Laura Sharman 11 December 2020

West Sussex to keep control of children’s services for at least 12 months

West Sussex County Council will keep control of its children’s services for at least another year following improvements made, the Department for Education (DfE) has said.

In 2019, the council was ordered to place its ‘inadequate’ children’s services into a separate trust following a damning Ofsted review.

The DfE has now issued a new statutory direction saying this move will be ‘paused’ for at least a year after the council made enough progress in improving services.

Council leader, Paul Marshall, said: ‘Whilst it was focused on children’s services, the original report made it clear that it was our corporate conditions that were not allowing children’s services to succeed. This news today, therefore, shows just how much progress has been made across the organisation.

’To have both Hampshire County Council as our partner in practice and East Sussex County Council as our corporate Improvement partner has made a huge difference to us and I want to thank them for their support and their expertise.’

However, children’s minister Vicky Ford warned that there was still much more to do. She said: ‘It is clear that there is still much work to do to address the weaknesses identified in 2019, and bring the standard of service up to the quality that children and families in West Sussex deserve.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Director of Adult Social Care Operations

Manchester City Council
£111,669 – £123,071
Manchester is a city that defines innovation, energy and ambition. Manchester, Greater Manchester
Recuriter: Manchester City Council

Director of Commissioning and Transformation

Manchester City Council
£111,669 – £123,071
Manchester is a city that defines innovation, energy and ambition. Manchester, Greater Manchester
Recuriter: Manchester City Council

Strategic Director of Adult Social Services (DASS)

Manchester City Council
£143,836 – £164,909
Manchester is a city that defines innovation, energy and ambition. Manchester, Greater Manchester
Recuriter: Manchester City Council

Chief of Staff

Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
up to £126,615
We’re transforming services with ambition and community at the heart of our work. Norfolk
Recuriter: Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Cleaner and Caretaker

North Yorkshire Council
£12.65 - £13.47 per hour
Are you looking for a cleaning role that is a little different? Ripon, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council
Linkedin Banner