Children's services returned to council's control

Reading's children's services were returned to the council on Wednesday

About 600 staff who worked for a not-for-profit company that was set up by a council to run services for children have had their jobs transferred back into the authority.

Brighter Future for Children (BFfC) was set up by Reading Borough Council in December 2018 after its children's services were graded inadequate by Ofsted.

The authority voted to move the services, which will still use the BFfC brand, back into its direct control at a meeting in January.

BFfC was created with the aim of improving services but Reading's children's services were judged by Ofsted to still require improvement in July 2024.

The council's corporate and HR policies will replace BFfC's policies, the council said in the summer.

Staff were consulted about the move between 5 June and 7 July.

Liz Terry, the council's leader, said BFfC's commitment to children was "without question".

"The council now not only has better direct control over children's services but an additional layer of governance has been removed, helping to further integrate the services with other council responsibilities," she added.

"While there have been a significant number of successes over the past seven years across children's services, we are committed to continuing the improvement journey to ensure that all Reading's children get the best possible start in life."