Have Sefton’s children’s services really improved?

Dear readers — In 2023, The Post published an exposé into Sefton council’s children’s services. Titled “How Sefton failed its most vulnerable children”, the article documented harrowing details, including the death of a newborn from severe neglect, the council’s inability to meet legal timelines, and a “trajectory of deterioration”.

This summer, an Ofsted report returned a “Good” rating for the authority’s children’s services, hailed as a “significant turnaround” under the leadership of its new director, Dr Risthardh Hare. Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council leader, described the improved rating as "a proud moment", and said that the services had "undergone a transformation".

But speaking to The Post, families of children in the borough say they are “gobsmacked” at the positive report. One father claimed the Ofsted inspection only covered a small percentage of the authority’s overall provision anyway, and does not cover children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) — the area where Sefton council has most come under fire in the past. 

In response, the council says that there is a separate regulatory inspection relating to SEND, while acknowledging “a high number of those children will also be working with Children Social Care”, and that the “Good” Ofsted rating is just “the first step in our improvement journey.”

But the relationship between the council and the Voice of the Family (VotF) campaign organisation has broken down. After an initial attempt at mediation, there is currently no communication between Dr Hare and the parents’ group. Atkinson is alleged to have told — “warned” — the group not to speak to the press. And in June, the police were called on VotF before a planned protest outside Bootle town hall, the group believes by someone at the council. 

Just what is happening at Sefton council and in their children’s services department? Does the recent Ofsted inspection really display an improvement, or are things as bad as ever? And can the feud between the parents' group and the council be resolved?

That’s today’s Answers in The Post. But first, your regularly scheduled Post briefing.

Briefing

Demolition of Woodchurch baths could begin within months. Woodchurch Leisure Centre, a public swimming baths and activity venue since the 1960s, shut its doors in 2022. Woodchurch Wellbeing, a local campaign group, raised £83,000 to keep the swimming baths open, but a council report called the group’s business plan “not viable”. It was recently announced that Woodchurch would receive £20m in central government over the next decade, and a council report says there will be an opportunity to build a "community sports hub" on the former leisure centre site. To read our recent reporting on the Woodchurch, including the battle to reopen the leisure centre, click here. 

The death of a two-year-old boy at a Bootle nursery will result in no further action, say Merseyside Police. Jude Gerrard was pronounced dead in hospital on 14th January, shortly after "a fatal medical episode" at Early Learners Day Nursery on Hawthorne Road. Upon opening the inquest into the death in January, the coroner said police, health and safety experts and the Food Standards Agency would investigate to ascertain the cause of death; Merseyside Police now say its investigation has concluded and the family informed of the decision. “The matter has now been referred to Environmental Health at Sefton Council," the police said. Paying tribute shortly after Jude’s death, his parents said, "We count ourselves so lucky we got to be his mummy and daddy for two and a half years, even though he should have had so much more time."

A police discovery of an "industrial-scale" cannabis farm on Kitchen Street has resulted in 21 men being charged. Merseyside Police say 650 plants over five separate growing rooms were found in the warehouse, and the men — all arrested at the scene — have now been charged in connection to the production of the controlled Class B drug. Inspector Ivan Martin said: “Serious organised crime gangs are a massive blight to our communities where drugs are closely linked to serious violence, involving firearm and knife crime.”

And the former Garrick Theatre in Southport is to be transformed into a hotel and apartment complex. Planning permission was granted by Sefton Council for Garrick Southport Ltd to redevelop the art deco building to include a 137-room hotel, 11 apartments, a spa and restaurant. The site will also include a new theatre and events space. Gary MacArthur, director of Garrick Southport Ltd, said the works would be completed to a “high standard” and would include a new gym and bar. Work is scheduled to begin in May and be completed by the end of 2026. Upon its 1932 opening, the Garrick Theatre was advertised as the most beautiful theatre in Europe, an all-purpose live venue designed to host ballet, opera, musicals, or touring drama. It was most recently employed as a Mecca Bingo hall until its closure in March 2020. To read more about the Garrick Theatre, click here.