Setting

Zoe Fearon Executive Director, Children’s Services Halton Children’s Services Municipal Building Kingsway Widnes WA8 7QF

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Monitoring visit to Halton children’s services

This letter summarises the findings of the monitoring visit to Halton children’s services on 4 and 5 November 2025. This was the third monitoring visit since the local authority was judged inadequate in May 2024. His Majesty’s Inspectors for this visit were Lisa Walsh and Leanne Cooper.

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Areas covered by the visit

Inspectors reviewed the progress made in the following areas of concern identified at the last inspection:

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Areas covered by the visit

◼ The quality of matching, placement and decision-making for children in care. ◼ The experiences and progress of disabled children in care. ◼ Children living in supported accommodation and unregistered provision. ◼ The impact of leaders on workforce development, performance management, supervision and quality assurance. ◼ The local authority’s own evaluation of the quality and impact of performance and practice.

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Areas covered by the visit

This visit was carried out in line with the inspection of local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. A range of evidence was considered, including electronic records, performance management information, case file audits, and other information provided by senior managers. In addition, inspectors spoke to social workers.

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Headline findings

Since the most recent monitoring visit in April 2025, there has been continued progress in relation to the improvement of services for children in Halton. Children entering care are benefiting from strengthened leadership, improved strategic oversight and a committed workforce. Senior leaders continue to welcome external Ofsted

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Headline findings

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.gov.uk/ofsted scrutiny and demonstrate an accurate understanding of service delivery. The foundations for service transformation are well established and are beginning to deliver improved outcomes for children. The improvement plan is actively monitored, and leaders and staff are driving measurable progress across key areas. Additionally, the quality assurance framework is increasingly embedded, contributing to a more accurate and nuanced understanding of practice. While audits are effective in identifying strengths in practice and areas for improvement, they do not consistently involve practitioners, children or families, which limits opportunities to build learning and fully understand the impact of practice.

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Headline findings

The refreshed permanence panel is now more embedded in practice and is helping to improve the timeliness of permanence decisions. Independent reviewing managers (IRMs) are promoting early permanence through shared expectations and effective escalation processes, reducing delays for children. Contingency care planning is not consistently robust; this contributes to delays in achieving permanence for some children.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children’s experiences are improving through strengthened oversight and more timely decision-making. Placement stability is increasing, supported by more effective sufficiency planning and a restructure of commissioning arrangements. No children live in unregistered children’s homes.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children’s voices are increasingly central to planning and review processes. Social work visits to children are purposeful. Direct work helps children to understand their care journey and early experiences. Children’s case records are detailed and sensitively written to the child. Children benefit from timely assessments that lead to decisive action when they cannot safely remain with their families. Assessments are comprehensive with many informed by research. When care plans change, assessments are not always updated to reflect children’s current needs and inform future planning.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children’s plans are becoming more personalised. Most reflect children’s individual needs, identity and experiences. Social workers have a good understanding of the children they support, which helps them to create specific, measurable and timebound plans that are responsive to children’s circumstances.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children are encouraged and supported to attend their looked after reviews. IRMs visit children to capture their wishes and feelings prior to reviews. Review minutes are written in accessible language, helping children to understand how decisions are made about their lives.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Matching decisions for children’s care arrangements are increasingly informed by their individual needs, identity and preferences. Social workers work closely with the placement team to assess the suitability of carers for each child. For many children, this is contributing to improved placement stability and fewer moves. For some children, particularly those who experience multiple placements, the rationale for matching decisions is not always clearly recorded. This makes it difficult to fully understand and evaluate the effectiveness of decision-making.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Social workers complete comprehensive and timely initial viability assessments when plans are explored for children to live in kinship care. Decisions are appropriately endorsed by managers and senior leaders, supporting a shared approach to decision- making. This provides social workers with assurance that they are not working in isolation to ensure the immediate and ongoing safety of children.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Relationships between brothers and sisters are prioritised, with social workers actively striving to keep siblings together wherever possible. They recognise the significance of these enduring connections. The recently established Family Time Service is enabling more children to benefit from meaningful family time, in line with their care plans and best interests.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children living in supported accommodation receive the right level of help to develop independence and prepare for adult life, while living in nurturing environments. Children benefit from strong relationships with social workers who understand their vulnerabilities. The frequency of visits reflects children’s changing needs.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

For some children who live in residential care, their care arrangements are based on assessed need. For others, care arrangements reflect a lack of suitable alternatives. Planning meetings, reviews and mid-point reviews appropriately prioritise permanence and this supports plans to progress in line with children’s individual needs.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

When separated migrant children come into care, they are supported to live close to others from their community, maintaining access to local amenities to support their cultural and identity needs. Social workers are not always curious enough or alive to the vulnerability of this group of children. Delays in accessing legal and immigration advice cause uncertainty and anxiety for some children seeking asylum. Leaders are aware of this and have plans to address this issue using independently commissioned services.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Disabled children who are in care benefit from more consistent and strong relationships with their social workers. Social workers visit children regularly and communicate with them in a style that meets the child’s needs. This ensures that children’s needs and wishes are well understood in order to inform their care planning. However, support for family time and school attendance is not consistently strong for all children.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Social workers and the virtual school are working more collaboratively, and this is supporting children to make academic progress at school. Regular personal education plan meetings take place to ensure that appropriate support is in place for children. Children are encouraged to pursue interests and participate in activities that promote their development.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Children’s health needs are promoted. Children have regular health assessments and attend appointments at the opticians and dentists as required. Emotional well-being is continually considered, and some children receive therapeutic support to help them understand their history and trauma.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

For children who have recently come into care, supervision is timely and purposeful. This is helping social workers to make more confident decisions and secure earlier permanence for children.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

Workforce stability has significantly improved since the last monitoring visit, with a continued reduction in agency staff and the success of the authority’s ‘grow your own’ strategy supporting continuity for children. Staff consistently report high morale and a positive work culture. They feel well supported by visible and approachable leaders who are focused on improving practice.

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Findings and evaluation of progress

I am copying this letter to the Department for Education.

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