Staffing problems continue at BCP children's services
It's been rated inadequate by Ofsted
Improvements for children’s services at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council continue to be hampered by problems in recruiting and retaining staff.
The ‘inadequate’ Ofsted ruling issued in December has not helped the situation, according to a report before councillors next week (Tuesday 26).
The two adjoining councils on the coast, Dorset and Hampshire, are both highly rated and are more successful at attracting staff, with senior Hampshire managers currently advising BCP.
The report to the children’s services overview committee on Tuesday (26) says that although some senior posts have now been filled the authority now has continual advertising for team managers and is reviewing the level of case loads for social workers.
It says that the poorest performing teams are being staffed by high levels of agency workers, which tend to be more expensive and more likely to leave at short notice.
These include the assessment team with 72% agency staff, a referral unit with 48% agency and the children and families first team with 37 per cent agency staff. In all more than 110 agency staff are being used within children’s services.
More than forty agency staff over the set establishment have also been taken on to help meeting increasing demand for services.
The report says BCP council is also performing badly with the turn over of staff on the payroll with a 36 per cent annual churn rate, more than double the national figure and well above the 13 per cent for Dorset and 16% for Hampshire.
Sickness rates in the department are also high – with long-term sickness, often stress related, adding to a overall total of around seven per cent of all working days lost relating to sickness.