Vulnerable kids being left in unregulated placements as Dudley children's services 'decline'
Vulnerable children are being left by a council in unregulated placements “without proper understanding or enquiries”.
Ofsted said Dudley Council's children’s services had worsened since its last inspection in 2018 and as a result it remains rated as “requires improvement”.
The watchdog highlighted concerns around youngsters receiving an inconsistent service, housing children in suitable homes, staffing issues, high case-loads and being “too slow” to respond to problems.
Authority chiefs have confessed they “recognise and agree” with the findings of the inspection – some of which were positive – but promised work was now under way to improve the situation.
Ofsted found the main challenges in the service was recognised, but the response to them was too slow with the needs of vulnerable children “were not being given sufficient priority by political leaders.”
The report also said “the lack of understanding and enquiry about the use of unregulated placements mean that the local authority cannot be assured that children are safe.” It concluded there had been an overall decline in the service since the last inspection.
Other concerns included a lack of stable leadership within the department. Poor management oversight of children in unregulated settings such as supported accommodation was also highlighted as was not having enough frontline staff, and participation opportunities for children in care and care leavers among other problems.
Council leaders have now moved reassured people in the borough that change is taking place, with a new director being appointed to steady the ship and make the improvements needed.
Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people said: “We absolutely recognise and agree with the findings of the report. With a new service director, we’ve now got the much-needed stability and focus on the service needs and we will be working hard to ensure that we bring those areas which need improvement up to standard.
“Our staff and carers care passionately about supporting our children, families and young people and as corporate parents, we want to make sure we give our staff the resources and support they need to deliver a quality service.”
“As a child-friendly borough, this report just re-iterates our priority to put our children and young people first and we look forward to the continuing journey of improvement which will help to make this happen.” Ofsted, which carried out its inspection over October and November last year, highlighted a number of issues including the “quality, consistency and timeliness of all assessments, plans, supervision and the recording of management decision of their rational”. And one of these issues concerned homes, with the report saying: “Not all children live in suitable homes.
“There is a lack of management oversight of the use of unregulated provision for children. Some children placed in unregulated provision (supported accommodation) have needs which increase over time and for which they require care and accommodation.
“This means that children should be moved to a registered home which will meet their needs, or the local authority should encourage the setting to register.
“The lack of understanding and enquiry about the use of unregulated placements mean that the local authority cannot be assured that children are safe. As this inspection concluded, new arrangements were being implemented to strengthen the management oversight of these children and encourage registration where appropriate.” Supported accommodation is used to refer to a hugely diverse sector where accommodation can come in many shapes and sizes, from single-occupancy flats or larger hostel-type homes. It can include ‘supported lodgings’ in a private home or relatively small ‘group living’ arrangementsThe report added: “There has been an overall decline in the quality of services for children in Dudley since the last inspection in 2018.
“Children in Dudley are not receiving consistently effective services to improve their lives. Senior leaders and elected members understand the main challenges they face to improve the experiences of their most vulnerable children, particularly in securing a stable and strong workforce.
“However, the response to these challenges is too slow. Political leaders do not give sufficient priority to the needs of vulnerable children, as frontline workforce capacity continues to be a huge factor preventing improvement.”
But it added since the appointment of a permanent director of children’s services in early 2021, there has been “greater focus on the areas for improvement” which was hampered by a lack of stable leadership prior to this. It found there was a strong early help service along with an effective child exploitation service which was a “considerable strength”, which also provides a good response to those missing from home.
