By George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tameside MPs believe things ‘must and will get better’ following another scathing report into the council’s children’s services department.
An Ofsted inspection found the authority is still failing to keep children safe and it was criticised for having an ‘overreliance’ on agency staff, depending on families to keep children safe; and poor timeliness of support plans.
In its latest findings, it essentially said it is not learning from its previous failings or doing it quickly enough – even the letters it sends it parents were criticised.
In some areas, things have got worse.
Now after the latest grovelling apology, which is wearing increasingly thin on members of the public, the country’s deputy prime minister and business secretary have made their feelings clear.
Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds also feels a ‘toxic environment’ and not admitting where it was going wrong did not help.
He said: “It must and will get better.
“We cannot accept vulnerable children in Tameside still not getting a service that struggles to meet their needs.
“This is why there has been so much change at the council recently. A decade of Ofsted reports, and the commissioner’s report last year, made it clear that Tameside children’s services had systemic failings.
“This was exacerbated by a council hierarchy that fostered a toxic environment, which prevented acknowledgement of the scale of the problems. I was fed up hearing excuses for this poor performance.
“That is what led to Tameside having a new leader and a new chief executive.
“Clearly, these issues will not be turned around overnight, but with this new leadership we’re now seeing the whole council move in the right direction.”
Angela Rayner, MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, added: “My priority will always be securing the very best outcomes for the people of Tameside.
“I have had frank and honest discussions with the director of children’s services, the chief executive and council leader Eleanor Wills, who are all newly appointed and ready to face this challenge.
“I made it very clear that we must start seeing rapid improvements in the services that look after some of the most vulnerable young people in Tameside.
“I am pleased to note that the most recent Ofsted recognised that the recent appointments have provided a clear direction and a better understanding of the service’s strengths and weaknesses.
“But I am well aware that there is so much more to be done and I will continue to support the council in making sure improvements continue at pace.”
Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton said:
“I have raised concerns regarding Tameside Children services for a number of years, and we need to see improvement in the service that cares for the most vulnerable in our society.
“There has been a lack of stable leadership and clear strategic direction, and a fundamental absence of grip on improvement activity.
“There is a serious decline in the timeliness of initial child protection conferences (ICPCs) since the last inspection.
“There is also little evidence of safety planning during this period and senior management oversight of the safety of these children is inconsistent.
“The quality of most assessments continues to be poor. Children are not seen soon enough following reported incidents of harm, including by the out of hours service.
“There is not enough professional curiosity demonstrated during subsequent strategy discussions, and there is a distinct absence of safety planning.”
Since 2016, the education watchdog has rated Tameside’s children’s services inadequate twice.
Politically, the failing service has been the source of turmoil on a number of occasions.
Last October, chief executive Sandra Stewart and leader Cllr Ged Cooney quit in the wake of yet another blistering report from the children’s commissioner Andy Couldrick.
Although the inspector Lisa Summers was critical of the service, she did credit the new director of children’s services (DCS), Jill Colbert, with providing a clear direction and ‘a better understanding of the service’s strengths and weaknesses’.
The inspector believed the new DCS was starting to get a grip of improvement activity.
Tameside Council apologised following Ofsted’s findings, saying the safety and quality of care for children is an absolute priority.
It added it is aware of the changes that are needed to be made and has already taken action to address them.
Staff shortages in social care have been a constant concern for the council, but they are working to recruit permanent social care staff whilst also converting agency workers.
Director of children’s services, Jill Colbert, said: “I acknowledge the findings of the letter and find them helpful in that they confirm what we already know about the changes that need to be made and reinforce that we are on the right track with our improvement plan.
“I am pleased to see the letter highlighting the progress we have made but we are disappointed for our families that there has not been more. We need to work at pace, and we need to get this right.
“We have reviewed our child protection work so that we address any safeguarding risks immediately. And we are working closely with partners to make sure that we provide effective support to children who come through our safeguarding front door.
“We are working towards our next monitoring visit, which will give us good insight into our progress as we build consistency and stability within our workforce and importantly for our children, young people and families.”