Ofsted: Bury Council failures 'left children at risk of harm'

Ofsted said some children had been left with "insufficient timely protection"

A council's "serious failures" have left "too many children at risk of harm", an inspection has found.

An Ofsted report rated Bury Council's children's service inadequate in three of four categories and said risk was "not always recognised, or responded to, in a timely way".

It also said those who need protection "experience drift and delay".

The council said it accepted the report's findings and apologised.

Ofsted inspectors visiting in October and November found the "quality of practice" had deteriorated for children "in need of help and protection".

They said since the previous inspection in 2020, there had been "significant instability in the senior leadership team and a lack of focus on the areas of improvement needed."

They found frequent changes in social workers, over-optimistic assessments, poor quality plans and gaps in oversight had left some children with "insufficient timely protection".

Inspectors concluded that the department was facing "a fragile situation" and still had "much work to do".

'Shockwaves'

The watchdog said improvements need to be made, including:

• Timely recognition and response to risk "at the front door"

• Better recruitment and retention of social workers and manageable caseloads

• Better quality assessments that are "not over-optimistic" and plans with "clear timescales and contingencies"

• Improved supervision and management to "ensure social workers have time to reflect on complex cases"

The Labour-run council's deputy leader Tamoor Tariq said the authority was "absolutely committed to keeping vulnerable children in Bury safe".

"We apologise that we have not provided the high-quality services that our children and families rightly expect," he said.

He said the council had "already taken immediate action to keep children safe".

Chief executive Geoff Little added that the service was "under new management" with the ambition "to achieve a status of 'good' or better".

Nick Jones, the leader of the council's Conservative opposition, said the findings had "sent shockwaves" through the community and senior leadership "should hang their heads in shame".

He said council's leader and his deputy should "consider their positions".

Fellow Conservative councillor Jo Lancaster added that the "most vulnerable children in Bury" were not "receiving the service they deserve".