Report says Blackpool in better position to help vulnerable children

Ofsted inspectors made their fourth visit to the town in January as part of a programme of monitoring imposed after Children’s Services was rated ‘inadequate’ in January 2019.

Progress was reviewed in areas including the response to referrals at the ‘front door’ including the way social workers, police, GPs and schools work together to respond to concerns.

In a letter to head of Children’s Services Victoria Gent, Ofsted inspector Lorna Schlechte said: “There is an effective and well-co-ordinated multi-agency response to vulnerable families, despite continued high levels of demand.

“Risk of harm is recognised and responded to in a timely way in the ‘request for support hub’, where there is a strong and collaborative partnership presence and robust management oversight.”

Work to reduce child exploitation was praised, including the sharing of information to disrupt “activity in known exploitation hotspots across the town.”

The letter says there is “timely and proportionate action taken when children need a social work response out of office hours from the emergency duty team.”

But concerns were raised about re-referrals with evidence of “over-optimism about parental capacity to sustain change” when social work support has ended.

While recruitment of staff, including managers, has improved “there are still a significant number of newly qualified social workers and agency staff across the service managing very complex cases of domestic abuse, poor mental health and chronic neglect. ”

Council chiefs welcomed the report, but said there were further improvements to be made.

Coun Jim Hobson, cabinet member for children’s social care and schools, said: “There continues to be very significant challenges for Blackpool, not least the very high level of poverty and deprivation in the town.

“But with all the building blocks that have been put in place we are in a better position to meet the complex challenges of social work in the town now and in the future. ”

Director of Children’s Services Victoria Gent welcomed recognition of the impact of the council’s early help strategy, and work to continue face-to-face support through the pandemic.

She added: “Although the latest feedback from Ofsted indicates there is some more work required to embed existing or new practices across our partnership network, it also acknowledges our focus on developing a supportive culture for our staff so that caseloads are reducing giving them more time to work with children and families.”

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