Solihull Council has had government oversight of its children’s services removed after demonstrating significant progress, according to an official announcement.
The removal of mandatory instructions comes after the council’s reform efforts sparked by the Arthur Labinjo-Hughes case. The six-year-old’s death in June 2020 at his home in Solihull brought national scrutiny to the authority’s practices.
A formal direction was issued in 2022 requiring the council to address weaknesses in its children’s social care, with Sir Alan Wood assigned as an independent commissioner by the Education Secretary at the time. This followed an Ofsted assessment that revealed extensive and serious problems, with services rated inadequate.
Regular monitoring visits over the subsequent years showed positive developments and considerable advancement in meeting required standards.
The council reached a significant milestone in January when Ofsted granted its first positive rating for children’s services in the borough’s history.
In a recent statement, Solihull Council confirmed the commissioner completed his work at the end of April after verifying that all requirements for lifting the statutory direction had been satisfied.
Council leader and cabinet member for children and education, Councillor Karen Grinsell, expressed her satisfaction with the news. She stated that the authority had worked extremely hard over recent years to make improvements, making this outcome very welcome.
Grinsell explained that to achieve this, they submitted a comprehensive action plan to Ofsted and were able to demonstrate consistent performance across services for children in care.
She added that they appreciated the support, guidance and expertise from Sir Alan Wood, alongside assistance from regional improvement partner Birmingham Children’s Trust.
Children and young people remain central to everything Solihull does, she noted. The council is enthusiastic about pursuing continued improvements and implementing the government’s social care reforms, ensuring residents receive the services they deserve.
The most recent Ofsted report stated that since the previous inspection in 2022, leadership had taken deliberate and decisive steps to transform children’s services.
Corporate prioritisation, enhanced governance arrangements, targeted investment, workforce restructuring and strategic partnership working combined to deliver wide-ranging improvements for children, families and care-experienced young people in Solihull.
Leadership demonstrated a clear track record of delivering improvement since the previous inspection and showed firm commitment to achieving further sustainable progress.