Three children die in Lancashire's care system, says Ofsted
- Published
Inspectors found "serious failures" in Lancashire County Council's child care services
Three children died during an inspection into a council's "inadequate" children's services, an Ofsted report has revealed.
An investigation into the deaths is ongoing, after "serious failures" were found in Lancashire County Council's child care services.
The report said it was "too soon" to establish if the children's unrelated deaths could have been prevented.
The council said it was addressing the concerns "quickly and effectively".
The report, external said all the council's child care services had "significantly deteriorated" since the last inspection in 2012, when the authority was found to be good overall.
It said: "During the inspection, three children tragically died in unrelated incidents.
"Their families were open cases to children's social care and they were receiving services as children in need."
The report said the council's child care services had "significantly deteriorated"
The report said an investigation into the children's circumstances were at an early stage, but noted that records connected to the children showed inadequacies.
"Some of this poor practice was seen in a much larger number of cases where children had not been harmed," the report continued.
The inspectors' widespread concerns include:
A lack of effective management oversight
A failure to involve key agencies in discussions at all stages of child protection
Complex work allocated to staff with insufficient qualifications or experience
Failure to give some children leaving care the level of support they need to enter adult life successfully
The report praised the council for the way children are listened to, and the way the risks of child sexual exploitation were tackled.
The authority said it had begun implementing a number of changes, backed by a new £5m investment.
Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "The children and young people who need these services deserve the best care and support, and we are very sorry that in some cases they have clearly not been receiving it.
"The council must now act quickly and effectively to resolve the problems identified during the inspection."
Analysis by Chris Rider, BBC Radio Lancashire political reporter
Three years ago, Lancashire County Council received a glowing report from Ofsted for protecting the region's most vulnerable children.
Now the picture painted by the watchdog is very different - its damming report pulls no punches and is littered with phrases like "serious failures".
While staff in children's services work hard, many do not have the right qualifications or experience.
The man in charge, Matthew Tomlinson, has apologised and pledged to invest an extra £5m to help turn the situation around.
But the leader of the council's opposition Conservative group, Geoff Driver - who led the authority at the time of the 2010 "good" Ofsted rating - wants Labour duo Mr Tomlinson and council leader Jennifer Mein to fall on their swords.