Knowsley Council children’s services were rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
21:22, 03 Dec 2025Updated 21:24, 03 Dec 2025
Knowsley Council Cabinet meeting(Image: Knowsley Council)
There is ‘still work to do’ for Knowsley Council as it continues to deal with an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report into its children’s services. However, the local authority said the latest findings show progress is being made and a ‘real difference’ has been noted by Ofsted’s inspectors.
In January, the local authority was subject to a damning Ofsted report which highlighted ‘widespread failures’. Most concerning of all, inspectors found the council was unable to effectively protect vulnerable children and exposed them to ‘harmful and unsafe’ situations.
Knowsley Council’s ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating saw it become the fourth local authority in the Liverpool City Region judged to be failing in its core responsibilities – joining Sefton, Liverpool and Halton councils. However, it will be hoping to follow a similar path to Sefton Council which was rated ‘Good’ in August.
Knowsley Council said its first Ofsted monitoring visit took place in September and focussed on a range of areas including Early Help, Child in Need Assessments, Referrals, Section 47 enquiries’ (formal investigation to determine if a child is, or at risk of, suffering significant harm), and the emergency management of concerns for children outside of normal office hours.
Following this, Cllr David Lonergan, cabinet member for children’s services, presented an update to Knowsley Council’s cabinet tonight (December 3), responding to Ofsted’s monitoring visit. That monitoring report is yet to be published, and is not publicly available at the time of writing.
Reflecting on Ofsted’s September inspection, Cllr Lonergan said: “[This report] reflects the significant progress we have made since Ofsted’s inspection in November 2024, which identified serious challenges in our children’s social care services.
“While the journey to sustainable improvement is neither quick nor easy, the steps taken so far demonstrate our unwavering commitment to ensuring that every child in Knowsley grows up happy, healthy and safe from harm in a nurturing environment.
“Following the inspection, we adopted a ‘whole council’ and ‘whole system’ approach supported by a comprehensive Improvement Plan endorsed by both the Department for Education and Ofsted.
“The first Ofsted monitoring visit in September 2025 provided encouraging feedback. Inspectors noted strengthened leadership, robust governance, improved capacity at senior levels and a clear focus on the issues that matter most. They also highlighted the pace of change is beginning to make a real difference to practice.
“There is still work to do in areas such as domestic abuse, private fostering, safety planning, supervision and consistent management oversight remain key priorities. These are already embedded in our refreshed improvement plan, and progress will continue to be monitored rigorously.
“I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to our staff across children’s services, who continue to work tirelessly to improve practice.”
Cllr Lonergan added: “Together, we are building the conditions for good social work practice and creating a service that Knowsley can be proud of.”
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