East Riding council: Vulnerable children still at risk report finds

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is facing a "crisis" in staffing with a shortage of experienced social workers

Vulnerable youngsters in East Yorkshire remain at risk more than a year after the council's children's services were deemed inadequate.

Ofsted flagged concerns in March 2020 and said the service had deteriorated with "weak management oversight".

A new inspection concluded that despite "clear progress" being made, children were still at risk because of a lack of resources in the service.

The council said there was "no quick fix" to the problems.

Following the visit in May 2021 inspectors said the coronavirus pandemic had slowed down improvement efforts.

Ofsted said the council had "challenges" around recruiting and keeping social workers

Ofsted said teams were responding to child protection concerns in a "timely" way, with children in care "well supported" and case loads for staff now more "manageable".

But it also found there were children who remained "at risk" from exploitation or going missing from homes due to a shortage of resources, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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The report stated the inconsistencies were causing "drift and delay" for some families, with some children left in "potentially harmful situations for too long"

It came as councillors heard both children's services and the care sector were facing a "crisis" in staffing amid a shortage of experienced social workers.

The authority said the sector had seen an exodus of workers ditching often minimum wage roles for higher pay in retail and hospitality.

Penny Donno, council safeguarding services lead, told the authority's overview and management scrutiny committee, that a rise in the number of looked-after children showed more were where they needed to be.

She said Ofsted's assessment broadly aligned with officers' own findings about the system and that improvement in some areas would take time.

"We're moving in the right direction, but it's not a matter of a quick fix.

"I'm confident that when Ofsted do another inspection they will see an improvement," Ms Donno added.

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