Children's services again told to improve

A council has again been told by a watchdog to improve its children's services, three years after receiving the same rating.

Ofsted inspected Middlesbrough Council's service in June and found issues linked to financial pressures, low expectations of children in the council's care and weak management oversight.

Lead inspector Nabeel Hussain judged all four areas of inspection as requiring improvement, however he recognised a new "stable" team was in place after "significant turnover" in the past.

The Labour council's executive member for children's services Luke Henman said Ofsted "rightly highlights" previous challenges, but he was pleased the report acknowledged "positive strides".

Middlesbrough was previously told to improve its children's services following an inspection in 2023.

In the most recent report, historical financial pressures were blamed for previous cuts across "vital services", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Hussain's report said: "Strategic decision-making across the council was not child focused, nor did it hold children's experiences at the centre.

"Current executive and political leaders were already aware of this and have ensured that the director of children's services and her leadership team have the full commitment and support of the wider council."

But the report said the quality of management oversight when children entered care had weakened since the last inspection, while the recruitment of foster carers had not kept pace with the rising number of children needing care.

Hussain said children at risk of harm outside the home received specialist support from practitioners, but staff changes meant some children had to retell their stories, impacting on their ability to build stable, trusting relationships with workers.

He said several practitioners described a culture of low expectations for some of Middlesbrough's children and that narrative had been accepted by some staff, limiting ambition and aspiration for young people.

Henman said: "We know there is much work still to be done to get to where we need to be.

"Our team is determined to keep driving that progress forward and this report will help to further strengthen our improvement plans."

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