Eight years on from a damning Ofsted report the quality of Knowsley’s children’s service remains “variable” but much improved according to a watchdog.
In 2014 the service was hit with a dire Ofsted report that identified “significant failings” and “poor practice” which left children “at risk” across a number of areas.
Since then, the service, run by Knowsley Council, has been on something of a journey. An inspection carried out in March 2017 found there were several ‘good’ aspects of Knowsley’s children’s services, but with some key areas still requiring improvement.
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However, the situation had deteriorated again by 2021, with inspectors stating the pace of change “has not been sustained” with” drift and delay” identified with a number of gaps and areas of weakness, for example around the borough’s approach to children impacted by domestic violence.
Further focused visits and monitoring inspections have been carried out since. A special educational needs (SEND) inspection carried out in March found two “significant weaknesses” in particular around the borough’s approach to preparing young people with SEND for adulthood and a lack of a universal public health offer that spans from birth to 25.
As a result, inspectors found it led to “poor identification of needs in children with SEND in the earliest years.”
Now, an Ofsted report released today following a visit focused on children’s services has found that while improvements are being made amid investments of more than £3.7m to improve the service, the quality of provision is “variable.”
The inspection, carried out in October, found “a more effective response to children experiencing domestic abuse” and improvements in social work services for children with disabilities.
However, the report noted: “there is sometimes a lack of timely improvement in children’s circumstances” as a result of weaknesses with management oversight and children’s plans.
Record keeping around work carried out or visits made ” is not as clear and up to date as it needs to be” and contingency arrangements for at risk children are not always clear. According to inspectors, this leads to ”periods of intervention with limited progress being made” for some children on protection plans.
Inspectors commended the development of a new child protection plan, stating this: “offers some additional management oversight of the most vulnerable children in Knowsley.”
Both reviews and escalation policies are “not consistently effective” and management oversight “is not always cognisant of the whole story for the child and, at times, lacks rigour to drive improvement.”
However, a key problem with “drift and delay” identified at the last inspection is being tackled, according to inspectors, particularly around steps prior to taking legal action as part of an intervention.
Issues were identified with the service’s approach to audit. Inspectors found “variable quality” and noted: “Moderation adds value but is inconsistently used, and learning from the audit process is not clearly transferred into practice in a timely way.”
Inspectors said there was a “need for a cultural shift within the staff group to ensure that all managers and practitioners are less focused on compliance and performance measures, and more ambitious for children and their
families” adding this was something “senior leaders are also aware of.”
Knowsley Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Margaret Harvey, said: “There is some really positive feedback from Inspectors following this latest visit and I am pleased that the hard work and dedication of our team has been acknowledged.
“In particular, I was heartened to read the many positive comments about the work and impact of our social workers. This is a tough job to carry out, in difficult and sometimes distressing circumstances.
“Their dedication to the children and families they support is making a difference, and I am pleased their efforts have been recognised.
“We will continue to pay close attention to the areas of work where we know we need to make more positive change. We remain committed to this.”
Cllr Harvey added: “We have made great progress and we will make sure this continues as we strive to improve the outcomes for children and families in the borough.”
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