Cheshire East Councillors were informed yesterday that after just 2.5 years, the Executive Director of Children’s Services is to leave at the end of next week.
This follows an ongoing litany of financial and operational issues across the service which was judged to be ‘inadequate’ overall earlier this year after OFSTED inspectors found the experiences and progress of care leavers to be inadequate with all other areas “requiring improvement”.
Last week the council approved a £2m improvement plan to bring it back up to standard, but the Conservative Group believe this is unrealistic as official estimates have identified that addressing Inadequate ratings usually cost between £5m and £15m.
Children’s services is also £80m overspent on its special needs budget. Although many councils across the country are facing huge debts in this particular area, CEC is a national outlier and is already under the scrutiny of the Department of Education’s Safety Valve Team.
Conservative group leader Janet Clowes has stated today that this news had not come as a shock.
Cllr Clowes said: “Ms Woodcock’s resignation, in the light of the difficulties that the council are facing, is perhaps not as big a surprise as it might otherwise be and it is to be hoped that her replacement will be able to steer our children’s services into sustainable, high quality services for the future.”
She added: “Clearly, children’s services are in a very difficult position at the moment, and it is to be hoped alternative arrangements can be set in place as soon as possible to ensure continuity of management as well as services, as the council works its way through the issues that are affecting this directorate."
Cllr Jos Saunders, Conservative opposition spokesperson on children and families, said much of the cash-strapped council’s financial problems can be laid at the door of children’s services.
She also questioned whether children and families chair, Cllr Carol Bulman, should remain in post.
Cllr Saunders said: “Cllr Sam Corcoran stated that he had to take responsibility after a report highlighted bankruptcy fears.
“Much of this step towards bankruptcy is due to the historic overspending on the children’s special needs budget and (DSG) where Cheshire East now has a debt of £80m as opposed to the surplus of £1.6m that they inherited from the Conservatives in 2019.”
Cllr Saunders said Cheshire East is a national outlier in this and spent 12 times as much as Cheshire West & Chester ‘and have not followed a policy of inclusion, which means that our children are not attending schools in their own communities’.
She continued: “We have now had an inadequate rating from Ofsted for our children’s services. This again will cost money.
“Other local authorities estimate it costs between £5m to £15m to make the improvements rightly demanded by an inadequate inspection. This again edges us towards bankruptcy.
“What we need now in children’s services is stability and good leadership.
“However, following on the heels of the leader’s resignation, we now have the resignation of the executive director of children’s services.
“It is up to the new leader, Cllr Nick Mannion, to steady the ship but will he continue his support for the current chair of the children and families committee or decide to have a reshuffle?
“Either way, he needs to get a grip on this service and drive the improvements that are desperately needed.”
Ref: Belinda RyanLocal Democracy Reporter
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