Knowsley Council is on track to improve its children's social services from 'inadequate' to 'good' after implementing a series of changes to its workforce and processes, following a damning Ofsted inspection in November 2024.
The council has moved beyond the initial stabilisation phase and is now delivering “measurable improvements in leadership, safeguarding practice, workforce capacity and partnership working,” according to a council statement. There is also increased workforce capacity and investment in recruitment, as well as a greater emphasis on the experiences of young people.
Ofsted and DfE Confirm Progress
Ofsted monitoring visits and a recent Department for Education (DfE) review have confirmed that the council “is making clear and tangible progress, supported by strong leadership and sustained investment, although improvement remains at an early stage.” The council must now work on consistency across teams, workforce stability, and ensuring that improvements translate into positive outcomes for children.
Cabinet member for children’s services, Sean Donnelly, told a full council meeting on Wednesday: “Partnership has strengthened with closer collaboration across the police, health, education and shared commitment to improving outcomes for children and families in Knowsley.” However, he noted: “Improving children's social care is not something that can be achieved overnight, but is a multi-year journey. However, we are seeing significant improvement at scale and at pace. The foundations are firmly in place, the directions are clear and there is strong collective commitment across the council to deliver lasting change.”
£13.7m Investment and Workforce Boost
So far, the council has invested £13.7m, including £2.9m to create over 40 new permanent posts within the social care team. The DfE has written to the council saying that during visits and meetings, “It was evident that the children’s workforce in Knowsley is strongly committed to improving outcomes for children and young people.” The letter added: “While recognising there’s still much to do, we look forward to seeing further strengthening of ambition and outcomes for cared for children and care-experienced people. Social workers reported generally high levels of satisfaction working in Knowsley, with some expressing strong enthusiasm about the working environment and the overall direction of travel.”
Momentum Must Be Maintained
The DfE letter also recommended that the council strengthen capacity by planning around property and location to improve access to spaces for face-to-face work. It stated: “Improvements in practice are evident, however, momentum must be maintained.” Anthony Douglas, the DfE advisor working with the council, spoke at the meeting, praising the council's transparency: “Commendably, from day one, you accepted it and said the only action we can take is to get on with the improvement on behalf of local children and young people. And that level of commitment has stayed throughout.”
Douglas noted that the council is now looking at children “much more in the round” and collaborating more between children's and adult care services. He said: “I'm delighted with the progress you've made. [...] There were some criticisms in the Ofsted monitoring visit a few months ago. But when I looked at individual children and how you've responded, all of those criticisms had been met in terms of the actions within three months.”
He expressed confidence that Knowsley can achieve a “double improvement” to a 'good' rating at its next Ofsted inspection, similar to Liverpool City Council's recent improvement. Douglas added: “It's a tough, tough proposition. The work is enduringly complex and difficult. The children in the situations that your staff come across are in sometimes some really dangerous situations, some really difficult situations. But you've got an increasingly competent workforce, you've got a better-led workforce, you've got a happier workforce. You know what you're doing. You can do it.”
