Manchester’s child protection services downgraded to ‘inadequate’

Manchester’s child protection services have been downgraded to ‘inadequate’ by government inspectors.

A report from Ofsted found Manchester City Council took ‘insufficient action’ to address local problems, which saw 486 children waiting ‘a considerable time’ for social work assessment.

Concluding that vulnerable children had been left ‘at risk’, the town hall’s safeguarding department has been handed the lowest possible rating following a visit in June.

Three of the five categories included in the inspection – child protection, adoption and leadership – have been classed as inadequate, leading to the overall rating.

The inspection also found the city’s Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) – which monitors the council’s child protection services – was also inadequate.

Inspectors said the board did not show “sufficient awareness” that children and families were being effectively safeguarded.

Responding to the report, Manchester City Council said its backlog of social work assessments had now been eradicated.

Mike Livingstone, director of children’s services for Manchester City Council, said: ‘We fully accept that services for children in the city are not yet as good as we want them to be.

‘Our absolute priority now, as it always has been, is to ensure the continued safety and well-being of children and young people in the city. However while we acknowledge that services need to improve, we are confident that children who are at risk of harm are properly protected.’

The town hall affirmed it had ‘full confidence’ in its frontline staff.

‘Plans are already being implemented to ensure rapid improvement and these include reforming services to ensure that we help families and young people early, preventing the need for more intensive support further down the line,’ Livingston added.

The inspection did highlight some strengths with most children in care being placed near to their homes, while social services budgets have been ringfenced.

Jane Booth, interim independent chair of Manchester’s LSCB, said: “The board had already put plans in place to address these issues after carrying out our own self-assessment prior to the inspection.

“Whilst improvements do need to be made, the inspectors were clear that they did not find any cases in Manchester where children or young people were deemed to be unsafe.”

Click Single inspection of LA children’s services and review of the LSCB to download the report.