Hull City Council has promised to ‘accelerate’ its improvement plans and invest an extra £2m into its children’s services after they were rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted.
The local authority has been undergoing what it characterises as a ‘major transformation programme’ over the last two years after a 2015 Ofsted report concluded that the council’s children’s services ‘required improvement’.
However, an Ofsted inspection in January found that Hull’s children’s services are ‘inadequate’.
Inspectors also warned that the council had ‘failed to deliver the improvements needed, specifically to children’s circumstances and experiences'.
Their report concluded that the 'actions that leaders have taken have not sufficiently addressed the weaknesses in frontline practice and management oversight, in particular for children in need of help and protection'.
Council leader, Cllr Stephen Brady, said that he was ‘very disappointed’ by the findings of the inspection, adding: ‘We understand that significant improvements need to be made and are giving this our absolute focus.
‘Working closely with Ofsted and the Department for Education, we will ensure that the necessary improvements are made quickly so that the services we provide to our children and their families are of the highest standards.’
Cllr Brady said that the council had injected an additional £13m per year into children’s services over the last three years.
He also said that the council would invest a further £2m this year.
Director of children’s, young people and family services, Alison Murphy, added: ‘Our top priority now is to continue to improve the quality of social work practice with a tireless focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable children in the city.
‘Our teams want to deliver the best possible services for children and families in Hull and are working extremely hard to deliver the necessary improvements.'