Issue - meetings

The Board received the findings of the recent Inspection of Local Authority Children Services (ILACS) in Halton and its recommendations.  The report was accompanied by a presentation delivered by the Operational Director for Children’s Services.

It was reported that OFSTED conducted a standard inspection under the ILACS framework from 2 March to 13 March 2020.  The ILACS inspection provided a Judgement across four areas and Halton was deemed to ‘require improvement to be good’ across all areas.  Appended to the report was the Judgement document which provided explanations of the findings within each of these areas and their recommendations.

Further, as required by the ILACS framework and in response to the recommendations made, an Action Plan has been drafted and submitted to OFSTED.  This was also attached to the report.

Following the detailed presentation Members raised the following queries:

Was there disappointment with the outcome from the inspection – yes but it was recognized that maintaining consistency across all aspects of social work would always be a challenge.  Unfortunately we had lost some staff and new staff were just in post at the time of the inspection, which was picked up on.

Are salaries for Social Workers comparable with neighbouring authorities – due to being a smaller authority we do tend to be below what  neighbouring authorities pay.  However we have done well in terms of retaining staff recently and systemic training is now offered to them.  Some staff have left in the past to progress their careers and move onto the next level with other authorities.

Does the authority work with third party organisations such as Nightstop and PiP (Power in Partnership) when looking for temporary accommodation for young people – yes the homelessness service for young people do work with both of these organisations who both offer a good service.

How did staff respond to the report – they had to move on very quickly as immediately after the inspection the Covid-19 Pandemic overtook everything.

Is the Authority likely to receive any additional funding to help with budgets – this was presently unknown but the Authority would certainly benefit from some investment to help with areas such as residential costs for children with complex needs, which continued to be a challenge.

RESOLVED:  That the Board notes the report and comments made on the draft Action Plan.