Sandwell Children’s Services: Good Progress — But Don’t Put the Champagne on Ice Yet

Sandwell Children’s Trust has come a long way.

The latest report to the Children’s Services and Education Scrutiny Board on 14 September 2026 points to a Good Ofsted judgement, a Good Youth Justice inspection, improved workforce stability and stronger services.

That deserves credit.

But — and there is always a but in Sandwell — the same report also contains enough warning lights to keep scrutiny very busy.

£5 Million Overspend

The Trust has a three-year funding settlement worth £309.1 million through to March 2028.

It was supposed to reduce its accumulated deficit by £6.6 million.

It didn’t manage the full amount.

And it also reported a £5 million overspend, driven partly by the cost of residential and external placements.

So the obvious questions are:

How much of the £6.6m was actually repaid?

What is the remaining deficit?

And exactly where did the £5m overspend go?

“Mitigation plan” is lovely council language.

Numbers would be even better.

More Children in Residential Care

Residential placements have increased from 72 in March to 78 in July.

The report says there are difficulties finding suitable foster placements, particularly for children with complex needs, and suitable places for children ready to step down from residential care.

That means scrutiny needs to ask:

How many are outside Sandwell?

How much are those placements costing?

And how many children could leave residential care tomorrow if the right local provision actually existed?

That matters for children — and taxpayers.

Child Protection Plans Are Rising

The report admits there has been a steady increase in Child Protection Plans.

Apparently it has been analysed.

Good.

Can we see the analysis?

Is the rise caused by greater need?

Different thresholds?

Children remaining on plans longer?

More repeat plans?

The words “we have analysed it” should be the beginning of scrutiny, not the end of it.

Workforce Pressure Is Showing

The workforce position has improved, but the report also says workloads have increased and pressures in frontline Assessment and Intervention teams have affected the timeliness of some visits.

That deserves a very simple question:

How many statutory visits are currently late?

And another:

What is the highest caseload being carried by a social worker?

Those numbers tell us far more than a glossy percentage.

Where Is the Serious Youth Violence Report?

This is probably the strangest bit.

The Board’s own work programme says the September meeting should have a specific focus on Serious Youth Violence.

Yet the actual performance report contains very little detailed Serious Youth Violence information.

Where are the trends?

Knife crime?

Exploitation?

Repeat offenders?

Victims?

Missing children?

Hotspots?

Intervention outcomes?

If the agenda promises a focus on Serious Youth Violence, perhaps the Board should actually be given enough information to scrutinise it.

Radical thought, I know.

32 Recommendations — Six Months Later

This one is pure Sandwell.

In March, the Scrutiny Board agreed 32 recommendations on improving the transition to adulthood for care-experienced young people.

Thirty-two.

The September tracker then tells us they were formally submitted to Cabinet on 9 September.

March to September.

Nearly six months.

So my question is simple:

Why?

Who had them?

When were they first sent on?

Why did recommendations supposedly designed to improve young people’s lives take almost half a year to reach Cabinet?

That needs explaining.

And SEND Has to Wait Until March?

The work programme schedules SEND Reform/Transformation for 22 March 2027.

March.

Given the pressures around EHCPs, specialist places, transport, out-of-borough provision and support for families, that feels far too late.

SEND should be getting an interim scrutiny report much sooner.

Credit Where It Is Due — But Scrutiny Must Still Scrutinise

Children’s Services have improved.

That is good news.

Many of the historic problems pre-date Reform taking control in May 2026 and belong firmly to Sandwell’s previous Labour administration.

But Reform now has responsibility for what happens next.

That means not simply celebrating the improvements.

It means asking difficult questions about:

£5m overspends.

Rising residential placements.

Rising Child Protection Plans.

Late statutory visits.

Care-leaver outcomes.

Missing Serious Youth Violence data.

And perhaps finding out why 32 scrutiny recommendations apparently needed six months to travel from one part of Sandwell Council to another.

They may have gone via Wolverhampton.

Good progress?

Yes.

Job done?

Not even close.

#Sandwell #SandwellCouncil #SandwellChildrensTrust #ChildrensServices #Education #SEND #Scrutiny #CorporateParenting #CareExperienced #YouthViolence #LocalGovernment #ReformUK #Accountability #Transparency #SandwellInsight