The latest children’s services report scrutinised

In recent memory, children’s services in Tameside have been in the spotlight for failures, toxicity and having an oppressive and bullying culture. But for the first time in a while there is a feeling that real change is on the horizon.

The latest update report from the children’s commissioner, who was appointed by the government to oversee the local authority’s improvement, made for grim reading. This comes 18 months on from Ofsted identifying ‘serious failures’ and placing Tameside Council’s children’s services in special measures.

In this latest instalment, Andy Couldrick’s assessment spoke of workforce challenges, unstable leadership and a poor quality of practice – but this was expected by the new hierarchy overseeing the so-called improvement journey.

After his last scathing report in September 2024, chief executive Sandra Stewart resigned and was quickly followed out the door by council leader Ged Cooney and his deputies Bill Fairfoull and Jacqueline North.

That political turbulence ‘cost the council a year in terms of improvement time’, says Mr Couldrick, meaning they have two-and-a-half years to sort things out before the next inspection – rather than three-and-a-half.

At the latest meeting of the panel that scrutinises children’s services in the town hall, Mr Couldrick said: “One of the ways I test my sense is by talking with staff all over the organisation. The messages I get today are very different to what I was getting three months ago.

“This is about the visibility of senior leaders and politicians and a sense of an ability to question and challenge where it never felt easy previously. I think there is a triangulated sense of a change about the culture.”

The commissioner felt the positive changes brought in by the new director of children’s services, Jill Colbert, and the new leadership at the council have provided ‘grounds for optimism and confidence’. But there was a rather large ‘but’ Mr Couldrick alluded to.

Quality of practice, quality of support from other services, and the stepping up from partners (like the police and NHS) to help are key to making key changes, he told the scrutiny committee. He added how previously ‘the Tameside way’ had been one that allowed low quality performance, but now this is being addressed.

The scale of the job

‘Pockets of better practice’ were identified compared to Mr Couldrick’s last visit. But this was said to reflect the work and the skills of individual social workers rather than an organisational approach to practice leadership and raising standards.

A total of 33 Practice and Impact Reviews have been carried out by Tameside’s partner council – Stockport. The result found 36 per cent ‘inadequate’, 49 pc ‘requires improvement’ and 15 pc ‘good’.

The report noted the first two sets of reviews invited Tameside to select the cases, therefore the picture is likely to look more positive than it is.

In terms of leadership, Mr Couldrick says there is only one permanent head of service in post, which is not enough to carry out the huge scale of improvement needed in Tameside. Recruitment in other leadership roles is a key task to help drive practice improvement on a departmental scale, the report found.

The commissioner also felt there was too much bureaucracy getting in the way of social workers doing their jobs – such as having 15 review panels ‘effectively doing the same role’, he told the scrutiny committee. Reducing the number of these panels, as well as improving IT services and converting more agency staff to permanent staff, are seen as some of the quick fixes that could help on the improvement journey.

The ‘open and available style’ of DCS Jill Colbert has been credited as important in order to counteract the ‘legacy of a bullying culture’, which ‘bred a level of fear and anxiety in the workforce’. Mr Couldrick found staff previously went to lengths to hide their conversations with him after being warned against it by higher ups.

Ms Colbert was described as approachable to all levels of staff. Her candid manner extends to all, as evidenced in her interview with the Local Democracy Reporter last month where she laid out the scale of the job she had on her hands.

However, the commissioner’s report went on to say: “The inconsistent and churning management and leadership I described in my first report remains an issue. Achieving stability in this area is an absolute requirement in order to see the workforce grow in stability, in skill, in safety and in confidence.”

The absence of a stable workforce remains ‘one of the greatest threats to improvement’ in Tameside, the commissioner found. The report outlined how in January 2025, 48 pc of social workers in the borough were agency workers – a rate higher than regional and statistical neighbours, and higher than when the commissioner arrived last year.

“The instability continues to impact adversely on too many children and their families,” the report read.

The report’s conclusion found: “Tameside MBC is still near the beginning of its improvement journey. The legacy of poor leadership at every level, front-line and strategic, and the profound weaknesses in the council’s support services and the work of multiagency partners across the system, means that a year has, in effect, been lost without any significant improvement taking place.

“My work since my first report and Stockport’s initial practice review ‘sprints’ confirm the presence of some entrenched weaknesses in practice, coupled in pockets by an acceptance of poor service and outcomes as ‘good enough’.

“Newer leaders, recruited into Tameside and or new to their roles, are working hard to change this paucity of ambition, supported by Stockport as improvement partner, but there is much ground to cover.

“The legacy of the toxic, bullying culture, in the council and in children’s services, is diminishing but has not yet disappeared, and there is still fear and anxiety in the workforce

“The impact of more recent changes, including the arrival of a new chief executive and a new, permanent DCS, is beginning to be felt. The chief executive has worked hard to build a new corporate approach and a healthier council-wide culture, while the new DCS has made a strong positive impression and been highly visible and engaged across the organisation.”

Mr Couldrick told the latest town hall meeting that he expects not to be writing anything about a legacy of toxicity again, because he is already seeing change.

What Tameside Council say

Tameside Council’s executive member for children and families, Coun Teresa Smith said: “As a council, we welcome the latest Commissioners Update Report and although this was a private report, we wanted to make this public to be fully transparent and include everyone in our Children’s Services improvement journey.

“The report recognises that while we are still in the early stages, positive steps have been taken – we are particularly encouraged by the report’s view that there are clear grounds for confidence that progress across Children’s Services will become increasingly evident.

“There are already 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. 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.

“We continue to make progress through close collaboration with our Strategic Improvement Partner, Stockport Council, and by investing in a stable and permanent leadership team. It is fair to say that recent changes in leadership have slowed our progress over the last year and so I’m pleased that we have now appointed seven permanent senior positions within the service which is a significant step towards our long-term stability and capacity.

“We fully acknowledge that further improvements are needed, and I’m pleased the report acknowledges our commitment to work collaboratively 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.”

The Tameside One council and college building in Ashton. Credit: LDRS