Plans have been outlined to address the downgrade of Suffolk County Council children's services.

In August the authority saw its rating for children's services downgraded to 'requires improvement' by Ofsted after a report found its provision had worsened since the authority's last inspection in 2019.

Earlier today (Thursday, 5 December), Cllr Bobby Bennett, the council's lead for children and young people's (CYP) services, updated members of the council's education and children's services scrutiny committee on the measures the council had implemented.

She highlighted the work of staff in ensuring the best experiences for children already in care, the only metric rated 'good' by Ofsted, and said work was being carried out at pace as the service went through a 'root and branch transformation'.

Cllr Bennett added: "The report found some excellent pockets of work, our staff were praised consistently but, what we don't have, is a structure and process that is working consistently for CYP and, more importantly, for Suffolk families."

One of these measures has included bringing in the equivalent of six full-time staff, including four extra personal advisers to support those leaving the care service and help individuals understand their entitlements and the local offer.

This was to address the August report's finding of 'significant inconsistency' in the quality of support received by care leavers, with some describing them as overworked and only involved when they needed to be.

In the meantime, Cllr Bennett's update said the council would continue to work toward making sure services for those leaving care was more consistent.

Other new appointments include an interim transformation and improvement assistant director, Ms Gail Hancock, for six months, and an interim program manager for a year.

Cllr Hancock: "This is clearly very disappointing and it doesn't reflect the council's commitment and ambition to deliver consistently good and better services for children, young people, and families in Suffolk.

"This outcome has, however, prompted a period of sombre reflection and renewed determination to improve."

A new Strengthening Services Board has also been established to reinforce strategic governance arrangements which will meet for the first time at the end of January.

Monitoring will continue to take place and engagement is being welcomed from young people and their families.

Summing up, Cllr Bennett said: "We've talked about strategies, processes, performance, and data, but what this comes down to is the experiences of our most vulnerable children and young people."