An 'inadequate' council is still at risk of losing control of its children's services despite a government adviser finding signs of improvement.
The Department for Education (DfE) has appointed a second commissioner to direct children's services improvements at Sefton council after the first, Paul Moffat, found it had "made a good start to its improvement work” under a new leadership team.
In a report completed in September but published this month, Moffat said that transferring control of Sefton's children's services to an independent body or another council would "distract from its improvement" and it should be given the chance to make improvements under its own steam.
However, Moffat, who was sent in by the DfE in June to identify whether Sefton should retain control of its services following its 'inadequate' Ofsted verdict, said the option of removal should not be ruled out and warned Sefton would need ongoing government oversight for the “foreseeable future” to tackle significant management and practice problems.
This was reflected in a revised statutory direction for the authority published by the DfE today, in which it appointed Paul Boyce - like Moffat, a former director of children's services - as its new commissioner, to direct improvements at, and provide guidance to, the North West council.
