Government help removed from Solihull services after death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Government intervention has been removed from children's services in Solihull following the death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
The government’s intervention in Solihull Council’s children’s services has ended after the authority’s major improvements, it has been announced.
The removal of the statutory directions comes after the council went on an improvement journey since the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
The national spotlight fell on the authority after the six-year-old was murdered in June 2020 at his home in Solihull.
In 2022, a direction was issued on the authority to take steps to improve its children’s social care services, including co-operating with commissioner Sir Alan Wood appointed by the then Secretary of State for Education.
That came after a damning Ofsted inspection revealed ‘serious and widespread failings’ with services found to be inadequate.
But over the years several Ofsted monitoring visits had brought encouraging news with inspectors noting significant improvements.
And this culminated in January with a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted for the first time in the borough’s history.
In a new statement Solihull Council said the commissioner left his role at the end of April after confirming all conditions required to remove the statutory direction had been successfully met.
Councillor Karen Grinsell, council leader and cabinet portfolio holder for children and education, said she was “really pleased” at the news.
“We have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make improvements, so this is very welcome news,” the leader said.
“For this to happen we submitted a strong action plan to Ofsted and were able to show sustained performance across our children in care services.
“We are grateful to the support, guidance and experience from Sir Alan Wood, along with that given by our regional improvement partner Birmingham Children’s Trust.
“Children and young people are at the heart of everything we do in Solihull.
“We are excited about driving continued improvements and implementing the government’s social care reforms, so that residents receive the services they deserve.”
In the latest Ofsted report inspectors: “Since the last inspection in 2022 leaders have taken deliberate and decisive action to transform children’s services.
“Corporate prioritisation, strengthened governance, targeted investment, workforce restructuring and strategic partnership working have combined to deliver wide-ranging improvements for children, families and care-experienced young people in Solihull.
“Leaders have a demonstrable track record of delivering improvement since the last inspection and show a clear commitment to securing further sustainable progress.”