OFSTED said there are “serious and widespread weaknesses in the quality of children’s services” in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, leaving “vulnerable children at risk of harm”.

It comes following a visit to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole children’s services which looked at the “quality and impact of key decision-making across help and protection, children in care and care leavers services, together with the impact of leadership.”

Here is a copy of the letter Ofsted sent to Elaine Redding, interim corporate director of children’s services at BCP Council.

To read the letter in full see Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole_Focused_visit_of_local_authority_childrens_services_Oct20.pdf

Overview

There are serious and widespread weaknesses in the quality of children’s services in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP). This leaves vulnerable children at risk of harm. Many children are repeatedly referred to children’s services and do not have their needs responded to fully, or in a timely manner.

Children in high risk situations are referred to early help services inappropriately by children’s social care, without a thorough evaluation of whether they are being protected. The vast majority of assessments, to evaluate whether children and their families need a service, are unfit for purpose. They lack sufficient evidence, analysis and challenge.

The failure of managers to provide appropriate oversight of the pre-proceedings stage of the public law outline (PLO) results in children remaining for too long in unsafe situations. Children in care, and care leavers, do not consistently have their needs met. Consideration of permanence for children in care is often absent, and significantly delayed when it does occur.

There are no quality assurance systems in place, and therefore managers do not properly understand the quality of the services they provide, or the experiences of individual children and their families.

Children in care and care leavers who met inspectors powerfully expressed serious concerns about the lack of support given to them by the council, including during the period of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council came into being in April 2019, following the merger of two previous unitary authorities and a town from a neighbouring county council. While there has not been a full inspection of this local authority, a focused visit was undertaken in November 2019, which focused on permanence arrangements. The areas for improvement identified at that time have not been effectively addressed.

A new interim corporate director of children’s services (DCS) was appointed in September 2020. Prior to this focused visit, and due to the concerns already identified by the government, the Department for Education (DfE) appointed an improvement adviser to provide support and challenge to the authority and partner agencies.

The Chief Executive of BCP council and politicians were made aware of the widespread deficits by the Interim DCS and DfE Adviser in September 2020. Plans are in place to address these concerns. The council has identified improving children’s services as a priority, and additional finances have been secured in order to transform services.