Social workers praised following inspection

SOCIAL workers protecting the most vulnerable young people in Liverpool have been praised by government inspectors.

OFSTED - the watchdog responsible for the safeguarding of young people - carried out an unannounced inspection of Liverpool City Council last month as part of new rigorous monitoring arrangements for local authorities introduced in the wake of the national Baby Peter case.

Three inspectors spent two days looking at the quality and effectiveness of the Careline telephone help service and the way in which cases of alleged abuse and neglect are dealt with.

They have now issued a report which identifies a number of strengths, areas where the council is performing to national guidelines, and a small number of areas for development.

There is praise for:

• The extra £1.7 million that the city council is investing in 31 new social workers - an increase of 20 per cent - to reduce caseloads and

        enable staff to spend more time with children and families

• The support, advice and guidance provided to social workers by front line managers, and the easy access to training
• The out-of-hours service, which is described as "well organised" with "good communications links" between social workers and the

        Careline telephone help service

Councillor Keith Turner, executive member for education - which includes safeguarding of young people - said: "It is a difficult and challenging task keeping our most vulnerable young people safe, and the findings of this inspection are a tribute to the hard work of our dedicated staff.

"In common with other areas of the country, we have seen a large increase in the number of referrals following the Baby Peter case and that is why we have invested substantially in recruiting more social workers to deal with the most challenging cases.

"We support and assist families with a range of complex issues, and that means there is no room for complacency, and are already tackling the areas for development which have been identified to make sure that everything possible is being done to protect our young people."

The report found that all children referred to safeguarding were assessed quickly, staff had a satisfactory working knowledge of best practice and procedures and received regular supervision.

It also says that staff in Careline responded "effectively" to calls, that they carry out checks before making decisions and that the records they keep are accurate.

Stuart Smith, executive director for children and families, said: "Every day, our front line staff are working in extremely challenging circumstances to make sure that our thousands of young people do not come to any harm.

"The safeguarding of young people is under more scrutiny than ever, so I am pleased that the inspectors have recognised our good practice.

"This report shows they are handling cases well and taking the right steps to assess a referral before making a decision.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank them, because the social work they are doing is the most difficult kind, and that is why we are recruiting more of them and investing in a well-staffed service."

The areas for development include:

• Improving the reliability of the computer system which records the details of care cases, and making sure that staff complete

        assessments on the system promptly

• Sharing casework documents with families and children in addition to discussing them
• Routinely including management decisions on case records to make sure there is a clear record

No "priority actions", or areas where changes need to be made immediately, were identified during the inspection.

The report will contribute to OFSTED's annual review of children's services in which Liverpool is currently graded as ‘performing well'.

Around 1500 young people currently receive social care support from the city council.

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