The Children & Families Scrutiny Committee met on Thursday 7 August 2025 to discuss the findings of a recent Ofsted inspection of Stockport's children's services and to approve a grant for a community trip. The committee noted the Ofsted report, which found that while some areas of children's services require improvement, the experiences and progress of care leavers were rated as good.

Inspection of Stockport Local Authority Children's Services

The committee reviewed the findings of the Ofsted inspection of Stockport's children's services, conducted between 12-23 May 2025. The inspection report, titled Inspection of Stockport Local Authority Children's Services,[^1] revealed that the overall effectiveness of the services requires improvement to be good. This marks a downgrade from previous inspections, where services had been rated as good since 2017.

The report identified several key areas for improvement:

• Timeliness and monitoring of management decision-making: This includes delays in strategy discussions, decisions for children to enter care, and securing permanence for children already in care.
• Quality of planning: Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of planning to address the risks and needs of children.
• Practitioners' responses: Inconsistent responses were noted regarding neglect, domestic abuse, children in private fostering arrangements, and 16- and 17-year-olds presenting as homeless.
• Quality of direct work and visits: The report highlighted inconsistencies in the quality of visits and direct work with children, including life-story work.
• Quality of supervision: Supervision for social workers and personal advisors was found to be not consistently reflective or challenging enough, and at times lacked appropriate direction.
• Management oversight: There was a need for more robust and timely scrutiny of frontline practice by management.

Despite these areas for improvement, the inspection also highlighted strengths. Early help support was found to be effective, with skilled workers engaging well with children and thorough assessments considering multi-agency information. Targeted plans were helping to meet diverse family needs, and the response to concerns outside of office hours was robust. The Aspire service was commended for its strong support to children at risk of exploitation, and the response to children going missing from home and care was deemed appropriate.

The experiences and progress of children in care were also rated as requires improvement to be good. While social work practice with children in family court proceedings was strong and timely, and the Family Drug and Alcohol Court's work was impactful, there were concerns about children not always entering care at the right time. Direct work with children was noted as inconsistent, and delays in achieving long-term permanence were identified. However, children's health needs were well met, and the virtual school effectively oversaw educational progress.

Significantly, the experiences and progress of care leavers were rated as good. Most care leavers were found to live in safe and suitable homes, with transitions to independent tenancies managed at an appropriate pace. Personal Advisors (PAs) were building strong relationships with young people, and pathway plans were generally thorough and collaborative. Support for education, employment, and training (EET) was effective, and Stockport had developed a comprehensive local offer for young people.

In response to the Ofsted findings, the council has outlined an Immediate Response and Continuous Improvement and Impact Plan.[^2] Actions include securing resources to support the Multi-Agency Safeguarding and Support Hub (MASSH), implementing trackers for key decisions, and bringing forward training on neglect, planning, and leadership oversight. Plans are also underway to develop a Multi-Agency Child Protection function and a dedicated permanence service. The Continuous Improvement and Impact Board will monitor progress on these actions.

Ward Flexibility Funding - Adswood Community Centre Association

The Assistant Director for Governance approved an application from the Adswood Community Centre Association for a £500 grant from the Ward Flexibility Funding Budget. This funding, allocated from the Davenport and Cale Green ward, will contribute to the cost of a community trip to Scarborough for seaside activities. The ward councillors were consulted and agreed to the grant application.