Children’s services in Wigan lifted out of ‘requires improvement’ judgement
It follows an 11-day-visit to the town last month
Children’s services in Wigan have been branded as ‘good’ overall by inspectors – three years after town hall bosses were told they ‘require improvement’.
A report by Ofsted following an 11-day visit to the town in October said that services for children and care leavers have been ‘considerably strengthened’ since the authority’s last inspection in 2022.
It said the leader of the council, Coun David Molyneux, the chief executive, Alison McKenzie-Folan, and the director of children’s services, Colette Dutton, were ‘committed to continually improving’ the quality of support.
However, in one area of assessment – the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection – the services was deemed ‘requires improvement to be good’.
But in the area of the ‘progress of children’ in care the council was judged to be ‘outstanding’.
The report said: “Senior leaders are ambitious for children and have fostered a strong, family-focused and child-centred culture.
“The child’s voice strongly influences service development, contributing to sustained improvements in the support for children and care leavers.
“Outstanding practice is making a positive difference to the lives of these children and young people.
“Services for children in need of help and protection have also been strengthened, with high-quality assessments, more timely meetings, appropriate use of pre-proceedings and stronger management of allegations against professionals.
“However, the quality of front door services the initial point of contact for professionals, families and the public to report concerns about a child’s welfare remains inconsistent and continues to require improvement.”
Responding to the findings of Ofsted, Coun Dane Anderton, cabinet portfolio holder for children and families, said: “The dedication, skill and passion of our entire workforce shines through in the pages of this report.
“The improvement journey the service has been on is something to be proud of, and we will ensure that we continue to deliver excellent services and make further progress in areas where we know we have to do more.”