Once-disgraced Birmingham children's services now rated good by Ofsted

Children's services once branded a "national disgrace" have been recognised as "good" by Ofsted.

Services in Birmingham have been run by a trust since 2018 after a number of children known to the council died.

The last inspection by Ofsted in 2019 saw its rating raised from "inadequate" to "requires improvement" and the watchdog now says services are "good".

A report published on Tuesday said there had been "much progress" and that children were well-supported.

Inspectors praised strong relationships between children and social workers, how children are listened to and timely responses to children at risk.

The report said the trust worked well to understand cultural dimensions of risks to children in Birmingham and highlighted a specialist team supporting children at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation as "a real strength".

"Most social workers have manageable caseloads," the report said, "and all are very positive about working for the trust, feeling respected and valued by leaders."

Inspectors said the trust's director had "a clear understanding of challenges" and that political leaders also "give great priority to children in Birmingham".

Where shortcomings were identified, for example response to domestic abuse, timely pre-birth assessments and earlier engagement of children leaving care, inspectors noted how leaders had already begun to implement measures to address these concerns.

The improvements come after more than a decade of children's services in Birmingham being rated either inadequate or requiring improvement.

It was in 2013 that Ofsted singled out Birmingham's children's services as "a national disgrace".

Four years later in 2017, seven-year-old Hakeem Hussain was found dead outside his home in freezing weather after a fatal asthma attack.

His mother was jailed for gross negligence manslaughter and child cruelty and last year, CEO of Birmingham Children's Trust Andy Couldrick acknowledged social workers and agencies should have acted with "more urgency" to save him.

When Hakeem died, services in Birmingham had been rated inadequate for years during which time more than a dozen children known to the authorities died.

They included Toni-Ann Byfield, who was shot dead aged seven in 2003, and another seven-year-old, Khyra Ishaq, who starved to death in Handsworth in 2008.

In 2011, two-year-old Keanu Williams was beaten to death by his mother and in 2015, the year before the council announced a trust would run its children's services, Keegan Downer was killed by a woman appointed as her legal guardian when she was just 18 months old.

Social services in Birmingham faced criticism following reviews into all of their deaths.

Ofsted said that since its last review, progress made by the trust and the council had improved the experiences and outcomes for children in their care.

It said there had been a "strong response to safeguarding children" and children were supported "at an early stage to remain in their families where possible".

It highlighted a "strong learning culture" at Birmingham Children's Trust and said evaluations carried out every quarter helped to inform training and service development.

Analysis by Phil Mackie, Midlands correspondent

There is a long list of children who were known to the authorities who were killed between 2008 and 2017, the period when Birmingham's Children's services were rated inadequate.

They include Kyra Ishaq, Keanu Williams, Keegan Downer and Hakeem Hussain. In each case safeguarding reviews showed mistakes had been made and opportunities had been missed that may have saved their lives. There was also a long list of directors who'd taken over the failing department and left after achieving very little.

By the time the decision was made to set up the Children's Trust to take charge alongside the city, staff morale was at rock bottom, and many experienced social workers had simply left, either for posts elsewhere or different jobs altogether.

The turnaround is remarkable. It may have taken five years but the inertia was so great that creating the momentum to get things going in the right direction has required an enormous effort.

No-one can promise that mistakes won't be made, and because of the city's size social workers will steal have to deal with incredibly complex cases, but the children in its care have a much better chance at life than for any time in nearly two decades.

The trust's chair, Andrew Christie, said he was "delighted" with the report.

"We know there is more to do but the improvements are evident," he said.

Birmingham City Council's deputy leader, Councillor Brigid Jones, added: "The city of Birmingham faces challenges on a bigger scale than most, supporting some of the country's most vulnerable children, young people and families.

"This has been a long journey with a tremendous amount of work from so many people and it is an historic moment seeing their efforts recognised."

Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said the report made her "so proud".

"This absolutely shows that children are at the heart of everything the city council and the leadership are doing," she said.

"This has been a journey over a number of decades and this should reassure people in our city that social workers are making sure that children are protected and are well looked after."

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