Liverpool’s children’s services have been praised for the significant improvements made since 2023, with Ofsted now judging the city’s services to be “Good.”
The newly published report highlights how services for children and families across the region are now better and safer, with inspectors explicitly recognising the local authority’s focused efforts to address previous areas for concern and deliver measurable change.
The City Council was rated “Good” on the impact of leaders on social work practice, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, and the experiences and progress of children in care.
Ofsted reached a finding of “requires improvement to be good” on the experiences and progress of care leavers.
In 2023, Ofsted found Liverpool’s services to be “inadequate” in four out of five measures, but inspectors have now praised the “relentless improvement journey”, observing how previous areas for improvement had been addressed with “rigour and pace”, resulting in “tangible improvements across all areas of practice.”
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Inspectors praised the direct impact of the local leadership team, noting that since the 2023 inspection, they “recognised the need for change and acted without delay to implement improvement plans”.
The regulatory watchdog added that “senior leaders have had a significant transformational impact across services but remain clear that momentum must be maintained to ensure consistently high-quality practice for every child.”
A major factor in this transformation has been a complete restructuring of the department’s internal workforce.
The council has successfully shifted its employment model from being predominantly dependent on temporary agency staff to securing a majority of permanent staff.
This staffing stability has directly reduced individual workloads, allowing local practitioners the time required to build meaningful relationships with children and families.
Frontline social workers now report feeling well supported and appropriately challenged by their managers, with overall staff morale currently described as high.
The evaluation found that children are seen promptly by social workers, with immediate safety plans put in place where required, while the overall quality of assessments is now strong, featuring thorough and proportionate consideration of family history and risk.
Furthermore, young people’s wishes and feelings are clearly captured and meaningfully inform assessments and planning, backed by a clear and consistent focus on safeguarding.
This progress has been underpinned by additional financial investment, strong corporate and political leadership, and active oversight from senior council leaders.
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While celebrating the upgrade, the local authority has acknowledged the remaining development priorities identified by regulators.
Ofsted noted some further priorities for continued improvement, including the response to children who present as homeless, the care provided to those living in private fostering arrangements, the quality of pathway plans for care leavers, and the response to care leavers who are not currently in employment, education, and training.
This latest judgement provides further evidence of significant operational improvements at Liverpool City Council, following a recent “Good” assessment of its adult social care services, recorded improvements in resident satisfaction, and the formal end of all forms of external intervention by central government.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said:
“Three years ago, I promised we would fix our Children’s Services department, and we have delivered on that pledge.
“This has been a whole team effort, from the political and managerial leadership of the council, down to frontline staff and our partners who have been with us every step of the way.
“There is nothing more important than keeping our children safe and it is clear from Ofsted’s report that we have made major strides since 2023, delivering real improvements for young people.”
Cllr Liz Parsons, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Services with Liverpool City Council, said:
“I’m delighted that the hard work and dedication of everyone in Children’s Services has been recognised by Ofsted.
“We are absolutely committed to making Liverpool the best place for children to grow up and this recognition from Ofsted is a testament to the journey we’ve been on.”
Jenny Glennard, Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Services at the city council, said:
“I am very proud of our workforce, our schools and our partners who work tirelessly to support the children of the city.
“There is always more to do, we will continue to build on this progress.
“Most importantly, it reflects a shift towards truly listening to children and young people and ensuring their voices drive improvement throughout our service.
“We are proud but never satisfied, and we know that improvement is a continuous journey, and our ambition is to make our services the best in the country.”
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