Children’s Services to remain within West Sussex County Council

Thursday, 31 March 2022 12:42

By V2 Radio News Team

Children’s Services in West Sussex are making significant strides to improve the service and will no longer become a standalone Trust.

This has been acknowledged by the announcement from Will Quince, MP and Minister for Children and Families that the service will no longer become a standalone Trust and will remain within the County Council.

The Government decision was made on the evidence of significant improvements within the service over the last two years, including Ofsted monitoring, the completion of the Council’s ‘Reset and Reboot’ governance programme, a report from the Children’s Services Commissioner for West Sussex, and the Council’s commitment to put children first.

It means Children’s Services will not be placed into an independent trust and will continue to be run by West Sussex County Council pending a reinspection by Ofsted.

Deborah Urquhart, Deputy Leader of the Council said: “We welcome the news that the Department for Education has taken the decision to allow Children’s Services in West Sussex to remain under the control of the County Council.

“The decision shows that the Council has demonstrated the ability to make the necessary progress and that it is in the best interests of vulnerable children and families for services to remain under our control. It is also a testament to the quality of our managers and staff, their incredible hard work and dedication and their commitment to improvements even during the pandemic.

“We do not underestimate the work still needed to raise the standards to the best they can be for our children, young people and families and we remain focused and committed to continuing our improvement work.”

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