WIRRAL'S trouble-hit children’s services department has been praised by a government official for its work in reversing its fortunes, and told what it must do next.

A damning report by the government watchdog unveiling wide-spread problems plunged the service into chaos in 2016, with council failures surrounding the horrific crimes of a child grooming network subsequently revealed.

But a major overhaul to the department previously branded largely inadequate by Ofsted, including new head of services Paul Boyce being appointed last year, has brought signs of improvement.

Those have been recognised in a letter seen by the Local Democracy Service.

The letter addressed to Nadim Zahwi MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, described the early part of Wirral’s improvement journey as “difficult, lacking focus and pace”.

But it said Mr Boyce’s appointment had made a “huge difference”, adding: “Most significantly is the pace of change which in turn has shown improved service delivery and improved outcomes for children and young people.”

It added: “Over recent months the council’s strengthened approach to

performance management and quality assurance is paying dividend with a tighter grip on performance and the quality assurance framework enabling more in depth reflection.”

This year has seen a number of positives including stability “in quality and impact of services for care leaves”, a “significant reduction” in the numbers of children on protection plans and a “successful” recruitment drive.

But the letter said it has also seen challenges, including the number of looked-after children rising to 850 and remaining consistent, a figure that is “too high”.

A recent visit by Ofsted saw the watchdog recognise improvements and that thresholds were being “appropriately applied”.

But it said: “Consistency of good quality work is not yet there with still some variation of practice across the services, but month on month this is improving.”

A subsequent visit by the department for education also saw largely positive findings, including the chief executive and political leadership being “fully involved and supportive of the required resources”, and “committed to the changes being made”.

Despite the good work, the letter, written by a department for education advisor, laid out what must happen next.

Her summary said: “There needs to be relentless focus on core practice to ensure consistency on every case with clear evidence of improved outcomes.

“There needs to be further challenge of partners who need to evidence their part in the child’s journey and contribute more fully to improving outcomes for children.

“The Improvement Board will continue to monitor and challenge Wirral’s Children’s Services. There will be regular six weekly progress updates and ongoing dialogue.”

Reacting to the positive aspects of the letter, cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Bernie Mooney, said: “This is concrete proof of the positive changes and improvement in our social care services. Coming direct from the Government’s independent Advisor, this is fantastic news and testament to the relentless efforts of our front-line staff who have worked tirelessly to deliver these improvements.

“I’m delighted our hard work is being recognised as we are bringing forward groundbreaking initiatives to improve the lives of vulnerable children. There’s been an unerring focus on transforming outcomes and that work will continue.”