best possible services for young people, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their commitment and effort.
“This was never going to be a quick fix, but we are laying strong foundations to build on the improvements we are making in our drive to make Children’s Services in Liverpool one of the best in the country.”
The letter from Ofsted can be read below.
