Government lifts 10-year-old improvement direction on children’s services at city council

The Government has lifted the improvement direction imposed a decade ago on Birmingham City Council’s children’s services after what may be the longest intervention by Whitehall in local government.

This followed last month’s Ofsted report which rated the service as ‘good’.

Karen McCarthy, Birmingham's cabinet member for children, young people and families, said: "The removal of the government's improvement direction after 10 years is a significant milestone and testament to the hard work of everyone across the [Children’s] Trust and council along with our partners.

"We know there is more to do but we are providing much better outcomes for our children and families and these improvements are ongoing and sustained.”

Birmingham Children’s Trust was established in 2018 by the council as a new organisation that would turn round the service after many years of Ofsted judging it as ‘Inadequate’.

Chair Andrew Christie, and chief executive Andy Couldrick set targets of securing a ‘good’ rating by Ofsted and the consequent removal of the improvement direction followed by a new contract to deliver children’s social care services for the council.

The trust said all three had been achieved, with a 10-year contract awarded to it by Birmingham.

Christie is to retire and Couldrick intends to move from chief executive to chair, with a new chief executive to be recruited.

Mark Smulian