‘Serious failings' identified at Solihull MBC after the death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes have ‘not been responded to with sufficient urgency and rigour,' Ofsted has said as inspectors branded the council's children's services inadequate.
An Ofsted inspection found ‘serious and widespread failings across all service areas' and said the pace of change had been ‘too slow'.
The report said services to children and families had ‘significantly declined' since the last inspection in 2019, when Solihull was judged to require improvement to be good.
It comes three months after the then chairman of the House of Commons' Education Committee, Robert Halfon, questioned if Solihull chief executive Nick Page was ‘best placed to continue to lead and oversee the state of children's services' following the death of Arthur, with ministers responding by appointing Sir Alan Wood as commissioner.
The Ofsted report read: ‘Children in Solihull are not getting to help they need at the right time.
'When there is a concern that a child is at risk of harm the response is too slow.
'A delay in response had led to some children experiencing significant harm.
‘Insufficient management oversight and scrutiny leads to children experiencing significant drift and delay before action is taken to make them safer or before permanence is achieved.
'The local authority and its partners do not have a sufficient focus on its corporate parenting responsibilities.
‘Senior managers' line of sight of frontline practice is not sufficiently robust.
'Performance management arrangements are not effective.
'Managers at all levels do not ensure that children benefit from safe and effective social work practice.'
The report continued: ‘Strategic leaders and partners have overseen this decline in services to vulnerable children and their families.
'They did not have an accurate understanding of the poor quality of practice and experiences of children.
'Leadership and partnership arrangements have not demonstrated an ability to develop a shared vision and strategy to make the required changes.
‘Although leaders were aware of some of the shortfalls, they were not fully aware of the systemic and widespread concerns until this inspection.
‘A lack of visible leadership with a clear vision for how children's services will develop has led to a culture that is failing to place children at the heart of decision-making and practice.'
Solihull leader Ian Courts said he accepted the findings and the council was ‘fully committed to making the necessary changes'.
