Commissioner recommends children’s services remain under council control

A Children’s Services Commissioner for the Department for Education has published his report into the state of Tameside Council’s Children's Services.

Andy Couldrick, former Chief Executive of Birmingham Children's Trust, was appointed by the Government to review the delivery of services for children and young people in Tameside and make recommendations following two ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted ratings in the last five years – most recently after an inspection in December 2023.

There were suggestions that the council could follow other poorly-performing councils and move to a Children’s Trust model at arms-length from control of the council, however Couldrick rejected this idea as “costly to implement” and time-consuming to establish, adding “Tameside’s most vulnerable children do not have this time.”

“I have considered recommending a Children’s Trust. At this point, however, I have not done so. Tameside cannot delegate its responsibility for improving outcomes for its most vulnerable children.

“Currently, it tends to shift accountability by adopting a blaming and 'othering' approach. The Council needs to take responsibility, collectively, act to support sustainable improvement, create the conditions that make this happen, and establish the oversight to know that it is happening.”

Generally, Couldrick said the authority had been unable to effect sustained improvement over a considerable period due to failing to recruit and retain strong leaders and a sufficiently stable workforce, but recognised that there was some ‘uneven’ improvement.

“As Ofsted recognised in December 2023, the leaders brought in last summer have begun to introduce systematic improvement, but it is still uneven and there is much work to do in the service and in the Council,” he wrote.

Couldrick recommended that the council continue to receive Government oversight, reasoning: “It is my view that the Council currently does not have the capacity and capability to effect the necessary and sustainable improvements in Children’s Services without oversight and support.”

Tameside Council’s senior leadership said it acknowledges and supports the recommendations made by Couldrick to help the authority achieve substantial and sustainable improvements and are committed to taking action to address them.

The Council is currently undertaking a national recruitment process to secure a permanent Director of Children Services to support the stability that is needed to take forward our improvements.

Tameside Council Executive Leader Cllr Gerald Cooney said: “Our ongoing Children’s Service improvement journey is an absolute priority to us. We accept there are still improvements needed and we fully take responsibility and apologise that children and families in Tameside are not yet receiving the quality support they need and deserve. We are fully aware of the issues highlighted in the report and they are all addressed in our improvement plan.

“I am pleased the Children’s Commissioner recognises we are making progress and that we are committed to improving services for the borough’s children and families. Demand is at unprecedented levels, but with our dedicated workforce and partners, and the significant financial investment into Children’s Services, I am confident our ambitious plans can be delivered, and improvements made at pace.

“I know there are no quick fixes, but we can, and will deliver better outcomes and a more resilient service for children and families in Tameside.”

Tameside Council Chief Executive Sandra Stewart said: “We acknowledge and support the recommendations made by the Commissioner to help us achieve the substantial and sustainable improvements we are striving for.

“We have already started to put in place the key building blocks needed to deliver an improved and stronger Children’s Service that will support better outcomes for families in Tameside. We are committed – as a whole organisation and with our partners – to taking swift and positive action to build on these foundations and creating the stability needed in our workforce to progress.

“Recruitment and retention of social workers remains a significant challenge and we are taking steps to address this, by having a more permanent workforce and reducing the reliance on agency social workers. The recent introduction of our Social Work Academy is an important step in our improvement journey and I am pleased that social workers report feeling well supported with manageable workloads.”