Liverpool’s children’s services has had an improvement notice formally lifted by government as part of its turnaround in fortunes. The city council has been under investigation by Ofsted following a damning inspection three years ago.
Ofsted upgrades judgment to good
The education watchdog has now upgraded its judgement of services from the Cunard building from inadequate to good. An 11-day inspection in May set out how children and families are now “better and safer”, with inspectors recognising the council’s focused efforts to address previous areas for concern and deliver measurable change.
The city council was rated “Good” on the impact of leaders on social work practice, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, and the experience and progress of children in care. Ofsted reached a finding of “requires improvement to be good” on the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Political and ministerial response
Three years ago, Ofsted had found Liverpool’s services to be “inadequate” in four out of five measures. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, said it was clear the organisation had made “major strides” since that last assessment.
In a letter to the council, Josh MacAlister MP, minister for children and families, praised the council’s success in making improvements. He said: “I want to acknowledge the commitment shown by you, the council’s senior leadership team, partners and practitioners in securing that progress.
“Ofsted’s view that children are a clear priority for leaders, alongside Liverpool’s recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City, underlines the importance you are placing on children’s rights and on listening to children and young people.”
He added: “I also welcome the work already underway to implement the Families First reforms. These reforms are not separate from Liverpool’s improvement journey; they are central to sustaining it.
“Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family network practice, including Family Group Decision Making, must now move from planning and transition into consistently strong delivery for children and families.”
Remaining challenges and local commitment
The council will have to continue its progress and address the remaining areas for improvement identified by Ofsted. These include children who present as homeless, those in private fostering arrangements, care leavers’ pathway planning and education, employment and training support.
Councillor Liz Parsons, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “This is official recognition that we have made substantial progress over the last three years in transforming children’s services in Liverpool. However, we are absolutely not complacent and know there is far more to do.
“Improvement is a continuous journey and there is lots more that we need to do in order to improve outcomes for our young people.
“We are incredibly proud that Liverpool has recently achieved UNICEF Child Friendly City status, which will drive our commitment to ensuring young people are shaping decisions across the city and helping us build services that are designed with them, not for them.”
Jenny Glennard, corporate director of children and young people’s services, added: “Our work reflects a shift towards truly listening to children and young people and ensuring their voices drive improvement throughout our service. Our ambition is to make our services the best in the country and we are determined to achieve that.”
