Tameside Council acknowledges the findings of the Ofsted Monitoring Letter

Tameside Council accepts and apologises for the recent findings that are outlined in the Ofsted Monitoring Letter from their second visit since December 2023.

The safety and quality of care for children is an absolute priority and the council is aware of the changes that are needed to be made and have already taken action to address these.

Ofsted’s visit took place in February 2025 and the letter was published today (25 March 2025).

The council successfully appointed a permanent Director of Children’s Services (DCS), Jill Colbert OBE, who began in her role in January 2025.  Ofsted recognises this permanent appointment has provided a clear direction and “a better understanding of the service’s strengths and weaknesses”, as she works on a service restructure to align with the improvements needed.

Prior to this the council appointed a new interim Chief Executive, Harry Catherall who in the letter has been described as “bringing a renewed energy and focus on the improvements needed.”

Tameside Council were recently partnered with Stockport Council as their strategic improvement partner to support the authority on its ongoing work to improve children’s services. The local authorities are working intently together to achieve progress for the children, young people and families of Tameside.

Inspectors reflected that the “new DCS has started to get a grip of improvement activity and is engaging well with the local authority’s improvement partner.”

The authority is working to recruit permanent social care staff whilst also converting agency workers. Newly qualified social workers are being attracted via the Social Work Academy, which allows the workforce to develop and grow from within, creating stability and learning and training opportunities.

The workforce has described their “workloads as manageable, and some reflected on the usefulness of practice weeks” which offer internal learning and development opportunities. The most recent Practice Week (17-21 March), had a theme of permanency and heavily involved the voices of local Care Leavers and their experiences with the service and how they can improve.

The letter details how “heads of services are visible and supportive, and relationships are improving.”

The letter recognising progress being made, including leaders addressing the legacy issues of children subjected to very lengthy periods in pre-proceedings and focusing on timeliness in decision making. Since the last inspection, a dedicated PLO team has been established enabling specialist assessments to be completed more quickly.

It also acknowledges positive work with children with disabilities, saying: “Many disabled children are benefiting from support to meet their complex needs. Children’s complex health needs are mostly supported through effective child in need planning. Review meetings are well attended by specialist health staff and work is appropriate and targeted. Brothers and sisters of disabled children are helped to access social activities and emotional support.”

However, the findings outline that “there is insufficient pace and prioritisation in improving the quality of social work for children in need, and those subject to a child protection plan. Weaknesses identified at the last inspection continue to be present in current practice…as a result some children experience drift and delay in having their needs understood and met” and subsequently leaving them in situations of ongoing harm.

Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Children and Families, Cllr Teresa Smith said: “I’d firstly like to apologise that not all of our children and young people are receiving the quality and timely support they need and deserve. I’d like to reassure families in Tameside that our improvement plan is our utmost priority, where all of these findings have been addressed.

“I am working closely with our permanent Director of Children’s services and our strategic improvement partner, Stockport Council to achieve the necessary improvements that ensure our children are safe, loved and thriving through consistent good practice.

“We are working hard to recruit permanent social care staff, whilst converting agency workers. We are keen to develop and grow our newly qualified social workers through our Social Work Academy, which will create the stability we need and robust training for the workforce.

“We are dedicated to nurturing a secure and thriving future for our children and families as we continue to put them at the heart of everything we do.”

Tameside Council’s Director of Children’s Services, Jill Colbert OBE 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 we are on the right track with our improvement plan.

“I am pleased to see the letter highlighted 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.”