Trafford local authority children’s services

Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services

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Inspection dates: 8 June 2026 to 19 June 2026

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Lead inspector: Leanne Cooper, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Judgement Grade

The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families Inadequate

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection Inadequate

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of children in care Good

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Judgement Grade

The experiences and progress of care leavers Requires improvement to be good

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Judgement Grade

Since the previous inspection in 2022, when services in Trafford were judged as requires improvement to be good, leaders have been ineffective in recognising, prioritising and making improvements to some service shortfalls. Practice with children in care and for some care-experienced young people has improved, but there has been a serious deterioration in service areas, such as front door response. This has left some children at risk of harm.

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Judgement Grade

The response to an increase in demand for services has not been effective across parts of the service. The timeliness and effectiveness of the response to contacts in the front door has deteriorated, and at the time of the inspection, leaders had not fully understood the scale and impact of this on children and families. Too many strategy discussions for children identified as being at risk of harm are delayed. This leaves children in potentially unsafe situations for too long.

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Judgement Grade

Political and corporate commitment to children in Trafford remains strong, with continued investment in services despite financial pressures. Leaders understand their responsibilities as corporate parents, and services for children in care have improved. Stability in the social work workforce has also improved, and practitioners enjoy working in Trafford. However, a small number of practitioners express frustration in the slow pace of change across parts of the service. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 Throughout this report, care leavers are referred to as care-experienced young people because this is the preferred term in the local authority.

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Quality of contacts, timeliness and allocation response (outcome 2, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Timeliness and response to children at risk of significant harm (outcome 2, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Quality and impact of safety planning (outcome 2, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Response to 16- and 17-year-old homeless children (outcome 2, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Quality, consistency and impact of management oversight (enabler: leaders drive conditions for effective practice, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Leaders’ understanding of the effectiveness and impact of practice (enabler: leaders drive conditions for effective practice, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ The identification and response to young carers (outcome 1, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Timeliness and recording of children’s health assessments (outcome 4, national framework)

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What needs to improve? 1

◼ Quality of transitions and pathway planning for children leaving care (outcome 4, national framework)

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protection: inadequate

1. The response to contacts about children and families takes too long and is not always thorough enough. Contacts are not prioritised in line with risk and need, and many children experience lengthy delays in the allocation and consideration of their needs. Their circumstances remain unknown during these significant and serious periods of delay.

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protection: inadequate

2. The quality of contacts from partner agencies is variable, and partners are not clear about intended outcomes for children and families. When family history has been provided by agencies, this is not routinely considered in decision-

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protection: inadequate

1 The areas for improvement have been cross-referenced with the outcomes, enablers or principles in the Children’s Social Care: National Framework . This statutory guidance sets out the purpose, principles for practice and expected outcomes of children’s social care. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 making about next steps. This sometimes leads to children experiencing repeat referrals before their needs are considered and addressed.

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protection: inadequate

3. Children and families wait too long to receive help from the family support service due to long waiting lists. This leads to families experiencing significant delay in receiving the support they require, sometimes leading to escalation of concerns. Leaders had been aware of this prior to the inspection, but action taken has been ineffective in reducing the impact on children.

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protection: inadequate

4. The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) responds appropriately to concerns for children, and this has much improved since the last inspection. Strengthened systems and processes have been developed to ensure stronger communication between the EDT and daytime services.

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protection: inadequate

5. Children’s assessments of their needs are comprehensive, informed by family history and information from other agencies. Management oversight of assessments is effective. Children’s voices are routinely captured during assessments, informing analysis and children’s plans. Children are visited regularly, and they are seen alone in a range of settings to support social workers to get to know them and build relationships.

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protection: inadequate

6. The initial response to children identified as being at risk of significant harm is not always prompt enough to ensure their safety. Delays in contacts being screened and progressed mean too many strategy discussions are also delayed. During these periods, there is a lack of oversight and involvement with children to ensure their safety and wellbeing. These delays leave children at risk of unassessed significant harm. When strategy meetings do take place, they are well attended by partner agencies and appropriate decisions are made.

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protection: inadequate

7. Child protection investigations are mostly comprehensive and consider children’s experiences and needs. Children are seen and listened to during investigations, and most children benefit from safety planning during this time. Some of this planning is not effective due to unrealistic expectations being placed on children to keep themselves safe.

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protection: inadequate

8. Children who are the subject of child in need and child protection plans are visited regularly, and children benefit from purposeful direct work. This includes children who experience domestic abuse, who receive sensitive direct work to help social workers understand their experiences. Social workers understand the communication preferences of children with additional needs, and direct work is personalised to their needs and wishes.

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protection: inadequate

9. Planning for children in need of help and protection is effective. Plans focus on improving children’s experiences, and they are regularly reviewed with the ongoing involvement of children, families and relevant professionals. Contingency planning for children is appropriately considered, and plans are accessible to support parents and partners to understand what needs to change to reduce risks. Families are encouraged and supported to work together to Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 reduce risks to children. Plans only end when practitioners from relevant agencies determine that it is safe to do so and in children’s best interests.

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protection: inadequate

10. When risks to children increase, there is timely escalation into the pre- proceedings stage of the Public Law Outline. Letters before proceedings are clear about what needs to change for children. Children benefit from effective assessments and interventions during pre-proceedings, and many children are able to remain living with their families. Children do not remain the subject of pre-proceedings work for longer than necessary.

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protection: inadequate

11. Children at risk of exploitation are supported effectively by specialist social workers in the SHINE team. Children benefit from strong, relationship-based help focusing on understanding risk, developing safer decision-making and building resilience. Social workers are persistent in engaging children and act as advocates to ensure that children’s voices are heard.

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protection: inadequate

12. Children at risk of coming into care are supported to remain living at home with their families by the Kindle Outreach team. Individualised direct work leads to effective bespoke intervention strategies. Family group conferences are routinely considered and contribute to successful planning for these children and families. This is supporting children to remain living within their family networks when possible.

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protection: inadequate

13. The local authority designated officer is effective when there are allegations made against adults who work with children. Allegations against professionals are mostly swiftly and robustly managed.

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protection: inadequate

14. When 16- and 17-year-old children present to the local authority as homeless, they receive prompt and thorough assessments and are supported to understand their options and entitlements. Children are helped to return home or live within their family network when it is safe and appropriate. However, there are serious and significant delays in agreeing for these children to come into care when needed. This means some children are left in unsafe circumstances and suffer significant harm.

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protection: inadequate

15. Children living in private fostering arrangements benefit from effective assessments and relationships with social workers who seek to understand their needs and circumstances. This ensures that their care and support arrangements are met.

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protection: inadequate

16. A small number of children do not come into care when they need to, meaning they experience neglect, domestic abuse and other harm for too long. When children come into care, they are supported to continue living in their family network when it is safe to do so.

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protection: inadequate

17. No children have been identified as young carers during a child and family assessment in the last 12 months. Consideration of young carers is underdeveloped in Trafford, and young carers do not receive sufficient recognition of their additional vulnerabilities or the support they need. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 18. Children who are missing education or who are electively home educated are quickly identified. The reasons and circumstances that have led to children missing education are quickly verified and additional vulnerabilities are assessed. The local authority provides comprehensive advice, signposting or support to parents, carers and families where appropriate.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

19. Children return home from care when it is safe and appropriate. When circumstances for children are stable and secure, plans to discharge care orders are actively progressed.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

20. Children live in well-supported, stable placements with carers who provide warm and consistent care. This enables children to settle, thrive and develop secure and strong attachments, providing them with a clear sense of belonging.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

21. Children in care enjoy strong and trusting relationships with their social workers. Direct work is regular and purposeful, resulting in clear actions that are followed through. Social workers are emotionally attuned to children’s circumstances, especially around their mental health, identity and family relationships. Social workers are responsive to children’s changing needs and are flexible in their visiting patterns to ensure that they are available.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

22. Children’s plans are individualised, written to and co-produced with children. Planning benefits from strong collaborative professional networks around children, which ensure that children’s needs are met. Permanence planning for children is strong and effective. Management oversight and additional review by independent reviewing officers (IROs) provides additional scrutiny and challenge to ensure that permanence options are considered at the earliest stage.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

23. Review meetings for children in care are well-attended, thoughtful and child- centred forums. Children are visited by their IROs, who know their children well and demonstrate curiosity and concern about their circumstances and progress. Children are supported to attend their looked-after reviews and personal education planning meetings, enabling them to influence decisions about their future and to shape their care plans.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

24. Children’s family time is given careful consideration and planning to ensure that risks are managed and children maintain important relationships. For some children who have been in care for longer periods of time, life-story work has not always been completed. This means they are not helped to understand their earlier histories in their birth families and the reasons why they had to come into care.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

25. Children enjoy a range of hobbies and interests, providing them with enrichment and fun. These are tailored to their individual interests and aptitudes, building their social confidence and skills. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 26. The virtual school successfully promotes collaboration across education, social care, health and other professionals. This ensures that professionals understand their role of championing education in their work with children and young people. They understand children and young people’s educational circumstances well. Consequently, children and young people benefit from meaningful, suitably ambitious and usually well-matched targets to support their learning and development.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

27. There are unnecessary delays in the completion and recording of statutory health assessments for some children. This adversely impacts on professionals having a clear and up-to-date understanding of children’s health needs. When children’s health needs are known and understood, they are responded to promptly and effectively. Specialist assessment and intervention are secured when needed, and disabled children in care are well supported by the network of professionals around them, ensuring they remain as healthy as possible. The specialist commissioned mental health service for cared-for children supports children, foster carers and schools to ensure that children’s mental health needs are met.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

28. Children who live in children’s homes or supported accommodation are placed appropriately and have their needs met. They attend educational provision appropriate to their needs and are actively supported to see their family and friends.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

29. Children who go missing from home or care benefit from timely and risk- focused intervention from the complex safeguarding team. Return home interviews are promptly completed and used to inform children’s support plans. The frequency of missing episodes has reduced for many children, reflecting the positive impact of persistent, relationship-based work by missing-from- home workers and SHINE social workers.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

30. A small number of children live in placements that are not registered with Ofsted. Senior leaders ensure that these children are visited regularly by their social workers and that their wellbeing and safety are closely monitored.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

31. Disabled children in care are supported by skilled social workers who provide tailored intervention for children with complex disabilities. Children live in appropriate settings underpinned by clear plans of permanence. Transition planning is carefully considered and co-produced with adult services, ensuring that children continue to receive the necessary support as they become adults.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

32. Unaccompanied migrant children receive effective help when they arrive in Trafford. They benefit from comprehensive age assessments and are supported to live in suitable accommodation. When unaccompanied migrant children go missing, timely and decisive safeguarding action is taken. Social workers are Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 attuned to children’s religious, cultural and identity needs, and this is reflected in children’s plans.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

33. Fostering assessments are of consistently high quality, and agency decisions are timely, child focused and well reasoned. Approvals to place children are carefully considered and reflect the strengths and capabilities of fostering households.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

34. Children benefit from strong relationships with their foster carers and social workers. Foster carers are knowledgeable and demonstrate genuine love and support for the children in their care. They understand the impact of trauma and early life experiences on behaviour, and this helps children to develop resilience and adaptability.

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The experiences and progress of children in care: good

35. Child permanence reports are detailed and written sensitively. Children’s identity needs are well considered, and adoption support plans are thorough. Later life letters are sensitively written, helping children to understand their early life and why adoption was in their best interests.

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improvement to be good

36. Planning for children in care as they approach adulthood remains inconsistent. Some children benefit from effective careful planning, including IRO oversight, while others do not have enough time to build a relationship with their personal advisers, known as aftercare workers in Trafford. This affects children’s ability to form trusting relationships with their aftercare workers.

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improvement to be good

37. Participation opportunities, including involvement in recruitment panels and volunteering at the TALKSHOP, have helped to strengthen some young people’s sense of value and belonging. Nevertheless, some care-experienced young people describe participation as under-developed, and this has been recognised by leaders.

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improvement to be good

38. Care-experienced young people benefit from the stability of the aftercare workforce. This continuity has provided a reliable foundation for engagement and has contributed positively to young people’s overall experience. They describe their workers as available, responsive and kind. Similarly, aftercare workers speak with pride about their young people and know them well. Aftercare workers attend key celebration events alongside their young people, which reinforces young people’s sense of value and worth.

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improvement to be good

39. Most pathway plans are comprehensive and are co-produced with young people, capturing their voice and aspirations well. Plans are succinct and clear, enabling actions to be tracked and care-experienced young people’s progress to be assessed. However, some plans do not adequately consider the impact of trauma that care-experienced young people have experienced. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 40. Most care-experienced young people live in safe, suitable accommodation that is well matched to their needs and abilities. Young people are assisted to build independence while living in supported accommodation, prior to moving into their own tenancy.

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improvement to be good

41. Care-experienced young people are supported to access GP and other health appointments to ensure that their health needs are met. Most care-experienced young people are actively encouraged by their workers to participate in education, training or employment. For some, this is reflected in support throughout their higher education, access to an annual bursary and help with finding appropriate accommodation.

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improvement to be good

42. The local offer acts as a clear, accessible guide to help young people to understand their entitlements and how to access this. The local authority applies the offer flexibly to meet the changing needs of young people, including access to their choice of leisure activities and access to data. The local offer is used creatively to support care-experienced young people towards employability, for example by providing access to equipment and appropriate clothing.

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improvement to be good

43. Unaccompanied care-experienced young people have their cultural, religious and immigration needs met. They are supported to live in appropriate housing where they make new relationships with other care-experienced young people from similar cultures and faiths. This strengthens their social connections and friendships.

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improvement to be good

44. Some care-experienced young people in custody receive effective support from aftercare workers who help them to have their needs met while in custody. However, other young people do not receive the same level of assistance, and the frequency of visiting young people in custody is variable. Likewise, while some young people benefit from careful planning with partner agencies to support them when they are released from custody, some aftercare workers are not aware when this happens. This leaves some young people unsupported at a vulnerable time for them.

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improvement to be good

45. Care-experienced young people who are parents receive emotional and practical help that is delivered at a pace that is right for them. They are supported to attend antenatal appointments, prepare for parenthood and are signposted to services where they can build mutually supportive networks. Aftercare workers speak with pride when they talk about their young parents and celebrate key milestones for both the parents and their children.

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improvement to be good

46. Care-experienced young people at risk of exploitation, substance misuse or with poor mental health receive a high level of assistance to monitor and mitigate risk. Aftercare workers liaise closely with adult social workers and associated professionals, advocating strongly for help and support. Leaders are well sighted on these young people and provide robust management oversight, helping workers and young people to manage risks. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 47. Since the most recent ILACS focused visit, the offer of support to care- experienced young people aged 21 and above has improved. These young people are now assisted in line with Trafford’s ‘opt out’ approach, meaning that young people are encouraged to continue receiving support when they turn 21. This is having a positive impact on engagement and older young people’s wellbeing.

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families: inadequate

48. In some critical parts of the service, the quality of practice and response to children has significantly deteriorated since the last inspection. As a result, some children have been left at risk of harm. There are widespread delays in responding to contacts about children and families at the front door, and many strategy discussions are delayed, leaving some children in circumstances where they are at risk of significant harm.

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families: inadequate

49. While leaders had a general awareness of service and practice issues, the scale of these issues was not fully understood by leaders until this inspection. Leaders did not have a wholly accurate self-assessment of the quality and impact of services for children in Trafford. In some areas, action had been taken, such as the reallocation of resources. However, leaders have not been effective in prioritising, challenging and making improvements in some critical areas of the service.

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families: inadequate

50. When concerns have been brought to the attention of senior leaders during this inspection, they have been receptive to challenge and have reflected on and responded proactively to feedback. They have taken immediate steps to identify appropriate remedial action when necessary, for individual children and wider service delivery.

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families: inadequate

51. Senior leaders describe Trafford as being on a continuous journey of improvement. They remain open to learning and encourage external scrutiny of practice to drive improvements for children and families. When issues have been identified in previous ILACS activity or through independent scrutiny, leaders have taken action to address these, and there have been some improvements to practice and outcomes for some children. Children in care now receive a good service, including a dedicated mental health support service, and care-experienced young people receive a more effective service than they did at the time of the focused visit in 2024.

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families: inadequate

52. Despite political and corporate commitment and investment, the pace of change in some areas of practice has been too slow for children. There have been delays in progressing necessary service reviews and recruiting staff in some areas, and a lack of pace in driving practice improvements. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 53. Leaders were aware of the significant pressures and delays in allocating children to the family support service and had created a ‘waiting well’ list. While this has provided families with some level of help, it has not always led to families receiving timely intervention in response to their escalating needs.

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families: inadequate

54. Partners speak positively of the strong relationships across the local authority area and are committed to driving improved outcomes for children and families. Partners value the training and partnership quality assurance opportunities that the local authority has initiated.

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families: inadequate

55. Leaders have implemented a strong corporate parenting strategy. The corporate parenting board is well attended by senior leaders and partner agencies. Children and young people are actively encouraged to attend and are supported to help influence and shape the ambitions of the local authority through participation. Leaders have shown commitment to learning from feedback and complaints and have used this to focus on areas of practice, such as life-story work, in response to young people sharing that they did not always understand their lived experience.

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families: inadequate

56. The local authority’s sufficiency strategy accurately reflects areas that require further development, including sufficiency of children’s homes and improved oversight of children coming into care. As a result, children in care generally live in placements that meet their needs, and the use of unregistered provision is limited. Leaders have commissioned an external review of their children’s home provision to identify opportunities to further enhance sufficiency.

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families: inadequate

57. Leaders in Trafford know and understand their local communities well, and this is supporting them to take a considered approach to the social care reforms through using initiatives such as a ‘test and learn’ team.

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families: inadequate

58. The local authority has recently implemented a revised quality assurance framework, and managers have a suite of reports to provide scrutiny and oversight of practice. While there is much quality assurance activity taking place, leaders have not had a fully accurate understanding of the impact of practice across children’s services. They are also not fully appraised on the impact that quality assurance activity has for individual children and service improvement due to a lack of robust tracking of actions. During the inspection, leaders accepted that this needs to be strengthened.

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families: inadequate

59. Leaders in Trafford have successfully strengthened and stabilised the workforce. A focused programme ‘Progress to Permanent’, which is supporting interim practitioners to consider joining Trafford on a permanent basis, has seen success. As a result, the local authority now has a more stable and permanent social work workforce than at the time of the previous inspection.

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families: inadequate

60. The Relational Practice Steering Group brought together practitioners from across the workforce to co-produce Trafford’s relational practice principles. Aligned with the council’s ambitions plan, the strengthening practice Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 programme is developing practitioners’ skills and knowledge to work reflectively with children and families. The impact of this can be seen for children in care.

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families: inadequate

61. The quality of supervision and management oversight of children and families is variable. While social workers for children in care and children with additional needs receive impactful and reflective supervision, this is not consistent for all practitioners.

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families: inadequate

62. Leaders have developed a positive culture for their workforce in children’s services, and staff speak positively of the support and training opportunities they receive.

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families: inadequate

63. Workloads in the cared-for service have reduced, and this has had a positive impact on the quality of practice. Leaders appropriately know there is more to do to ensure that practitioners across the service have the necessary time and capacity to work with children and families. Inspection of Trafford local authority children’s services 8 June to 19 June 26 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked-after children, safeguarding

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families: inadequate

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families: inadequate

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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