Service in special measures has ‘foundations of improvement’

Vulnerable children in Tameside have been failed by authorities for years, but now the ‘foundations for improvement’ are finally in place.

Children’s commissioner Andy Couldrick previously identified widespread and systemic failings in Tameside council’s children’s services.

Mr Couldrick was brought in by the government back in 2024 to oversee the rebuilding of the department, rated inadequate by Ofsted two years ago. His initial review in September 2024 was scathing as he highlighted failures, toxicity and an oppressive and bullying culture.

Political chaos ensued as Tameside council’s chief executive Sandra Stewart resigned the following month and was swiftly followed out the door by council leader Ged Cooney. 

With a new council leader and chief executive now in office alongside a new director of children’s services, the local authority has implemented two improvement plans. The improvement plans in children’s services and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be done in conjunction.

Mr Couldrick has credited the new director of children’s services, Jill Colbert, with covering a number of roles last summer whilst waiting for permanent assistant directors to take up their posts. His recently published report went on to confirm that two assistant directors in children’s social care are now in post and recruitment is underway for the education assistant director post.

Creating a permanence in the hierarchy of the service as well as stable leadership in the council was seen as the ‘foundations for improvement’ in Mr Couldrick’s eyes.

The report, written in October, went on to outline the positive impact of permanent and stable leadership is beginning to be felt in the quality of practice. The commissioner also noted an increasing sense of discipline and order in the management of practice, and ‘early signs that activity is beginning to change, positively’.

The data backed this claim up with rates of children in need, referrals, investigations and children in care all reduced in September. However, the challenges remain in children coming back to the service repeatedly; child protection plans not happening quickly enough; and too many changes in social workers for children.

The report went on to criticise the slow pace of the multi-agency child protection teams – something Mr Couldrick highlighted is a problem across the country, not just in Tameside. This approach is part of the Social Care Reforms Programme being implemented by the government. 

The commissioner feels it is ‘vitally important’ that an integrated approach is adopted. Using the reforms to combine the knowledge of healthcare, police, schools and social care services – Mr Couldrick thinks the local authority can use this approach as a vehicle to drive and support improvement.

The report concluded: “The foundations for improvement in Tameside’s children’s services are virtually all in place now. The first, early signs of improvement are emerging, but there is much still to do to embed a culture of good practice, management and leadership.

“Tameside benefits from a committed and loyal workforce, in the council and across the partnership, who want to do the right thing and be the best they can be. 

“It is for the leaders and the wider council and partners to enable this potential now to be realised for Tameside’s children, young people and families.”

Tameside council’s executive member for children and families, Coun Teresa Smith said: “The commissioner’s report from October 2025 was positive recognition that there are signs of meaningful change, including a strong start in resetting the culture within our workforce—an essential foundation for delivering the best outcomes for children and families.

“We continue to make progress through close collaboration with our Strategic Improvement Partner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and by investing in a stable and permanent leadership team.

“Our director of children’s services, Jill Colbert OBE, has been commended for her visible and engaging leadership, which is helping to rebuild trust and strengthen relationships.

“I’m pleased that we have now appointed to all of our senior positions, which is a significant step towards our long-term stability and capacity, as well as the appointment of a permanent assistant director of education and inclusion, being the last post to fill.

“This has added considerable capacity to our SEND progress, as we have invested £1.5m in SEND provision resulting in an additional 133 school places in Tameside for pupils aged 5-16 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), as nine resource bases opened in September 2025.

“Over the past year we have successfully reduced the number of agency social workers, which further contributes to a permanent and consistent workforce.

“Our children’s services improvement plan sets out a clear and ambitious path for delivering better outcomes for children and families in Tameside. We fully acknowledge that further improvements are needed, and I’m pleased the report acknowledges our commitment to work collaboratively and transparently with families and partners to achieve that.

“Our focus remains firmly on delivering safe, high-quality services for children and families in Tameside and I’d like to thank our staff for their hard work and commitment as collectively, we build a Children’s Services that our community can be proud of.”