West Sussex children's services to remain in county council control
Plans to give them to an independent trust have been 'paused'.
Last updated 11th Dec 2020
Children's services in West Sussex will remain under county council control for at least another year.
It's after plans for them to be placed into a separate children's trust following a damning Ofsted report in 2019 were 'paused' by the Department for Education.
A children's commissioner was appointed to look at West Sussex County Council's work after the watchdog gave services their lowest possible rating of 'inadequate' in 2019.
The new statutory direction was published alongside a report by the Children’s Commissioner, and Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council, John Coughlan who was appointed to track progress by the council.
It said there were ‘compelling reasons why a company to deliver children’s services functions on behalf of the council is no longer required’ and instead the council should retain control of its children’s services for a period of 12 months pending a review of improvement progress.
Children’s Minister Vicky Ford has sent a letter to the Leader of West Sussex County Council outlining details of the decision.
In it, the Minister said:
“I am encouraged that there is now a new political leadership in respect of children’s services, supported by strong senior executive appointments, including a new director of children’s services.
"This has undoubtedly been strengthened by the wider work the Council is undertaking to reform the corporate Council, with the support of its corporate improvement partner, East Sussex County Council.
"The strength of this partnership will evidently be important in creating the conditions in which children’s services can continue to improve.”
The Minister added that while she was confident ‘the building blocks were in place for improvements’ she was clear that there was still much more to do.
"It is clear that there is still much work to do to address the weaknesses identified in 2019, and bring the standard of service up to the quality that children and families in West Sussex deserve.”
Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, said:
"This is a significant step for the Council and demonstrates a huge amount of hard work by a great number of people but, more importantly, it is crucial for children and families living in our county.
"Whilst it was focused on Children’s Services, the original report made it clear that it was our corporate conditions that were not allowing Children’s Services to succeed. This news today, therefore, shows just how much progress has been made across the organisation.
"To have both Hampshire County Council as our Partner in Practice and East Sussex County Council as our Corporate Improvement Partner has made a huge difference to us and I want to thank them for their support and their expertise.
“But, as the Minister has made clear, we still have a long way to go, and a huge amount of work to do. We are not complacent and improving the services that our children rely on remains my absolute priority.
"Our Children’s Services support some of the most vulnerable people in our community and they should be, and are, front and centre of all that we do."
The report can be read in full here.