The Government has formally lifted an improvement notice on Liverpool City Council’s Children’s Services department.
The decision follows a recent Ofsted inspection which rated the department as ‘good’, just three years after it was ranked as inadequate and placed in special measures.
Inspectors praised stronger leadership, better social work practice, reduced caseloads, a more stable workforce, and a clearer grip on risk and performance.
Now in a letter to the council, the Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister MP has praised the council’s success in making improvements.
He said:
I want to acknowledge the commitment shown by you, the council’s senior leadership team, partners and practitioners in securing that progress.
Ofsted’s view that children are a clear priority for leaders, alongside Liverpool’s recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City, underlines the importance you are placing on children’s rights and on listening to children and young people.
He added:
I also welcome the work already underway to implement the Families First reforms. These reforms are not separate from Liverpool’s improvement journey; they are central to sustaining it. Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family network practice, including Family Group Decision Making, must now move from planning and transition into consistently strong delivery for children and families.
The council will have to sustain its progress and address the remaining areas for improvement identified by Ofsted. These include children who present as homeless, those in private fostering arrangements, care leavers’ pathway planning and education, employment and training support.
Councillor Liz Parsons, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:
This is official recognition that we have made substantial progress over the last three years in transforming Children’s Services in Liverpool.
However, we are absolutely not complacent and know there is far more to do. Improvement is a continuous journey and there is lots more that we need to do in order to improve outcomes for our young people.
We are incredibly proud that Liverpool has recently achieved UNICEF Child Friendly City status, which will drive our commitment to ensuring young people are shaping decisions across the city and helping us build services that are designed with them, not for them.
Jenny Glennard, Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Services at the city council, said:
Our work reflects a shift towards truly listening to children and young people and ensuring their voices drive improvement throughout our service.
Our ambition is to make our services the best in the country and we are determined to achieve that.
