Published Friday 18 March 2022 at 11:00
Blackburn with Darwen Council accelerated its improvement plans after partnership working and leaving care arrangements were judged to have declined.
The report detailing the findings of the detailed inspection of services, which took place over two weeks in January 2022, has been published today (Friday, March 18, 2022).
Ofsted judged Children’s Services as ‘requires improvement to be good’.
The report is clear that the Council’s response is timely and appropriate when children are at immediate risk of significant harm. Inspectors confirmed that children who are in local authority care need to be in care and that most children and their families receive early help and support when they need it.
The Council reported the areas it knew had weaknesses to inspectors and took immediate action to change unhelpful processes as soon as they came to light and work started on responding to all the recommendations.
A detailed improvement plan is being followed in addition to wider Covid-19 recovery activity at the Council. Funding for children’s services as part the Council’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable, is already prioritised. In addition there will be extra investment to deliver the improvement plan.
Action includes:
- Working with high performing children’s services teams learning from good and outstanding practices
- Investment in the Leaving Care Service and quality assurance activity
- Extra joint working for preparation for adulthood between children’s and adult services
- Enhancing the advanced practitioner roles in Children in our care and safeguarding teams
- Providing training for staff to improve practice in key areas including risk assessments and family meetings
Areas highlighted as strengths which will be built on include:
- Response to Child Sexual Exploitation
- No young person in care living in an unregulated setting
- Children benefit from strong relationships with social workers who know them well, visit them regularly and who are passionate about improving children’s lives
- Decisive action when neglect is identified, family and friend carers identified early and skilfully assessed
- School leaders speak highly of the guidance that they receive
- Caseloads have significantly reduced since the introduction of children’s advice and duty service (CADS)
Cllr Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:
“The Ofsted judgement is hugely disappointing for us all. We take it extremely seriously and are committed to making the necessary improvements.
“Whilst we have been prioritising our children’s services for a number of years, it is clear that we have much more to do to ensure all of our most vulnerable children and young people receive the highest standards of care, support and protection they need and deserve.
“With a committed team and, in particular, our hard-working frontline staff, along with strong support from our partners in the police, health, schools, the community and voluntary sector, our relentless drive for improvement will continue and we are confident that we can build on the progress we have made so far.”
Jayne Ivory, Strategic Director of Children’s Services and Education, added:
“We have taken everything on board and renewed our determination.
“Nothing matters more to this Council than our children and young people – keeping them safe, giving them the best opportunities in life – and that’s why we are absolutely determined to continue making the support and help we provide the best it possibly can be.”
Detective Superintendent Neil Drummond, Head of Lancashire Constabulary’s Public Protection Unit, said:
“We acknowledge the findings of the Ofsted report into children’s services in Blackburn with Darwen.
“As a result, we have carried out work recently to make sure we continue to have efficient processes that contribute to every vulnerable child in the borough receiving the right care when they need it.”
“We are absolutely committed to keeping children and young people safe and will carry on working closely with our partners, including Blackburn with Darwen Council, to deliver the best possible service and outcomes.”