The Safeguarding and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Tuesday 10 March 2026 to discuss improvements in Children's Services following an Ofsted revisit and to review data on return home interviews. The committee resolved to timetable a follow-up meeting in September to monitor the sustained progress in Children's Services and requested further data on the timeliness of return home interviews.

Ofsted Children's Services Revisit Findings

The committee received an update on the findings of an Ofsted focused visit to Staffordshire Children's Services, which took place on 9-10 December 2025. The visit, part of the Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) framework, specifically examined the integrated children's front door – the point of referral for concerns about a child's safety or well-being – and the response to adults in positions of trust, including the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) role.

Gemma Gerrish, Assistant Director for Family Health and Safeguarding, presented the findings, highlighting significant improvements in practice and leadership since the previous inspection in November 2023, which had resulted in a requires improvement grading. The Ofsted report noted a positive change in leadership, with Director of Children's Services (DCS) Bernie Brown bringing an ambitious vision and drive. The inspection team, which included an inspector from the previous full inspection, observed a strengthened corporate culture and a more accurate understanding of services and challenges among the leadership team.

Key areas of progress identified included the positive impact of the integrated front door, which went live in September 2025, leading to improved timeliness and clarity in management decision-making. Improvements were also noted in the response to adults in positions of trust and the out-of-hours emergency duty service for children, with a particular benefit from the out-of-hours fostering service. Social workers were described as committed and effective in building trusting relationships with families.

However, Ofsted also identified areas for improvement. The evaluation of quality through audits was sometimes considered optimistic, with missed opportunities to improve practice. The quality of recording of initial public and partner contacts, currently handled by the council's contact centre, required further improvement, with plans in place to bring this function in-house to the integrated front door. Caseloads for some social workers were noted as being too high, impacting their capacity to meet practice standards, although improvements in management oversight were observed, requiring more consistency.

The committee was asked to note the report and timetable a follow-up meeting in September 2026 to ensure progress is sustained and improved. Councillor Nicholas Lakin, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, praised the officers and staff for their dedication and hard work. Councillor Charlotte Kelly commended the progress made but questioned when the identified areas for improvement would be fully addressed. Gemma Gerrish explained that these actions are embedded in the improvement plan, with the restructure, implementation of the Families First Partnership, and national children's social care reforms expected to drive further change. The implementation of Liquidlogic, a new electronic case recording system, was also highlighted as a significant factor in improving recording quality and consistency.

The committee also discussed the potential for future Ofsted inspections, which could include a focused visit, a Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) focusing on multi-agency responses, or a full standard inspection.

Return Home Interviews (RHI)

The committee reviewed data on Return Home Interviews (RHIs), which are conducted when a child goes missing and returns. A decision was made on 12 January 2026 to ensure RHIs were conducted for children placed by other commissioning services, in line with statutory guidance.

The data presented for 2024-2025 indicated that 98% of RHIs were offered, with 75% completed within 72 hours. There were a total of 1,453 missing episodes involving 649 children during this period. Children reportedly prefer face-to-face interviews with external providers. The current provider, Trinity, made 223 safeguarding referrals for further support.

Gemma Gerrish noted that while the council's performance in completing RHIs is strong compared to statutory neighbours, there is an area for improvement in the timeliness of recording for social work-led RHIs. This is expected to be supported by contractual changes. A dedicated missing process officer links daily with the provider and the integrated front door to ensure concerns are progressed quickly. A working group is also reviewing action plans around child exploitation and missing children to ensure both are considered equally.

Councillor Mark Nixon questioned the approach to addressing children who go missing repeatedly, and the reasons behind the reduction in missing episodes. Gemma Gerrish explained that planning and support are being refined to address push and pull factors, such as family time arrangements or dissatisfaction with placement.

Councillor Charlotte Kelly raised concerns about the evidence supporting the positive claims in the report, requesting more transparency on the data and how risks have been addressed. She specifically asked for more detail on the timeliness of information sharing between Trinity, the police, and social care. The committee was assured that a dedicated commissioned officer manages the contract with Trinity on a daily basis, and that contractual management provides recourse if performance issues arise. The committee requested a copy of the questions asked during RHIs and further raw data on the timeliness of information sharing.

Councillor Antonia Orlandi-Fantini reiterated Councillor Kelly's concerns about ensuring no children slip through the cracks when using a third-party organisation, and how to verify the accuracy of feedback. It was explained that daily feedback is provided to the integrated front door, and any concerns are escalated and challenged with the contractual provider.

Councillor Anne Edgeller emphasised the importance of consistent social worker support for children who go missing, viewing it as a cry for help stemming from traumatic backgrounds. She stressed that building a bond of trust with a social worker is crucial for children to open up about why they have gone missing.

Work Programme

Helen Phillips provided an update on the committee's work programme. The minutes from the February meeting were not included in this agenda as the agenda was published shortly after the meeting. Two sets of minutes will be presented at the April meeting. An informal work programme planning session had taken place on 2 March, with decisions made regarding timing and priorities for the next municipal year. The elective home education working group is nearing the conclusion of its work, with a meeting arranged with young people who are electively home-educated in early April. Their conclusions and recommendations will be reported back to the committee. A membership change was also noted, with Rhys Mandry replacing Helen Williams on the committee.

The committee agreed to timetable a follow-up meeting in September to review the progress of Children's Services and to further scrutinise the implementation of Liquidlogic.