Children's Services - 'Not out of the woods yet'

7.56.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 14th May 2009

There is no room for complacency

Last year, Conservative dreams of seeing Surrey declared an 'excellent' County Council were shattered by Ofsted's shocking findings in the Joint Area Review. Vulnerable children were not safe in Surrey. By the Autumn the Secretary of State had given Surrey notice that it must carry out a demanding two-year improvement programme, meeting a rigorous series of targets, or risk having its services taken over.

The first six-month milestone of the improvement programme came at the end of March 2009. The requirements were tough, and two out of 15 were not met - including an assessment of all children's social work staff, which so far has brought to light 76 out of 358 social workers where there is concern about performance.

In the next six months staff will face yet another re-organisation, under a new senior management team that has only just arrived at County Hall. It's hardly surprising that they are reported to be demoralized, and there have been strike threats.

"In spite of the Council's press release and the Tory Leader's confidence, Children's Services are not out of the woods yet," said Liberal Democrat County Councillor Diana Smith. "A huge amount of work has been done, but progress into the next phase, especially preventive services to support families and keep children out of care, is only at its start. There is no room for complacency. It worries me that Surrey County Council still insists on describing itself as 'outstanding'."

Related Links:

Surrey Children's Services fail in 2008 Annual Performance Assessment (Jan 2009)

Would Baby P have been safer in Surrey? (Dec 2008)

Update on Children & Families service (Oct 2008)

Lib Dems slam 'shocking' report on services for vulnerable children (July 2008)

Tories made to acknowledge serious weaknesses in Children's Services (Dec 2003)

Children's Social Services - Surrey Falling Short (Nov 2003)