THE MAN who has stepped down as political leader of Tameside Council’s children’s services department has apologised for not meeting the needs of everyone.
But Cllr Bill Fairfoull believes it is on the road to recovery.
Government-appointed commissioner Andy Couldrick is set to deliver his verdict after it
was rated as inadequate by Ofsted.
Putting it into a centrally-run trust remains an option. However, a number of changes have been made.
Now he has handed over control to Cllr Teresa Smith, Cllr Fairfoull has held his hands up at where the department has fallen short.
He also believes the unit is now in the best of hands.
He said: “I am truly sorry that some children are not getting the right help at the right
time, and we are doing whatever it takes to put this right.
“With the Children’s Commissioner and the minister due to report, now feels like the right time for me to hand over the mantle of children’s lead to Cllr Teresa Smith to take
us on to the next stage of the improvement journey that we all want and need to see.
“Cllr Smith is an excellent appointment to this role. Having just retired this summer as a teacher, she has the necessary experience, expertise and capacity to drive forward the
improvements needed.”
Cllr Fairfoull, who was also in charge when a damaging Ofsted/Care Quality Commission report into Tameside Council’s delivery of education services to people with Special Educational Need and/or Disabilities (SEND) was published, will remain as deputy leader.
And he believes increased investment and new systems being put in place can improve
the overall quality.
He added: “In my role as deputy leader, I will continue to support the service through our corporate commitment to do everything we can to help the borough’s children and young people thrive.
“We have some extreme challenges that we face in Tameside – being the 24th poorest borough in the country creates significant difficulties for families and impacts adversely on children.
“While holding this role, I have seen how dedicated and hardworking our children’s
social care staff are and how determined they are to achieve the best outcomes for
children.
“We have been supporting them by increasing the investment into Children’s Services.
However, we know we need better systems and support to be put in place and we have
and will continue to take action to address these issues.
“Our biggest challenge is a shortage of social workers nationally in every part of the country.
“It’s a very difficult and dedicated job and so makes it hard to permanently recruit particularly when there is significant competition for social workers.
“We know that to improve our children’s service, we need to secure a permanent
workforce to provide stability and consistency of practice.
“We still have much more to do to ensure all of our most vulnerable children and young
people receive the highest standards of protection and care, and that all children are in a position to thrive and feel safe.
“We are absolutely committed to, and focused on, ensuring this happens.
“I remain passionate about children’s services and I have loved engaging with our inspiring and fantastic care leavers and young people and I will do all I can to support Cllr Smith and the rest of the council to achieve the best outcomes for children.
“I remain hopeful that everyone can get behind the work we are doing and give their full support going forward.”
Cllr Smith added: “Starting my career as a nursery nurse before qualifying as a teacher, I
have worked in education for over 41 years.
“In both my backgrounds of education and being a local councillor, I have always been
passionate about supporting children and families to reach their potential in safe and
caring environments.
“This is a role that I take on with both pride and understanding of the responsibility and
challenge ahead.
“I will be stepping down from my role as chair of children’s scrutiny to take on this appointment and I very much look forward to leading improvement work alongside the children’s service, partners, young people and families to achieve better outcomes in Tameside.”