AN inspection of Wirral Council’s children’s services has found some progress has been made by the local authority, but significant issues remain.

In 2023, OFSTED told the council its services required improvement.

A focused inspection was carried out on September 17 and 18 by OFSTED looking at what support the council gives for those leaving care as they turn 18. This was their first visit since the full inspection last year.

Although inspectors said it was too soon to see the impact of reviews of the service carried out by the local authority, “some progress has been seen since the inspection in relation to the transition arrangements for 16 and 17-year-olds, the provision of suitable accommodation, the complaints process and the accessibility of the local offer.”

However, inspectors found quality of support did vary with some young people’s needs met helping them to make good progress but others have “limited management oversight, and their plans are not routinely updated.” The report said: “For a significant number of care-experienced young people aged 21 to 25, their cases have been closed without due consultation or regular review of their support needs.”

In response to “these significant shortfalls,” OFSTED said the council took immediate action to fix this with these young people getting more support as a result. For most young people, OFSTED found they were able to build up a relationship with advisers, social workers had a good understanding of issues and risks when it came to safeguarding, and advisers supported “effective transitions to adulthood.”

The report said: “Personal advisers are persistent in maintaining contact and, resourceful in their methods, and this supports the wellbeing and safety of young people at times of crisis. When care-experienced young people are at increased risk, there is a strong multi-agency response to reduce the risk.”

However for a small number, plans were not always updated when significant life events occurred and for unaccompanied young asylum seekers, plans weren’t always shared with them in their first language.

Praise was also given for emotional support, suitable safe accommodation being provided and support if people weren’t ready to live independently. Links with education organisations allowing them to go to college, apprenticeships, and further education were also praised.

However, inspectors found quality did vary. OFSTED said: “Although most young people are supported by a multi-agency group of professionals, it is not always clear what plans have been put in place to help the young person prepare for release and to move away from criminality.”

The report also said for some young parents, “the level and effectiveness of personal adviser support were less clear in case records, and plans were out of date.”

For those aged 21 to 25, inspectors found a significant number of young people including “extremely vulnerable young people” were opted out of this support service “without due consultation or review of their support needs.”

This has since been corrected by the council with immediate action taken during the visit. However inspectors also raised concerns about a lack of supervision for personal advisers and “an absence of consistent moderation, reflective review and consultation with young people or their families.”

While plans have been put in place now, OFSTED said it was too early to understand whether these have changed things.

Director for Children, Families and Education at Wirral Council, Elizabeth Hartley, said: “We acknowledged these areas and took immediate action during the visit to ensure that care-experienced young people now receive a more effective level of support.

In other areas, work is already underway to ensure improvements such as in the quality of support arrangements to keep in touch with care-experienced young people aged 21 to 25 and the quality and frequency of supervision of personal advisers and management oversight. We are also taking steps to improve quality assurance activity, including the impact of the audit function on practice improvement.

“Continuing to hone our services and improve the quality of support that care experienced young people in Wirral remains a priority for us in children’s services. As I have advised OFSTED’s inspectors, I am committed to ensuring that the service receives the appropriate level of strategic oversight to support young people to thrive.”