Children left at risk amid Sefton Council failings

Failures at Sefton Council left vulnerable children "with inadequate protection", inspectors found

Highly vulnerable children were left at risk of "significant harm" by a council's failing social services, a watchdog said.

Children's services at Sefton Council have been rated inadequate following an Ofsted inspection.

Widespread failures in assessment, planning and management left some children "with inadequate protection", the report said.

The council said it has committed an extra £10m to improvements.

A spokesman said the authority would also hire more staff.

The inspection, which took place in February and March, found an "insufficient" workforce along with a heavy reliance on agency staff and lack of "stable, senior management" had left the service "precarious".

Children were facing delays in having their needs met while highly vulnerable children were "at risk of significant harm".

The report said there had been a "significant deterioration in services" since the last inspection in 2016, which found the services required improvement.

It found planned improvements were "very new" or "not implemented" so it was "too soon to be assured of their effectiveness".

'Learn and improve'

Martin Birch, the council's director of education and children's services, said the department was "ready and willing to take these recommendations on board, learn, and improve".

He continued: "During 2021/22, the council agreed a further £10m investment of both permanent and temporary funding, and agreed to support the service to increase staffing levels with a new structure being approved in October 2021.

"We knew from the findings of the report that there was much work to do.

"Our main area for improvement must now focus on the need for better permanence planning, to ensure all children know what their long-term plan is, so they feel safe and secure about their future."