Cabinet backs Improvement Plan that re-sets the future of children’s services
An Improvement Plan to transform the future of Herefordshire’s children’s services has been endorsed at today’s cabinet meeting (28 October 2021).
The Children and Families Strategic Improvement Plan sets out how the council will deliver high-quality services for the county’s children and young people and place them at the heart of all decision-making processes.
The plan aims to rebuild trust and ensure that the council provides compassionate and effective children’s services that last into the future. It includes detailed actions to be taken to reach each goal, including reviews of staffing levels and current working practices and how the council will work with partners to implement improvements.
£5.2million has been made available by the council to fund the changes needed to comprehensively improve the service.
The implementation of the plan comes after the council was issued with a non-statutory improvement notice for its children’s social care service by the Department for Education in May 2021, following a High Court judgment which raised significant concerns about the service.
Darryl Freeman, Herefordshire Council’s Interim Director of Children and Families, said:
“We are pleased that our Improvement Plan has been endorsed by cabinet. Our improvement work is already well underway and we are looking towards a much brighter future where children and young people are at the heart of everything we do and where people are proud to work for our children’s services and support Herefordshire’s families.”
Councillor Diana Toynbee, Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s and Family Services, and Young People’s Attainment, added:
“Our Cabinet has embraced this plan and we’re committed to making sure that our children’s services stay on track.
“Today is an important milestone in our improvement work, and we now have a really positive focus and momentum. It’s great that the plan is now a public document that all of us in Herefordshire can share, feed into and use to improve the lives of children and families.”
The Children and Families Strategic Improvement Plan is available to view on our website.