Parents took to the steps of Bootle Town Hall tonight to protest about the state of Sefton’s children’s services.
Dozens of parents lined up outside the town hall, ahead of a meeting of the borough’s children’s overview and scrutiny committee, holding placards and giving speeches about their experiences dealing with the council’s troubled department as part of a protest organised by campaign group Voice of a Child.
Sefton Council’s children’s services received the worst possible Ofsted rating last year after previous dire reports leading to the installation of government-appointed commissioners to oversee the council’s efforts to turn the situation around.
Speaking through a speaker system on the steps of the town hall, one protestor said scrutiny was “too late” while talking of parents being “frightened for the future”, while others told of their family’s personal experiences with Sefton Council.
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One parent, Beth said her family had been “let down” by social workers while others spoke of “seven years of failure” referencing several years of poor Ofsted reports.
Protestors held placards, including those saying “better scrutiny, better care”, “we are fighting for our children”, “not another brick in the wall” and “stop parent blaming”. Another read “say no to disco divas” in an apparent reference to a comment made by the previous vice chair of the committee Cllr Paula Spencer.
At the last scrutiny meeting before the elections, Cllr Spencer had asked whether an improvement board set up to scrutinise changes being implemented by the council was a “disco” amid an ongoing row over access to minutes of the board meetings, which are held in private.
At an earlier meeting commissioner Paul Boyce had told councillors ongoing questions over access to the minutes amounted to “chasing a red herring while the world burns” as he issued a stark warning that huge change was still needed to turn the failing services around.
Parents also called for accountability from leadership of the service after the council recently appointed its third children’s services chief in three years after announcing the permanent promotion of former assistant director Dr Rhistardh Hare following the departure of previous children’s services executive director Martin Birch.
Cllr Paula Spencer is no longer the vice chair as Cllr Natasha Carlin has been elected to that role, alongside Cllr Judy Hardman as Chair. Cllr Hardman came of the town hall to meet with protestrs ahead of the meeting.
One protester said the cabinet members responsible for children’s services should be “held to account” for the failings adding “Where are the consequences?”
Cllr Hardman said: “I can’t answer that question” adding that the scrutiny committee’s job was to look at decision making on a “bigger level”.
She said: “I’m here to ask if you can let me know what you believe we should be scrutinising.”
Some of the protestors said their concerns included the need for more accountability and scrutiny, for increased investment in funding children’s services, special educational needs provision, school placements and the experiences of looked after children as well as the pressures being placed on social workers.
Cllr Hardman said as chair she was keen to ensure the concerns of parents were raised at the committee while others said “what we need is reform”.
The chair said she would invite parents to an informal session to hear more of their concerns before returning to the town hall as the protest wound up outside with people singing a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
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