Tameside Council acknowledges recommendations of Children’s Commissioner

TAMESIDE Council acknowledges the recommendations made to set out the next steps for its children’s services improvement journey.

Following an Ofsted inspection in December 2023, which rated Tameside Children’s Services as inadequate and with two inadequate judgements within a five year period, the Secretary of State for Education put in place a Children’s Commissioner to undertake a review into the capability and capacity of the Council to deliver Children’s Services looking over the past 5 years.  

The Children’s Commissioner’s report, published today (17 September 2024), has recommended the Council retains control over Children’s Services with the ongoing support of a Commissioner, and the engagement of a good rated local authority or Children’s Trust to act as a strategic partner in a long term relationship to build consistency and resilience as well as innovation and enterprise.

Tameside Council’s senior leadership acknowledges and supports the recommendations made by the Commissioner to help the authority achieve substantial and sustainable improvements and are committed to taking action to address them. 

The Council is currently undertaking a national recruitment process to secure a permanent Director of Children Services to support the stability that is needed to take forward our improvements.   

 Tameside Council Executive Leader Cllr Gerald Cooney said: “Our ongoing Children’s Service improvement journey is an absolute priority to us.  We accept there are still improvements needed and we fully take responsibility and apologise that children and families in Tameside are not yet receiving the quality support they need and deserve.  We are fully aware of the issues highlighted in the report and they are all addressed in our improvement plan.

“I am pleased the Children’s Commissioner recognises we are making progress and that we are committed to improving services for the borough’s children and families.  Demand is at unprecedented levels, but with our dedicated workforce and partners, and the significant financial investment into Children’s Services, I am confident our ambitious plans can be delivered, and improvements made at pace.

“I know there are no quick fixes, but we can, and will deliver better outcomes and a more resilient service for children and families in Tameside.”

Tameside Council Executive Member for Children Cllr Teresa Smith, who came into post last month, said: “I have worked in education for over 40 years and have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by local families and the local services that support them.  I really care about our children and recognise my role and responsibility towards them and the work that lies ahead in my new role.

“Improving our service is not just about improving an Ofsted rating, this is about making sure our children benefit from the best services, care and support possible, and can grow and thrive in a safe and protected environment where they are inspired to achieve their potential and fulfil their hopes and ambitions.

“I’m passionate about supporting children to achieve their best outcomes in safe and caring environments and I’m absolutely committed to working alongside the Children’s Service, partners, young people and families so we can get the fundamentals right to achieve this.”

Tameside Council Chief Executive Sandra Stewart said: “We acknowledge and support the recommendations made by the Commissioner to help us achieve the substantial and sustainable improvements we are striving for.

“We have already started to put in place the key building blocks needed to deliver an improved and stronger Children’s Service that will support better outcomes for families in Tameside. We are committed – as a whole organisation and with our partners – to taking swift and positive action to build on these foundations and creating the stability needed in our workforce to progress.

“Recruitment and retention of social workers remains a significant challenge and we are taking steps to address this, by having a more permanent workforce and reducing the reliance on agency social workers. The recent introduction of our Social Work Academy is an important step in our improvement journey and I am pleased that social workers report feeling well supported with manageable workloads.

“We have very dedicated and experienced staff who continue to work hard to deliver the improvements needed and I thank all our staff and partners for their ongoing support. I am pleased the Commissioner highlights areas of ‘impressive’ and ‘good practice’ such as our contextual safeguarding service, early help, commissioning and care order discharges and that we are working on a number of fronts at pace to improve services. However I accept there is still much work to do.

“Our new Corporate Plan demonstrates our commitment to improving our service for children and families, and our SEND services.  We want to continue to build trust, confidence, be visible and approachable and work together as whole organisation – and with our partners and local families - to drive improvement, monitor performance and prioritise corporate support.”