How a council failing in children's services is trying to turn things around

In the wake of a children’s services scandal that rocked a Greater Manchester council, a new team is trying to pick up the pieces.

A commissioners report into the goings on in Tameside’s children’s services recently led slammed a regime failing vulnerable children. The fallout led to the departure of several senior figures at the council, including former council leader Coun Ged Cooney and ex-chief executive Sandra Stewart.

This instigated a change at the head of the council with new leader Coun Eleanor Wills and chief executive Harry Catherall vowing to prioritise a children’s services turnaround.

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In the first scrutiny meeting since the chaos unfolded, the panel were told the biggest priority is around recruitment and retention of staff. The heavy reliance on agency staff is costing the council financially, the meeting in Tameside One heard.

To address this issue, the children’s service bosses explained they have created a Social Work Academy to ensure newly qualified social workers receive a strong learning and development offer. They are also aiming to convert some of our agency staff to permanent employees and try to make Tameside a desirable place to work.

The service has also implemented their ‘Brilliant at the Basics’ programme which is a model recognised as ‘sound’ and ‘sensible’ by the commissioner. This model aims to provide key building blocks needed to deliver improvements and to strengthen the quality of practice.

Tameside children’s services was rated as ‘inadequate’ in December 2023, the second inadequate judgement within a five year period. The commissioner Andy Couldrick will be working with the council for the next three years as they try to get back to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Coun Phil Chadwick brought up old wounds in order to get clarity on the scrutiny panel’s role in this turnaround.

He addressed the new children’s services boss Coun Teresa Smith: “You said you want difficult questions. Prior to me joining the panel I was told it didn’t like difficult questions.

“I have been told that before I came onto the panel the former chief executive would contact those who asked difficult questions and told not to do so. Will that happen now?”

The newly appointed chair of the panel, Coun Brenda Warrington, cut in by emphatically saying ‘no it won’t’.

Coun Chadwick added: “Why has it taken 10 years and millions of pounds for us in Tameside to accept that we needed to make changes in children’s services?”

Coun Smith told the panel that everyone is guilty of not speaking up before, but they are now instigating changes to address the issues. She agreed that making children’s services a political issue was a problem, highlighting that all councillors have responsibility to children under the care of the local authority.

Coun Warrington added: “We can’t change history but we can learn from it. None of us want to go back to those days where children’s services was used as a political football."

The panel was told a new permanent director of children’s services will be announced in the coming weeks. It is hoped the new boss will provide the stability that is needed to take forward the desired improvements.