The government's intervention in Solihull Council's children's services has officially ended after the authority demonstrated significant improvements, it has been announced. The statutory directions have been removed following a comprehensive improvement journey that began after the tragic murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in June 2020 at his home in Solihull.
Background of the Intervention
In 2022, the government issued a direction requiring the council to take steps to improve its children's social care services. This included cooperating with commissioner Sir Alan Wood, who was appointed by the then Secretary of State for Education. The intervention came after a damning Ofsted inspection revealed 'serious and widespread failings' and rated services as inadequate.
Progress and Achievements
Over the years, several Ofsted monitoring visits brought encouraging news, with inspectors noting significant improvements. This culminated in January with a 'good' rating from Ofsted for the first time in the borough's history. In a new statement, Solihull Council confirmed that the commissioner left his role at the end of April after confirming all conditions required to remove the statutory direction had been successfully met.
Councillor Karen Grinsell, council leader and cabinet portfolio holder for children and education, expressed her delight at the news. "We have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make improvements, so this is very welcome news," she said. "For this to happen, we submitted a strong action plan to Ofsted and were able to show sustained performance across our children in care services. We are grateful to the support, guidance, and experience from Sir Alan Wood, along with that given by our regional improvement partner Birmingham Children's Trust. Children and young people are at the heart of everything we do in Solihull. We are excited about driving continued improvements and implementing the government's social care reforms, so that residents receive the services they deserve."
Ofsted's Recognition
In the latest Ofsted report, inspectors noted: "Since the last inspection in 2022, leaders have taken deliberate and decisive action to transform children's services. Corporate prioritisation, strengthened governance, targeted investment, workforce restructuring, and strategic partnership working have combined to deliver wide-ranging improvements for children, families, and care-experienced young people in Solihull. Leaders have a demonstrable track record of delivering improvement since the last inspection and show a clear commitment to securing further sustainable progress."
