THREE-QUARTERS of children’s services departments across England, including two in South Yorkshire, are inadequate or require improvement, an Ofsted report has found.
The report, which singles out council services in Rotherham and Doncaster, says quality of leadership and not lack of funding is to blame for failings.
See also: Ofsted Children’s Services Monitoring Visit Report.
Rotherham Politics 
The Common theme of ‘lack of leadership’ is seen nationally among those with a Purpose, and those people, responsible for child safety, as named and shamed in Rotherham and Sheffield, were also seen to be associated with a Common organisation that claimed to have a single Purpose, its motto being “Leading Beyond Authority”.
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There it is in a nutshell: The dribbling lefties who cry about ‘cuts’ when it is their incompetence that is exposed as a prime factor for failing children and young people.
Throwing money at a problem is not nor ever has been the answer. What is needed is professional leadership coupled with the skills to motivate and to be able to think strategically.
Leadership is about having a vision of where you want to be and working to achieve that vision.
Sadly RMBC does not have a council Leader nor a Director of Children’s Services with these skills.
Everyone loses out.
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The irony Colin is that the RMBC Director of Children’s is one of few that has led a children’s service to a good standard. One of only a quarter of all councils according to this report. See https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/local_authority_reports/derbyshire/051_Single%20inspection%20of%20LA%20children%27s%20services%20and%20review%20of%20the%20LSCB%20as%20pdf.pdf
You should also read the recent monitoring report posted by Rothpol which is clear about the quality of senior leadership we have. If the town is to move forward why don’t we get behind the council and celebrate successes such as return of powers?
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Why would we celebrate so called success, would you have get behind the council even though they are still failing to properly safe guard our children. The council and the cabinet is in the main made up of the same not fit for purpose councillors. It would appear you want to go back to the days when criticism was stifled or ignored. The council has changed very little since the commissioners came in and if you call handing back powers to the same failed councillors a success I think your thinking is somewhat skewed
Dave Smith
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On the contrary but your comments above are not accurate. The Rotherham people have recently voted in the current set of councillors have they not? They therefore have a fresh mandate and it’s quite right powers should be returned as the government has determined. And who in the current cabinet presided over the period covered by Professor Jay?
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the people voted for the PARTY – which is not the same as saying that those elected have a mandate, when the people had no choice other than whoever the PARTY decided
the PARTY should have put in new people
the fact that the PARTY did NOT put in new people proves that:
– no lessons have been learned
– everything will return to the ‘bad old days’
– the PARTY does not have the depth of support needed to field new candidates
Just a thought, but surely the decent thing to have done would have been for the councillors to step aside so as to create vacancies for ‘new blood’
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@ Jeffrey Smith.
Ian Thomas has been in his well paid post for two years. It is not good enough.
From the Ofsted report;
Procedures are not always followed.
Strategy meetings do not routinely follow ‘Working Together 2015’ guidance.
Screening tools…are not being used correctly.
Lack of rigour, challenge and reflection required to support social workers.
How much more time do you think Ian Thomas needs?
‘celebrate successes such as return of powers?’
You omitted to mention RMBC is still being overseen by the Commissioners, Read is the titular Leader only.
If you have no charisma, you cannot emulate, you can only worship.
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I thought in a previous thread you said Ofsted’s judgement isn’t to be trusted? Make your mind up 🙂
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An article from The Yorkshire Post in June 2016. Ok.
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Pleasant. There is new blood. Where have you been?
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Dave Smith wrote:
” The council and the cabinet is in the main made up of the same not fit for purpose councillors.”
So, are there ANY of the original councillors still on the council today ?
‘New blood’ does not mean a few drips, but a total transfusion.
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