MORE than a third of social workers looking after at risk children in Sandwell are temporary or agency staff, Ofsted inspectors have found.

The Government watchdog said the instability of staff is one of the ‘long-standing barriers to improvement’ in the service which was rated inadequate in January.

Their comments come in a letter reporting on a monitoring visit carried out in May.

The inspection was conducted only two months after Sandwell Children’s Trust took over the running of children’s services from the local authority.

Inspectors noted that ‘an ambitious improvement plan has been developed which sets out eight priority areas and with all eight priorities being led by the chief executive’.

But they went on to say: “Some long-standing barriers to improvement remain, most notably the instability of the workforce.

“Nearly a third of the workforce are agency or interim staff.

“This means that some children are having too many changes of social worker, which inhibits the development of trusting and meaningful relationships.”

Inspectors also found some caseloads were too high giving staff little time to do in-depth work with children.

Commenting on Ofsted’s findings, Jacqui Smith, chairman of Sandwell Children’s Trust, said: “Sandwell Children’s Trust is a newly-formed organisation with a new leadership team working together with staff at our new headquarters in Oldbury.

“We have a strong vision focused on children and families.

“Feedback from the monitoring visit highlighted that Sandwell Children’s Trust ‘has brought a renewed energy and determination to improve services for children and families in the borough’.

“The trust was praised by Ofsted for its ambitious improvement plans and recognised ‘a positive start has been made to improve services for children and young people in Sandwell’.

“The trust has given us the fresh start we needed in order to re-energise the workforce and focus on improving children’s social care in Sandwell.

“While the feedback from Ofsted does recognise there are still too few permanent employees, it acknowledges the trust is developing a renewed offer to recruit and retain staff.

“We are creating an environment where social work can flourish. We are committed to attracting new staff as well as supporting and retaining existing staff. We have excellent learning and development in place for newly-qualified social workers as well as for aspiring managers.”

Frances Craven, chief executive of the trust, added: “I’m pleased Ofsted recognise how positive our staff are about the trust and the changes being made.

“We are investing in our staff and providing them with training opportunities to help them improve their knowledge.

“We are fast gaining a reputation as an employer of choice and are working hard to recruit staff to permanent roles.”

The monitoring letter will be discussed by members of Sandwell Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday (July 19).