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NSPCC
CHILD SERVICES STILL INADEQUATE IN LEEDS
A review conducted by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission has found that children’s care services in Leeds are “inadequate”.
A review conducted by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission has found that children’s care services in Leeds are “inadequate”.
This is the second time in five months that inspectors have found a shortfall in the services. An Ofsted inspection in July, which followed a case review into the death of two-year-old Casey Mullen, said some children were “at potential risk of serious harm”.
The findings are included in a report following a detailed review carried out in November and December. It calls on the council to carry out an immediate review to ensure it has enough staff to meet demand.
“The findings from this inspection confirm that some of the serious weaknesses in child protection practice identified in the [July] inspection remain,” it said.
The report said there need to be further improvements in how managers planned their staffing needs and how performance was assessed and managed. The inspectors also said more should be done to involve children and young people in how future services are developed and to recruit more families and carers from minority ethnic communities.
“There is still much to be done to further improve the way we look after and support children and young people in Leeds,” said Stewart Golton, Leeds Councillor for children’s services. “It goes without saying that improving services for the children and young people of Leeds remains a top priority for the council.”
The report did acknowledge that: “Poor staff performance is being addressed and systems and processes have already been redesigned. These early successes demonstrate the council can make improvements.”
However, it warned that social worker caseloads were too high, frontline management capacity was insufficient and the electronic recording system was not fit for purpose.
Mr Golton said: “I’m pleased that [they] acknowledge that we are making progress and we have the capacity to do more.
“This latest report confirms what we have been doing, with positive progress being made, but there is still much to be done to further improve the way we look after and support children and young people in Leeds.”
by Dan Sumners
