Progress for council in wake of 2020 Arthur death

Inspectors have ruled that a council's children's services have improved since they came under fire following the death of a boy whose case had come before staff prior to his killing.

The services at Solihull Council were rated good for the first time in the authority's history after an Ofsted inspection in November, although the watchdog said further improvement was needed.

It came after Ofsted found services inadequate in 2022, having come under scrutiny when six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was killed by his father and stepmother two years before.

The council said it knew there was more work to do, adding that children and young people were at the heart of everything the authority did.

In a report published in Monday, Ofsted inspectors said: "There remain areas where practice needs to become consistently stronger, particularly in permanence planning, care planning and in the systematic use of children's voices."

They added: "Leaders have a demonstrable track record of delivering improvement since the last inspection and show a clear commitment to securing further sustainable progress."

The report said decisions were appropriate, overseen by senior managers and clearly recorded when children came into care.

"However, entries to care are not timely or well planned for a small number of children, in cases where work to prevent care admission has not been sufficiently robust," it added.

"These children experience unplanned or crisis entry, making the start of their care journey more unsettled than it need be."

But most children lived in stable, nurturing homes, the report continued, and had their needs met, while receiving support for their hobbies, identities and relationships.

Inspectors said leaders at the authority had a "clear understanding of their services" and recognised where improvement was needed.

Karen Grinsell, Solihull Council's leader, said: "We know there is always more to do, so we will continue to make improvements and be ambitious for the future.

"Children and young people are at the heart of everything the council does, and we will do all we can to enable them to thrive."

Thomas Hughes and Emma Tustin were jailed for manslaughter and murder respectively after Arthur died in 2020.

A review into the youngster's death later found that authorities missed three critical opportunities to save him.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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