Parents call for more council resignations

The former director of children's services at Herefordshire Council Darryl Freeman left his role in March after joining in 2021

Campaign groups are calling for more resignations at Herefordshire Council following the departure of the director of children's services.

Darryl Freeman quit his role in March following an Ofsted report that criticised the pace of improvement within his department.

It follows years of criticism, with Ofsted first raising concerns in 2018 and then rated it inadequate four years later.

Leader of Herefordshire Council Councillor Jonathan Lester said he understood parents' frustrations and said the council was "committed to working with children and families to deliver an improved service".

Mr Freeman joined the local authority in 2021 and following his departure, groups of parents are calling for council chief executive Paul Walker and the head of legal services Claire Porter to also step down.

A joint statement from the A Common Bond support group, the Stolen Childhood (Herefordshire) group and others claimed Mr Freeman had been "slow to understand" his department’s impact on families, while independent reviews he promised "failed to materialise".

They added: "But the continued failings of this department to improve at pace do not fall on one person’s shoulders alone."

Eleanor Brazil was appointed by the Department for Education in 2022

The groups have also restated their call for a judge-led public inquiry into the department’s long-term failings, "to allow those gagged by the family courts to fully speak out".

The department was issued with a non-statutory improvement notice from the Department for Education after a High Court judgement in April 2021, which found the council had "utterly failed" three foster children.

The issue was also brought the national consciousness with the broadcast of a Panorama episode in 2022 focussing on the council's decision-making regarding children in care.

The Ofsted report last month echoed some of the points raised by government-appointed commissioner Eleanor Brazil in December. Her report said any improvements made by children's services had been slow, with little confidence they would be sustained.

The council has appointed Tina Russell to succeed Mr Freeman, though she will not take up the position until July.

Another long-time campaigner for reform of the department, Liz Anstey, said: "My biggest fear is that the appointment of Ms Russell will be used to gain more time as a "bedding-in period" where more families are ripped apart".

Mr Lester said: “I understand that there are parents who still remain frustrated about Herefordshire children’s services."

He added the local authority would work with them as well as with the children’s commissioner and Ofsted "who are highlighting the challenges we still face".

A spokesperson for Herefordshire Council added: "We acknowledge that we need to pick up the pace and we need to make improvements in many areas of the service.

"Tina Russell has been appointed as our new Corporate Director of Children’s Services, who will drive forward a programme with the ambition to provide a service that the whole county can have confidence in and be proud of."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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